5A Girls Preseason Cross Country Rankings

Class 5A is going to be plain fun to watch this year with several great storylines already on the table. Lets jump right into the team rankings.

Team Rankings

1. St. Thomas Aquinas – Last Year’s Score and Place: 74 - 1st Returners: 74 – 1st
This is a close one. There are a ton of returners in 5A and there will be a definite separation between the top six or seven teams and the rest of the field. Aquinas was the champion last season and this year should be no different with four top 25 runners returning from last year’s championship team. Leading the pack, like she has for three years, will be senior Ashley Washburn. Washburn is a three-time runner-up in her time at Aquinas. Amanda Pigott and Betsy Donahue are both in the top 20 returning runners.

2. Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Last Year: 84-2nd Scoring Returners: 129-3rd
Don’t be fooled by the low returner score. Katie Hand took last as a sophomore last season, but is top seven capable if she runs to her abilities. Head-to-head last year she beat the likes of Great Bend’s Rubi Torres (fifth at 5A state XC), Kristen Sponsel of Carroll (14th at 5A state) and Molly Milbourn (Class 4A State XC Champion). Hand has the ability to give the Crusaders a legitimate number two runner. Mackenzie Maki returns and there is no reason to doubt that she could be the champion once again. Her biggest competition likely will come from a freshman (more on that later). The difference is going to be all on Caroline Kastor. Kastor is a soccer star for the Crusaders and ran well for Kapaun through the Oklahoma State Jamboree, but then disappeared from results. I am not sure why that happened, but if she comes back then watch out. Kastor ran only six seconds back of Ark City’s Valerie Bland (6th at 5A state) early last season. Then at OSU she was 34th out of 163 with a time of 12:29 for the two-mile. That is three girls with top 10 potential. If Maki, Hand and Kastor all step to the line at state this year, the Crusaders will win the title, but until the uncertainties are answered the defending champs get the nod.

3. Bishop Carroll – Last Year: 165 – 5th Scoring Returners – (Only four return)
Kaelyn Balch. Get to know the name if you are a fan of running in the state of Kansas. Balch stepped to the line at the River Run in Wichita last year close to the end of her eighth grade year and ran a 36:36 10 kilometer race to take 13th overall. That is 5:53 per mile for a 14-year-old girl. Over 2,000 runners stepped to the line for the River Run and Balch finished before all but 12 of them. That same pace converts out to a 14:32 pace for the 4-kilometer distance. If Balch can hold her 10k pace from May this Halloween, then she will at the least be the runner-up (Maki won with a time of 15:12). Carroll always has a solid team and adding a runner like Balch gives them the edge over the next team on this list. The top four from last season’s state team return, including 14th place finisher Kristen Sponsel.

4. Great Bend – Last Year: 102-2nd Scoring Returners: 78-2nd
Great Bend returns all seven from last season’s third place team. It returns a front runner in Rubi Torres (fifth place last season). There is a lot to like about this team, but its lack of performance on the track this spring scares me. Great Bend did not qualify a single girl for state track in a distance event. Torres did play soccer last spring and number four runner Erin Sullivan did swim team instead and Heilman did track, but failed to make state in the mile. For the other four girls they are unaccounted for. If the girls are in shape and healthy then they will battle Carroll, but I still like Carroll’s supporting cast better this season even though Great Bend is proven.

5. Emporia – Last Year: 170 – 7th Scoring Returners: 136 – 4th
Emporia’s story is much the same as Great Bend. A host of young girls return from last season’s team (the top six to be exact). Jenna Stanbrough is back after her 11th place finish last season. She had a solid season on the track with showings in the 800 and 1600 at the 5A state meet.

Individual Rankings

1. Mackenzie Maki – Kapaun, Junior
This season is going to be fun to watch with Balch and Maki going head-to-head five times before region. They will likely meet up seven total times. Maki gets the nod as the defending state champion and after her stellar performance on the track this last spring.

2. Kaelyn Balch – Carroll, Freshman
Some will say Balch is too unproven to get this high of a rank, but 36:36 in the 10k speaks for itself. To put that in perspective, she was less than a minute slower than two runners who did the 10k at the USA National Championships in late June. Those ladies are professional runners who were peaked and running on the track. Her and Maki should develop a great rivalry.

3. Ashley Washburn – Aquinas, Senior
She has never been here before with her three consecutive second place finishes, but Washburn will just be a victim of bad timing with young runners transferring and moving into high school in her latter years of high school.

4. Paige Miller – Pittsburg, Senior
Yes you read that right, Miller is down in Pittsburg now. She transferred after running at Valley Center for her first three years. She was third last season and I don’t see any reason that trend does not continue.

5. Brooke Vining – Valley Center, Senior
This is the only way that Miller and Vining can finish their high school careers. They have been mentioned in the same breath for three years, but now are at separate schools. The state cross country meet will be the first time they meet and you can bet the fierce rivals will be amped up to race each other one more time at Rim Rock.

What class ranking do you want to see next? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending an e-mail to cparker@kwch.com.