RICHMOND — First, the good news. The girls’ race also left Smith feeling depleted, “more than the boys race,” he said. IOLA’S middle-schoolers also had a strong day. Varsity boys (5k)
Iola High’s cross country runners put forth a number of strong performances at Thursday’s Pioneer League meet, with five runners earning all-league recognition for their efforts.
Iola’s Kohl Endicott had what head coach Marv Smith described as a “hero’s” race, claiming second overall.
Endicott ran the boys 5k with a time of 17:10.6, while Braden Plumlee finished sixth at 18:17.4 and Jeremy Spears was seventh at 18:19.5.
But one last nugget remained agonizingly just out of reach.
The Mustangs missed out on the Pioneer League team championship by a single point, finishing with 47 points to Anderson County’s 46.
The crowd of exhausted runners, anxious coaches, parents and other supporters let out an audible gasp as the final results were announced.
“I was crushed — the same reaction as our team members,” Smith said. “We expected it to be close, but we expected to win the league. Unfortunately, Anderson County had something to say about that.”
The razor-thin margin was derived from totaling the finishes of each team’s top five runners.
The Mustangs’ all-league trio was joined in the team results with Michael Wilson, who finished 13th at 18:59.4, and Colby Works, who took 19th at 19:21.1.
Anderson County, conversely, had runners finish in places 3, 5, 9, 14 and 15.
Smith said the Bulldogs’ ninth-place runner, Tyler Jumet, was perhaps the key runner in the sequence.
“He also ran a ‘hero’s race,’” Smith said, noting Jumet shaved more than 80 seconds off his season’s best time. Had he just equaled his previous mark, he would have finished in the mid teens.
“Kohl did a great job, but it only moved him up from third to second,” Smith said.
“Kohl, Braden and Jeremy could not really enjoy their medal award ceremony because of their disappointment in the team results,” he continued. “That’s life, and that’s sports. You can work hard, do everything to the best of your ability, and still not get the results you want. It is not a fun lesson to learn. Since I have coached so long, I have been on both sides of the results, but for our seniors, it was a tough day.
“It will take a while to get over it, but they will,” Smith said. “They will face other disappointments in life and this one will seem minor.”
Other highlights: Works improved his time by more than a minute from a race on the same course two weeks earlier, while Isaiah Fawson, improved his projected finish by at least seven places, Smith said.
Of the top five freshman runners, three were from Iola, Plumleee, Fawson and Kendall Jay.
Abigail Taylor, a strong favorite to win the league title, aggravated a knee injury she suffered two weeks ago, and took fourth in the 4k with a time of 17:13.
Taylor had defeated Wellsville’s Lauren McDaniel, Thursday’s winner, by more than 30 seconds earlier at Central Heights two weeks earlier.
“Abigail was the runner-up last year, came to all of the summer workouts, and it was her time,” Smith said. “She deserved the gold medal, but that did not happen, either.”
Smith likely will keep Taylor out of next week’s Class 4A regional meet in Ottawa.
“No way can she continue to irritate the already bad knee problem,” Smith said. “She has to totally stop and hope it doesn’t bother her next race.”
The girls had two other highlights. Megan Klubek reached her goal of earning all-league by placing eighth with a time of 17:36. Shannon Vogel finished 22nd with a time of 19:35. “Her goal was to break the 20-minute barrier,” Smith said.
The top 10 runners earned all-league honors. With only three entrants, Iola did not receive a team score.
Anderson County’s girls placed seven runners among the top 11 finishers to easily win the team title. “And none of those girls are seniors,” Smith said.
Bret Plumlee won the seventh-grade boys race, finishing the mile in 5:56. Jack Eyster was fourth at 6:17 and Jaxson Wiltse was fifth at 6:21.
Natalie DeGrado took third among seventh-grade girls at 6:45, improving her time by 23 seconds. Chloe Hageman took fourth in 7:15.
1. Anderson County, 46; 2. Iola, 47; 3. Wellsville, 80; 4. Osawatomie, 102; 5. Prairie View, 103; 6. Central Heights, 132.
1. Chase Bouse, Wellsville, 16:52.5
2. Kohl Endicott, 17:10.6
6. Braden Plumlee, 18:17.4
7. Jeremy Spears, 18:19.5
13. Michael Wilson, 18:59.4
19. Colby Works, 19:21.1
20. Isaiah Fawson, 19:27.8
21. Blaine Klubek, 19:31.9
25. Travis Hermstein, 19:35.5
26. Jacob Cooper, 19:39.4
27. Bryan Mueller, 19:39.4
31. Kendall Jay, 20:04.5
41. Thomas Elder, 21:07.0
43. Tyler Holloway, 21:19.3
52. Yohon Sinclair, 22:12.1
56. Ankit Gandhi, 22:36.5
65. Isaiah Gawlas, 23:57.9
Varsity girls (4k)
1. Anderson County, 20; 2. Wellsville, 58; 3. Osawatomie, 62
1. Lauren McDaniel, Wellsville, 16:37.8
4. Abigail Taylor, 17:13.4
8. Megan Klubek, 17:36.1
22. Shannon Vogel, 19:35.1
Seventh grade boys (1 mile)
1. Bret Plumlee, 5:56.7
4. Jack Eyster, 6:17.6
5. Jaxson Wiltse, 6:21.8
12. Jacob Burcham, 7:12.6
Seventh grade girls (1 mile)
3. Natalie DeGrado, 6:45.6
4. Chloe Hageman, 7:15.5
Pioneer League titles just out of Iola runners’ reach
