Stanton Ragland wanted to push himself to the limit over the last part of the Class 4 Sectionals race Saturday at Lake Jacomo.
The Liberty senior did a great job of doing just that, defeating all the other top boys runners in the Kansas City area.
Ragland used a strong final mile to win the boys title in 16:26.98, the 8th fastest time ever on the course. Ragland also now owns the 9th fastest time at Jacomo: He won Sectionals last year in 16:29 as a junior.
"This course is great preparation for State," Ragland said afterward. Asked about his hopes for the State Meet next Saturday in Jefferson City, Ragland said he wanted to finish in the Top 10.
On a sunny, crisp fall day at Jacomo, LS West sophomore Kevin Colon led the first mile through at 5:19. More than 40 runners were within 10 seconds of the lead at that point.
Colon stretched the lead a bit at the 2-mile mark, in10:38. Ragland, senior Philip Hickman of Blue Springs and senior Will Hansen of Oak Park were just a few seconds back.
But Ragland had the lead coming out of the Jacomo woods with 1k to go and never looked back.
"Cross country is all about pushing yourself," said Ragland, who rushed through the final 1,000 meters in about 3:10.
Hickman, a senior, followed Ragland in second place in 16:35.22, the 16th fastest time for the course.
In fact, seniors took eight of the Top 10 places. The exceptions were Colon, who was 3rd in 16:38.4, and Stephen Saylor, a Raytown South junior, who raced home to finish 4th in 16:45.74.
The top freshman finisher was Devon Young of Raymore-Peculiar, who was 14th in 17:09.18.
In the team race, LS West showed why it's one of the top-ranked squads in the Midwest.
The Titans took the crown with 65 points, edging an Oak Park team that had 75 points. Other qualifiers for State were Liberty, with 90 points, and Rockhurst, with 94 points.
The Hawklets' chances of a higher finish were damaged when sophomore Matthew Neisius, often a top-3 runner for Rockhurst, fell after the 1-mile mark. He got up and finished 57th.
But the hard-luck story of the day belonged to St. Joseph Central senior Andy Rivera. He finished 31st in 17:29.90 -- just a half-second behind the 30th automatic qualifying spot for State, which was nabbed by sophomore St. Joe teammate Torin McKinley in 17:29.40.
Besides Colon, other top LS West runners were junior Phil Miller (11th in 16:59.59) and junior Jake Henry (13th in 17:05.78).
Hansen, a senior, led Oak Park with his 6th place finish in 16:51.93. Other top Oak Park team members were junior Matt Stull (12th in 17:03.88) and sophomore Huns Pitia (18th in 17:16.66).
Now it's on to State, where LS West and Oak Park should be among the squads battling for positions in the top 5.
Yael T. Abouhalkah