Olpe, Heights win state championships

The Emporia Gazette

Heights, the defending Class 3A girls´ cross country state champion, and Olpe, the defending 2-1A title-holder, both raced to repeat performances at the Wamego Country Club.

The Wildcats held off Southwestern Heights, winning by seven points with 86. Olpe registered 43 points, 67 less than runner-up Osborne.

Both teams did it with youth, as Heights has just one senior and Olpe has none.

Olpe´s only loss this year was to Heights, and the Eagles were ranked third in the state entering the meet.

“We knew we could do well, but we did not expect to run the way we did and win so big,” said Olpe coach Tom Camien.

The team showed it maybe should have been ranked higher, as three Olpe runners placed in the top 14 and five in the top 30.

Michelle Stueve, one of four freshmen on the Olpe team, fell just short of winning the individual title. Stueve led entering the final 100 meters, but Osborne´s Ashley Noel edged her by 0.34 seconds.

Stueve was followed in 10th by Mandy Cole and 14th by Allison Samuels.

Heights was paced by Amy VanGundy, who was fifth, and Kari Robidou (13th) and Ashley Johnson (14th).

Lebo finished third in the 2-1A competition, led by a 37th-place finish from Nichole Combes and a 42nd-place showing from Megan Novotny.

n The Class 3A race was won by Erin Mortimer, who made it six titles in a row for the Mortimer family. She posted the fastest time in any class, covering the 2-mile course in 11 minutes, 32.50 seconds.

Erin´s sister, Amy, won four straight crowns from 1995-98.

n While Lyndon did not compete as a team in the Class 3A competition, the Osburn sisters and Paige Richister did represent the school with strong finishes.

Desiraye Osburn placed seventh with a time of 12:36.20, while sister Jesi Osburn placed 12th in 12:45.70. Richister finished 39th.

Class 4A Meet

Team scores ­ 1. El Dorado 61; 2. Baldwin 74; 3. Clay Center 110; 4. Chaparral 148; 5. Concordia 160; 6. Hayden 165; 7. Mill Valley 171; 8. Lansing 188; 9. Coffeyville 201; 10. Labette County 202; 11. Ulysses 206; 12. Santa Fe Trail 338.

Top 15 ­ 1. Megan Noonan (Baldwin), 11:52.24; 2. Brittany Hill (Hugoton), 12:02.98; 3. Lisa Morrisey (Ottawa), 12:14.42; 4. Kara Griffith (El Dorado) 12:15.72; 5. Jamie Lyle (Parsons), 12:20.10; 6. Andrea Meierhoff (Ulysses), 12:20.92; 7. Erica Ogle (Baldwin), 12:25.49; 8. Ashley Kimble (Mulvane), 12:27.66; 9. Stacy Marshall (Hayden), 12:28.22; 10. Chelsey Horkman (Concordia), 12:28.85; 11. Kristi Parry (Chase County), 12:29.33; 12. Kelly Burdette (Lyons) 12:35.10; 13. Michelle Brenner (Coffeyville), 12:40.11; 14. Laura Artman (ED), 12:40.70; 15. Seana Griffith (ED), 12:43.34.

Class 3A Meet

Team scores ­ 1. Northern Heights, 86; 2. Southwestern Heights, 93; 3. Mission Valley, 105; 4. Mt. St. Scholastica, 113; 5. Hoisington, 129; 6. Wellsville, 164; 7. Halstead, 173; 8. Riley County, 184; 9. Sabetha, 193; 10. Horton, 205; 11. Wakeeney, 232; 12. Trinity Academy, 285.

Top 15 ­ 1. Erin Mortimer (Riley County), 11:32.50; 2. Blair Spencer (MV), 12:07.14; 3. Ashley Chapman (Royal Valley), 12:12.17; 4. Erin Locke (Wakeeney), 12:23.16; 5. Amy VanGundy (NH), 12:26.54; 6. Trista Barnett (SWH), 12:31.79; 7. Desiraye Osburn (Lyndon), 12:36.20; 8. Megan McClain (Lakin), 12:39.16; 9. Rachel Boyd (Medicine Lodge), 12:39.91; 10. Tina Todd (MV), 12:40.57; 11. Leah Cox (Halstead), 12:45.08; 12. Jesi Osburn (Lyndon), 12:45.70; 13. Kari Robidou (NH), 12:46.32; 14. Ashley Johnson (NH), 12:46.91; 15. Hope Inglehart (Wells), 12:47.75.

Other area results ­ Lyndon: 39. Paige Richister, 13:18.23. Northern Heights: 34. Morgan Howard, 13:12.84; 59. Brenda Pracht, 13:49.08; 60. Megan Hedberg, 13:51.11; 66. Sarah Lockyear, 14:01.33.

Class 2-1A Meet

Team scores ­ 1. Olpe, 43: 2. Osborne, 110; 3. Lebo, 135; 4. Dighton, 138; 5. Syracuse, 139; 6. Stanton County, 146; 7. Hill City, 160; 8. Oxford, 165; 9. Remington, 186; 10. Northern Valley, 198; 11. Pratt-Skyline, 243; 12. Hanover, 244.

Top 15 ­ 1. Ashley Noel (Osborne), 12:15.99; 2. Michelle Stueve (Olpe), 12:16.33; 3. Becky Nelsen (South Gray), 12:20.01; 4. Jolene Mick (Osborne), 12:30.61; 5. Aniessa Slack (Oxford), 12:33.44; 6. Maggie Foss (Hutch-Trinity), 12:35.05; 7. Tonya Newton (Sacred Heart), 12:40.86; 8. Courtney Edmonds (McLouth), 12:45.61; 9. Christina Green (Hutch-Trinity), 12:50.35; 10. Mandy Cole (Olpe), 12:51.78; 11. Mackenzie Ostmeyer (NV), 12:53.65; 12. Adriane Ohlde (Linn), 12:54.64; 13. Abbie Obermueller (Lincoln), 13:00.07; 14. Allison Samuels (Olpe), 13:01.33; 15. Sarah Astle (St. John), 13:03.45.

Other area results ­ Lebo: 37. Nichole Combes, 13:44.07; 42. Megan Novotny, 13:49.75; 44. Scarlett Colstrom, 13:53.00; 48. Skye Egan, 13:58.23; 67. Casey Strawder, 14:27.26; 87. Angela Sullivan, 15:41.31. Olpe: 29. Sheila Zeller, 13:25.97; 30. Moncia Zeller, 13:26.45; 68. Cathy Slater, 14:30.46; 69. Natasha Stevenson, 14:31.60.