Battling the 90-plus-degree heat, Prairie View senior Bree Allen reaches the midpoint of cross country course on Thursday, Sept. 5. Allen would go on to win her first title of the season. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com
GARNETT – Prairie View senior Bree Allen resumed her winning ways on Thursday, Sept. 5, by earning first-place gold at the Anderson County varsity cross country meet on the Garnett Country Club golf course. Allen led her five-member team to a third-place finish in the 5,000-meter event by turning in a time of 20:04.80, 10 seconds ahead of the second-place runner Irelyn Kennedy from Baldwin.
Allen – who holds a Class 3A state championship as a sophomore and a state runner-up championship as a junior in cross country as well as five state titles in distance track events – admitted that the 90-plus degree heat wore on her during the late afternoon run. Her times during cooler weather ran closer to 19 minutes in 2023, however, after the event she said she was satisfied with her first race of the year.
The five members of the third-place girls varsity team wait for the starter's gun. The runners include, from left, Bree Allen, Delanie Fox, Wylie Teagarden, Laramie Stevens and Ryleigh Lueker. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
Ella Needham, a freshman from Paola, set the pace early in the race, pulling Allen and Kennedy along with her. But Needham couldn’t keep up the tempo, falling a minute behind at the finish while the front runners kept their pace.
Prairie View sophomore Laramie Stevens also looked strong throughout the race, turning in a 23:07 time for 12th place and a medal. Buffalo seniors Wylie Teagarden (24:28.50) and Ryleigh Lueker (25:07.60) placed 21st and 22nd respectively, and junior Delanie Fox placed 36th to give the girls a 50-point team score.
Buffalo Breckyn Malin turned in a third-place run in the boys junior varsity race. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
The Buffalo boys varsity team was led by senior Mason Mitzner, who placed 47th in a crowded field with a time of 22:59.10. Senior Ryan Cline turned in a time of 24:39.10 for 56th place on the 5K course.
The boys junior varsity team took a first place team win. Sophomore Breckyn Malin took a third-place medal with a time of 21:39.21, and freshman Gabriel Vitelli came in sixth with a time of 22:23.80. Sophomores Brogan Beattie and Ethan Teagarden also medaled with 11th- and 14th-place finishes respectively. Sophomore Brody Beattie placed 25th with a time of 25:32.90 to give the Buffalos the team win.
Other members of the first-place junior varsity team were Gabriel Vitelli, Brody Beattie, Brogan Beattie, and Ethan Teagarden. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
The Buffalos received 23 points, 15 points ahead of second place Humboldt with 38 points, and 36 points of Santa Fe Trail with 59 points.
In the girls junior varsity race, junior Ella Steinle medaled in 15th place with a time of 29:17.20; sophomore Timberlyn Browning was right behind her in 16th place with a time of 30:25.50; and senior Ashlyn Kennedy placed 20th with a time of 32:22.70.
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