The Jayhawk-Linn girls and boys cross country teams both took regional championship plaques home on Saturday, Oct. 26. The first-place finish for both teams mean the teams will compete in the state championship meet on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Rim Rock course north of Lawrence. (Photos by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
Editors note: The Jayhawk boys will race at 10:30 a.m. and the girls will race at noon on Saturday, Nov. 2. Allow at least an hour for traffic once you arrive near Rim Rock site. Here is the link for more information: https://www.kshsaa.org/react/fanpage/2967
RICHMOND – Three times this year, both the Jayhawk-Linn girls and boys teams have together taken first place in a cross country meet. They did that again on Saturday morning, Oct. 25, at the Class 3A regional cross country meet hosted by Central Heights.
By doing so, both the boys and girls punched their tickets to the state meet at Rim Rock, the University of Kansas home course, at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Nov. 4. Click here for more information: https://www.kshsaa.org/react/fanpage/2967
The top three teams from each of the regional meets plus the top 15 finishers qualified to compete at the state meet.
According to head coach Shayla Long, everyone on the team set a personal record on Saturday.
"They all did what they had to do and left it on the course," she wrote in an email. "I’m so happy for them! For regionals we talked about we GET to see how high we can place, and I think it’s the same for State. We GET to go see how well we can compete against the best teams in the state. They showed Saturday that they can compete! I’m excited to watch them and I’m so happy that their hard work and dedication this season is paying off."
The girls earned their regional championship plaque with four runners earning individual medals in the top 15 runners and a combined score of 46, 14 points ahead of the Prairie View girls who took the team runner-up plaque with 60 points. (See our separate story.)
The boys team earned their championship plaque with four runners in the top 15 for individual medals and a combined score of 61, six points ahead of runner-up champs Girard, which traditionally has a strong cross country program.
Senior Simon Shillito stays a step ahead of sophomore Kollyn Malinowski as they pass the midway point in the course. Shillito edged Malinowski out at the finish line, coming in at sixth and seventh place respectively.
“It’s been a long time, if ever, Jayhawk has taken a girls and boys team to state,” said head coach Shayla Long in a statement a few days before the regionals.
“The teams this year have done an excellent job,” she said. “We’ve asked them to put more work in than ever before, and I think they’ve seen the positive results of that.”
The finish for the Jayhawk girls gave a glimpse at how strong that team will be for the next three years. Freshman Lily Meyer finished fifth on the 5,000-meter course with a time of 20:46.50, and her classmate Gabby Parsons was less than 10 seconds behind in sixth place with a time of 20:55.70. Junior Adeline Randall came in eighth with a time of 21:17.90, and freshman Allie Thomas was 15th with a time of 21:51.90.
Senior Brylee Dolshal gives an extra kick as she nears the finish line. She finishes her four-year cross country career with a trip to the state meet after turning in a personal best finish at regionals.
Senior Brylee Dolshal extended her high school cross country career in 16th place with a time of 22:11.40, and she was followed by freshman Haelie Wallace in 19th and sophomore Baile Wilson in 40th. Fifty-three runners competed in the girls race.
With the exception of the top runner, senior Simon Shillito, most of the boys team are sophomores, again pointing to the strength of that team for the next few years. Shillito has led the Jayhawk boys in races all season, this time turning in a sixth-place finish with a time of 17:19.20.
Freshman Gabby Parsons pushes through to the finish line, taking sixth place.
However, sophomore Kollyn Malinowski was close behind in seventh place with a time of 17:25.40. Louis Shillito, the sophomore brother to Simon, was 10th with a time of 17:37.00, and freshman Daniel Brake would have qualified for state individually with a 15th place finish at 17:45.80.
Freshman Jayden Mayhugh placed 25th, sophomore Landon Hughes was 26th, and junior Truman Schneider was right behind at 27th. Seventy-four runners completed in the boys race.
Freshman Haelie Wallace powers up a short but very steep hill that runners faced twice during the run.
Freshman Daniel Brake closes the gap on a Columbus runner.
Clenching her fifth-place medal between her teeth freshman Lily Meyer leads the girls team in a "drum roll" as the boys are awarded the first-place plaque.
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