BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
LAKE BARTON – Great Bend's cross country girls, sparked by Addy Nicholson and Makenzie Premer, were properly focused on their teamwork. Salina Central's state champion Katelyn Rupe (17:41.9) won the race and runner-up Kaylie Shultz finished 94 seconds ahead of Nicholson.
The strategy worked perfectly as the Panthers defended their Lake Barton cross country title with 22 points to outdistance Wichita Carroll (75) on the challenging Lake Barton course Thursday.
Nicholson and Premer ran side-by-side most of the race until Premer ran out of energy in the final stretch. She was passed by teammates Marissa Boone (20:12.6) and Eliana Beckham (20:58.6).
Nicholson appreciated the presence of Premer and Boone on the twisting hills and valleys through roll through the rugged terrain.
"It was great when we were running together," Nicholson said. "Having my teammates Kenzie and Marissa next to me was nice. It felt like we were the only ones out there. We were worried about ourselves. We were pleased with what we did today."
Despite a late pratfall, Premer was pleased with her maiden voyage on the 3.1-mile distance. Premer's first race over 800 meters in track proved to be a challenge in 83-degree heat.
"I surprised myself until I fell at the end. That was humbling. My legs turned to Jello," Premer said. "I didn't have the kick I wanted. I finished, which is what I wanted to do. I wasn't about to quit."
Although the race started after 9:30 a.m., the temperature and humidity created tough conditions.
"I was proud of how I came out and ran because that's the farthest distance I've ever run," Premer said. "For my first race, I stayed with Addy and Marissa."
Great Bend coach Lyles Lashley enjoyed seeing most of his runners better their times from 2022.
"I'm pleased with the girls," Lashley said. "They're way ahead of where they started last year. Some of them were 90 seconds ahead of last year. If you run that fast this on this course, that's great because it's a true cross country course."
Lashley said Premer is a rare talent who can run anything from a 100-meter hurdles race to three miles
"Makenzie is a special talent," Lashley said. "She ran step-for-stop with addy Nicholson. She's right where we expect her to be."
3-1A GIRLS – Hoisington's Tristin Compton (22:23.1) ran a solid race to finish two minutes ahead of Ellinwood's Heidi Brauer (25:24.6) to capture the 3-1A girls race. Ellinwood's Allison Ricker (25:36.3) placed third.
LAKE BARTON GIRLS 6-4A (5K)
TEAM SCORES–1–Great Bend 22; 2–Wichita Carroll 75; 3–Salina South 130; 4–Hays High 137; 5–Garden City 162; 6–Maize High 167; 7–Dodge City 172; 8–Liberal 174; 9–Buhler 191; 10–McPherson 217; 11–Derby 256
TOP 10 MEDALISTS–1–Rupe, Salina Central, 17:41.9; 2–Shultz, Salina Central, 18:20.9; 3–Nicholson GB, 19:55.4; 4–Maldonado, Hays, 20:08.7; 5–Boone, GB, 20:12.6; 6–Marin, WC, 20:17.7; 7–Beckham, GB, 20:58.6; 8–Premer, GB, 20:22.7; 9–Smith, GB, 21:01.5; 10–Wendell, WC, 21:15.2
GREAT BEND–15–Beckwith, 21:34.2; 27–Guerra, 22:40.2
LAKE BARTON GIRLS 3-1A (5K)
TOP 10 MEDALISTS–1–Compton, Hoisington, 22:23.1; 2–Brauer, Ellinwood, 25;24.6; 3–Ricker, E, 25:36.3; 4–Kenyon, Otis-Bison, 25:41.0; 5–Rodriguez, OB, 25:49.9; 6–Kaiser, H, 26:56.6; 7–Dombroski, E, 28:16.5; 8–Teichmann, Nickerson, 29:19.0; 9–Reever, OB, 30:25.2; 10–Vera, Sublette, 30:59.5
GIRLS JV (5K)
MEDALIST–1–King, GB, 23:27.4
GREAT BEND–2–Welcher, 23:30.8; 3–Long, 23:32.3
NICKERSON–83–Hall, 33:05.3
GIRLS C TEAM (2 MILE)
MEDALIST–1–Sanchez-Maestas, D< 14:50.6
7TH GIRLS (1 MILE)
MEDALIST–1–Kramer, Mc, 6:44.4
ELLINWOOD–7–Kirkpatrick, 7:03.4; 12–Ringwald, 7:08.4; 15–Vaupel, 7:29.9; 17–Siefers, 7:41.6; 19–Steffan, 7:46.6
GREAT BEND–7–Stein, 6:58.1; 14–Martinez, 7:15.1; 24–Mermis, 8:04.9; 27–Carroll, 8:33.9; 30–Armendariz, 8:43.4; 36–Katie Ney, 9:12.6; 41–Ayala, 9:36.4; 45–Shorae Ney, 10;24.8; 46–Lozoya, 11:26.5
HOISINGTON–5–Mason, 6:56.4; 6–Crawford, 6:57.7
RENO VALLEY–10–Brinkley, 7:05.3;
8TH GIRLS (2 MILES)
MEDALIST–1–Negaard, GB, 14:27.7
ELLINWOOD–5–McCormick, 15:05.1; 6–Borror, 15:06.9; 26–Wesner, 19:26.9
GREAT BEND–11–Moore, 16:03.3; 13–Prendergast, 16:36.9; 19–Cooley, 17:56.1; 23–Sanchez, 19:05.6
RENO VALLEY–10–Ohnmacht, 15:59.6;
