Some extra days off or not, as the reigning Western Athletic Conference champions, and with a win over Garden City to open the 2022 cross country season, the Lady Panthers were the favorite for a repeat title. They did just that Thursday in Garden City, taking the top-two individual spots and placing all five scorers in the top-11. Senior Kaiden Esfeld finished second in the boys' race.
The Lady Panthers finished with 33 points to finish well ahead of second-place Garden City's 52 points. Hays ran third with 71 points.
Junior Addy Nicholson claimed WAC MVP honors with the individual win in 16:16.5, followed by sophomore teammate Marissa Boone with the silver in 16:23.0, still 27 seconds ahead of the third-place runner.
The rest of the Lady Panther scorers packed up. Eliana Beckham placed ninth in 17:21.6, just 0.3 seconds ahead of Morgan Beckwith in 10th. Freshman Sienna Smith scored the final team points in 11th overall in 17:27.5, followed by Reese King in 12th 10 seconds later. Kate Welcher placed 26th in 18:42.4.
Esfeld and Garden City senior Devin Chappel have gone back and forth on the cross country course and track. Esfeld defeated Chappel in the season opener at Lake Barton, but finished second in the WAC finale in 16:23.4. Chappel took the title in 16:15.9. Freshman Tavon Stroup ran 19th for the Panthers in 18:30.9. Bradon Suppes placed 31st in 21:24, and Brantley Vsetecka finished 33rd in 22:06.
The Panthers return home for the Class 5A regional meet at Lake Barton on Oct. 22.