EHS boys dominate State
By Michael Ashford
Originally published 04:01 p.m., October 29, 2007
Updated 04:01 p.m., October 29, 2007
LAWRENCE — There they stood, in almost the exact same spot as they had been a year ago. But this time, the feeling was totally different.
Having finished the boys 5-kilometer run Saturday at Rim Rock Farm — the site of the Class 5A State cross country meet — the members of the Emporia High boys cross country team gathered behind the finish line with mile-wide smiles giving hugs to anyone in Spartan red.
It was at this location last year, after the Spartan boys finished second as a team at State for the fourth year in a row, that they vowed to break through and become State champions the following year. Standing in that same spot on Saturday, the Spartans had done just that.
The Emporia High boys won the Class 5A State championship Saturday with a resounding victory over runner-up and defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas, scoring 51 points to Aquinas’ 83. It was the fifth State title for the program and the first since 1993.
“We’d been talking about this since this time last year, right after we got out of the chute at the finish,” senior Jacob Davies said. “It’s a big thing. It feels great that all of our hard work paid off.”
The State title was the cap on a remarkable season for Emporia High that saw the Spartans make an undefeated run against teams from the state of Kansas, losing only to two schools from Missouri and one school from Arkansas in races this year.
And they did it in the same fashion as they had all season long, utilizing pack running to pick off opposing runners as a group. All five of Emporia’s scoring runners finished within a minute of each other.
“We’re just used to running together. We practice that (pack running) a lot — we emphasize it,” senior Asher Delmott said. “We just stay close to each other.”
The Spartans again were led by Davies, who finished second in a time of 16 minutes, 28.20 seconds, improving upon a 13th-place finish a year ago. Bishop Carroll’s Bryce Volz won the individual title in 16:02.71.
Davies entered the race on a tear, having won his previous three races. He said the plan was to try and run with Volz, but after Volz began his push earlier than expected, Davies decided to hang back and focus on helping the team.
“I went out easier and decided to stay back and run with an Aquinas runner,” Davies said. “I was going to try and stay with the leader, but he started pulling away from people at about the 800 mark, and I wanted to make sure we had the team title.”
Emporia High coach Mark Stanbrough called Davies’ move to not go out with Volz “impressive.”
“He might have had a shot to win individually had he put it on the line and went after Bryce Volz,” Stanbrough said, “but he ran a smart race and held back and did it for the team.”
Delmott was the next finisher for Emporia High, coming across the line in a time of 16:42.18 to finish fifth, barely clipping Gardner-Edgerton’s Mitch Loring at the line after a strong surge over the last 100 meters of the race.
“I knew that every point matters in the State meet,” Delmott said. “I noticed that I was coming up on him, and I told myself, ‘This is my last year. I’ve got to get in front of him and get that one more point to help us.’
“All week I visualized that over and over again, just being strong at the very end.”
Sophomore Lance Sadler improved 20 spots from a year ago with a 17th-place finish in a time of 17:12.60, senior Mike Robinson barely missed out on a State medal with a 21st-place finish in a time of 17:13.96 and senior Tyler Anliker came in across the line in 17:24.45 to take 25th place.
Senior Andrew Wayman (17:32.49) and junior Tavo Dikin (17:49.66) came in 32nd and 40th, respectively.
The five top-25 finishes were more than enough to help the Spartans defeat Aquinas, which placed just three runners in the top 25.
After nine months of offseason training and a year of anticipating the day when they would get the chance to finally get the State runner-up monkey off their backs, the Spartans found themselves at the top of the winner’s podium at the awards presentation for the sixth time this season. But this time, it was with the biggest trophy of them all, the one that said “State Champion” on it.
It was the culminating achievement of a group of runners that trained every day this past summer — oftentimes twice a day — with nearly every team member present at each practice despite attendance being completely voluntary.
“We spent the whole summer running, and we carried that over into training and the season,” Davies said. “It just seems like it’s been one big continuous season, running together all the time.
“It’s been a real special season. Us seniors had a chance to talk to everyone this week, and what we mostly said was about team and how we’ve grown to love each other and how we’re just a big family. That’s what makes it so special. It was like we were out there with our family running, and it was just great.”
Stanbrough said watching this year’s group of runners progress made him appreciate even more the efforts put in by the runners that came before.
“The one thing I want to stress is over the last five years, we’ve had four seconds and now have finally won,” he said, “but it was those people that set the bar and set the standard, and when these kids came in as freshmen and sophomores, they saw what it took to be good — how much work you had to do, how much you had to do in the offseason.
“These guys just followed what those guys set before them. Winning today is special for this team, but it’s also special for those people over the last five years that helped set the bar and helped set the stage for the win.”
State Cross Country
Saturday at Lawrence
Class 5A Boys
1. Emporia 51, 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 83, 3. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 94, 4. Bishop Carroll 99, 5. McPherson 177, 6. Bonner Springs 181, 7. Liberal 190, 8. Bishop Miege 199, 9. Shawnee Heights 206, 10. Great Bend 210, 11. Seaman 245, 12. Shawnee Mill Valley 316.
Individual Medalists
1. Bryce Volz, Bishop Carroll, 16:02.71; 2. Jacob Davies, Emporia, 16:28.2; 3. Colin Hagan, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 16:32.83; 4. Kyle Hanson, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:37.62; 5. Asher Delmott, Emporia, 16:42.18; 6. P.J. Greer, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:42.47; 7. Mitch Loring, Gardner-Edgerton, 16:44.32; 8. Carrington Crum, Valley Center, 16:44.55; 9. Cameron Sprague, Hutchinson, 16:45.23; 10. Joey Thompson, Salina South, 16:45.94; 11. Kyle Glasgow, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 16:46.69; 12. Scott Ufford, Bishop Carroll, 17:00.01; 13. Paul Searle, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 17:09.01; 14. Adrian Marquez, Hutchinson, 17:09.37; 15. Brandon Craig, Lansing, 17:09.71; 16. Adam Porter, McPherson, 17:11.65; 17. Lance Sadler, Emporia, 17:12.6; 18. James Carter, Bonner Springs, 17:13.16; 19. Josh Richardson, Great Bend, 17:13.36; 20. Lane Porter, McPherson, 17:13.65.