Great Bend Post Sports
On the girls' side, the Class 5A ranks have been dominated in recent years by the likes of Lenexa's St. James Academy and Overland Park. A pair of Wichita private schools are making their push back into the top of the class. At Saturday's The Rush at Brown Thrush Invitational in Wichita, Bishop Carroll edged Kapaun by three spots for the win with 45 points. Great Bend scored 52 points for third place, 60 spots ahead of fourth-place De Soto.
Bishop Carroll sophomore Gwen Sattler won the girls' race by 23 seconds in 18:42. Five of the top eight runners hailed from Carroll or Kapaun.
All five Great Bend scorers finished in the top 15. Junior Sienna Smith broke up the monopoly in seventh place with a time of 19:22.67 to miss fifth place by just three seconds. Junior Reese Bullard ran ninth in 19:36.53, followed by senior Marissa Boone in 10th in 19:40.40, and sophomore Teegan Guerra in 11th in 19:53.60. Sophomore Bella Long scored the final team points in 15th in 20:17.56. Sophomore Teah King finished 18th in 20:40.87. Senior Kate Welcher placed 30th in 21:37.83, just ahead of freshman Samantha Negaard in 31st with a time of 21:40.47. Freshman Alyssa Prendergrast finished 68th in 24:18.14, and freshman Sydney James ran 82nd in 25:59.55.
Private schools also dominated the boys' side with Kapaun scoring just 26 points for the win. Bishop Carroll, with 48 points, was the only other team to finish under 100 points. Great Bend scored 185 points to miss sixth-place Wichita East by 11 spots.
Kapaun junior Daniel Enriquez won the race by 27 seconds in 15:12. Junior Tavon Stroup paced the Panthers in 17th with a time of 16:47.41. Senior Diego Pasos ran 40th in 17:49.47, and sophomore Anthony Lawrence finished 43rd in 18:08.01. A pair of freshmen capped team scoring with Isaac Aldana placing 18:31.23, and Brogan Lashley finished a half second behind him in 18:31.76. Sophomore Parker Coleman ran 73rd in 18:52.45, and freshman Sullivan Luttrell crossed in 18:54.58 for 76th. Freshman Noah Kaiser placed 92nd in 19:42.44, and freshman Randy Weber finished 96th in 19:49.78. Freshman Lennon Johnson finished 114th in 20:50.92, freshman Alexis Garcia placed 118th in 21:37.65, and junior Monte Velasco ran 120th in 21:44.96.