Panther girls earn third-place trophy
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
AUGUSTA – The Great Bend girls believe in the power of prayer. Panther coach Lyles Lashley believes in the power of positive thinking.
The Panther girls gathered together and prayed they’d win a 5A state cross country trophy. Lashley coached them to think big – meaning a 5A state cross country championship.
Great Bend’s runners ran career bests with a third-place finish (78) that nearly surprised 5A state champion Mill Valley (71) and runner-up St. Thomas Aquinas (73) on a perfect autumn morning.
Emilia Diaz (19:38.2) earned 16th-medalist honors and Marissa Boone (19:39.3) placed as 17th-medalist. They were joined by 21st-place Addy Nicholson, 19:47.3; 25th-place Eliana Beckham, 19:56.4; 30th-place Diane Alvarez, 20:04.1; 33rd-place Emma Loomis, 20:07.1.
Lashley thinks outside the box. He charted a way the Panthers could win the 5A state trophy.
“Our ultimate goal was to win the state trophy,” Lashley said. “To be seven points from first and five points from second, it was pretty cool. We needed five girls under 20 minutes and almost got that. The only people who believed we could win was us. If you beat the eastern schools, it’ s all the better. But It’s nice to bring back some hardware.”
Lashley said the Panthers were close
“The girls laid their hearts out and gave it everything they had,” he said. “I’m very happy with them. We ran seven personal records today.”
As usual, Diaz led the way.
“Everyone brought their best game today,” she said. “We ran our hardest. It was a fun course to run with wild turns. It was a tough race in spots, but we competed well.”
Freshman Boone was the Panthers’ biggest surprise. The tiny warrior ran her heart out.
“We prepared for this day from day 1,” she said. “We tried our best. We were hoping for a state win with all the work we put in. We started together and eventually went our separate ways. Emilia and I broke off and started passing people.”
Like her teammates, Boone has a personal best time.
“It was my personal record today,” she said. “My coach believed I could finish top 20, but I didn’t believe it until I got here.”
5A AUGUSTA
5A GIRLS TEAM SCORES—1—Mill Valley 71; 2—St. Thomas Aquinas 73; 3—Great Bend 78; 4—Topeka Seaman 114; 5—Wichita Carroll 127; 6—St. James Academy 154; 7—Maize South 177; 8—Kapaun Mt. Carmel 182; 9—Emporia 205; 10—Hays 279; 11—Leavenworth 304; 12— Basehor-Linwood 338
TOP 20 MEDALISTS—1—Schwartzkopf, MV, 17:51.8; 2—Hanson, KC Piper, 18:33.3; 3—Caldwell, MV, 18:47.0; 4—Krebs, Aquinas, 18:50.9; 5—Jackson, Carroll, 18:58.0; 6—Druse, Seaman, 19:10.4; 7—Landrum, DeSoto, 19:19.2; 8—Ross, BVSW, 19:25.2; 9—Ecord, Maize, 19:27.6; 10—Wilhite, Emporia, 19:27.9; 11—Kelly, MS, 19:27.9; 12—
Lahner, Spring Hill, 19:29.8; 13—Forbes, Carroll, 19:30.2; 14—Bundt, DeSoto, 19:31.6; 15—McAfee, MV, 19:34.1; 16—Emilia Diaz, GB, 19:38.2; 17—Marissa Boone, GB, 19:39.3; 18—Martin, Carroll, 19:40.1; 19—Menghini, St. James, 19:41.4; 20—Spinello, Aquinas, 19:47
GREAT BEND—21—Addy Nicholson, 19:47.3; 25—Eliana Beckham, 19:56.4; 30—Diane Alvarez, 20:04.1; 33—Emma Loomis, 20:07.1.
