Some of the top runners from Mid-Missouri and the Kansas City area converged on Jesse James Park on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Kearney.
Two parochial schools stood out during the boys and girls races and two state title contenders picked up wins at the Kearney Invitational.
Recent Oklahoma State pledge Elyse Wilmes ran 19:05.30 to take first place for Father Tolton Regional Catholic, a winning margin by 9 seconds.
Teammates Makaylin Viet was fourth and Madison Taylor was fifth. The three in the top 10 helped the Trailblazers easily win the team title with 40 points. St. Teresa's Academy was next with 64 and in a distance third was Staley, which had 104 points in the standings that featured 19 teams.
Ninth graders Kelly Frank of Notre Dame de Sion and Caroline Bowen from St. Teresa's were second and third, respectively. Staley's top runner was Audrey Richter, who was 9th overall.
Defending Class 1 champion Mya Wray took seventh place for Platte Valley - the co-op between South Nodaway and Jefferson (Conception Junction) high schools.
The top 10 also featured Daisy Burnam of Kearney, Eva Garlich of Lee's Summit West and Ellie Eastman from Hickman.
Rockhurst dominated the top 10 in the boys race with three in the range, but with only four runners they did not qualify for the team hunt.
Senior Henry Acorn posted his fourth win this season and this third in a row for the Hawklets, running 15:41.30. He held off Lee's Summit's Hunter DeLeeuw for first by 6 seconds.
Returning all-stater Kai Somasegaran was eighth and Justin Waldron took ninth for Rockhurst.
With only four Hawklets running, that opened the door and Lee's Summit West won the team title with 74 points. Kaden Deain was fifth and Landon Wegleitner was seventh for the Titans, with a three-second gap between them.
Paced by Isheanesu Nziramasanga's fourth-place finish, Liberty North took second place with 101 points. That was two points better than Lee's Summit in the 20-team standings.
The top 10 also featured Liam Adair of Smithville (third), Luke Thompson from Chillicothe (sixth) and Aidan Kemnitzer of Lincoln College Prep (10th).