RICHMOND — Saturday’s light, persistent rain, with temps struggling to get out of the 40s, featured just enough of a breeze to make umbrellas more hindrance than protective cover.
Peyton Schmidt loved every second of it.
“It was miserable but tolerable,” Schmidt said. “Actually, it was kind of terrible, but other than that, it was probably my favorite race of the season.”
The gloomy weather belied the high drama that unfolded at the Class 1A Regional Cross Country meet, hosted by Central Heights High School.
Schmidt led the way for the Lady Lancers, taking third overall, followed by teammates Josie Walter in 12th, Aubrey Allen in 13th and Kallei Robb in 17th.
It turned out Robb’s finish was just as crucial as her older teammates.
The lone sophomore on the Lady Lancers squad passed Centralia’s Riley Broxterman in the race’s final stretch to secure her 17th-place finish.
That was just enough to give the Lady Lancers a razor-thin, one-point team victory over Centralia, 25 points to 26.
It took about 15 minutes until after the race ended for the final scores to be announced, giving the exhausted and muddy runners a full sense of both elation and relief.
It also marked a clean sweep for seniors Schmidt, Walter and Allen, who teamed up to win regionals all four years of high school.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” Crest head coach Kaitlyn Cumming said. “They all fought so hard and laid it all out there. It’s just a surreal feeling, knowing it’s the final regional for these girls.”
The runners won’t get to think about regionals for long as they prepare for the final race of the season, and one more shot at a state title this Saturday at the 1A State Cross Country Meet in Wamego.
“I haven’t even really been thinking about it,” Schmidt admitted. “It hasn’t hit me yet that we have just one more race.”
SATURDAY’s race marked the final competition of the year for Crest’s boys, led by Dagan Denny, who took 24th.
Marmaton Valley’s Wildcats also competed at the 1A meet. Brayden Endicott took 22nd in the boys race, while Sophia Heim took 26th in the girls race.
In Class 2A, Humboldt’s runners also competed at Central Heights. Aspen Wimsett’s 31st place finish headlined the Lady Cub runners, while Jack Works took 54th to lead Humboldt’s contingent in the boys race.
