Great Bend Post Sports
A fourth-consecutive Western Athletic Conference title. Another Coach of the Year honor for Lyles Lashley. And a second-place finish for the Panther boys. Thursday's cross country race in Hays proved to be a banner one for Great Bend High School runners.
The fifth-ranked Lady Panthers dominated the field for a fourth-straight title, scoring just 22 points on the day. Dodge City finished second with 57 points, and Garden City was the only other team under 110 points with 69.
Garden City senior Cate Wiese ended Great Bend's run of individual titles as Addy Nicholson had won the last two WAC titles. Wiese cruised to Thursday's 4K title in 15:19.97. The Lady Panthers took the next four places and five of the next seven.
Sophomore Teegan Guerra finished second overall in 15:37.32, followed by senior Marissa Boone in 16:08.49 for the bronze, and sophomore Bella Long in fourth in 16:11.98. Junior Sienna Smith ran fifth in 16:28.22, and sophomore Teah King capped team scoring in eighth in 16:58.91. Senior Kate Welcher finished 12 seconds behind her in 10th in 17:10.07, and freshman Samantha Negaard placed 12th in 17:15.84. Alyssa Prendergrast finished in 18:59.42, and Sydney James crossed in 19:52.28.
The Garden City boys had seven of the top-10 finishers to dominate team standings with 18 points. Great Bend scored 64 points for second, followed by Dodge City with 68 points, and Hays with 110 points.
The Buffs had the top three finishers, led by senior Hayden Nemechek in 15:59 for the win by nine seconds. Panther junior Ismael Ramirez ran behind that group in 16:32.73 for fourth, seven seconds off bronze pace. Junior Tavon Stroup placed sixth in 16:38.24, and senior Diego Pasos ran 13th in 17:40.70. Sophomore Anthony Lawrence finished 20th in 18:00.82, and freshman Isaac Aldana rounded out team scoring in 25th in 18:25.22. Freshman Brogan Lashley placed 27th in 18:27.98, followed by freshman Noah Kaiser in 31st in 18:52.28, and sophomore Parker Coleman behind him in 18:53.41. Randy Weber crossed in 19:39.44, and Sullivan Luttrell finished in 19:59.44. Lennon Johnson finished in 20:44.84, Alexis Garcia finished in 21:16.95, and Monte Velasco finished in 21:36.17.
The Panthers take a few extra days off before returning to Lake Barton on Oct. 26 for Class 5A regional action.