The boys Class 4 Sectional 4 race this Saturday at Longview Community College offers a chance for a changing of the guard in KC cross country circles.
LS North and LS West have combined to win the last five Sectional 4 titles, which is as long as I've been watching the races. But this year, Rockhurst - the No. 2-ranked squad in Missouri by Big River Running - appears poised to break that streak.
Which brings me to four questions, and my attempt at providing some answers, to what's ahead on Saturday.
1. OK, so will Rockhurst follow up its victory at District 7 last week to win the Sectional title and show it's ready to charge toward a top-three finish at next week's Class 4 State Meet?
The Hawklets certainly have the top runner (defending Class 4 State ChampZach Herriott) to do just that, along with a really good crew right behind him (Ryan McAnany, Van Schloegel and Tanner Shuey). Herriott is the No. 1-ranked runner by Big River Running; McAnany is 14th on that list.
Rockhurst also has the depth to have a number of varsity runners compete hard to fill the Nos. 4 and 5 scoring positions. And as I noted on the girls Sectional 4 post, the lower-end varsity runners for several teams will have a lot to say about who makes it to the State Meet - and who stays home.
2. So which other teams also have a good chance to get to State - and maybe even edge ahead of Rockhurst with a strong performance on Saturday?
As they showed at the District 7 runnerup finish last week, the LS North Broncos (the defending State champs, after all) not only have a solid top runner (No. 12-ranked Kolton Sheldon) but also some depth that should make them a favorite to make it back to State. Corey Wheaton-Werle has performed very capably in recent races, along with Wesley Turner and Will Thomas.
Of course, don't forget perennial local power Liberty, which edged LS North for the Suburban Gold Conference team title and then won the District 8 race last week. The Bluejays are led by the best KC area runner I (unfortunately) have not seen this year, Shannon Hall. Hall, the state's No. 9-ranked runner, won the Gold Conference Meet and the District 8 race as well. Other Liberty runners likely will pack closely together, giving Liberty a low score potential. They include Nick Gardner, Zach Pixler, Danny Alvey, James Brizendine, Kyle Bremer andTy Cogdill.
I'm looking for Blue Springs to come through as well at Sectionals. The Wildcats certainly have a superb top runner in No. 11-ranked Simon Belete (runnerup to Hall at the Gold Conference Meet and runnerup to Herriott at District 7 last week.) But Blue Springs this year has more depth than it's had in several years, paced by James Barnett and Stephen Mugeche.
3. Who else are good bets to make it into the top 30, which makes up the list of automatic State qualifiers?
That list includes Joe Walton of Park Hill, 13th-ranked Michael McCulloch of Staley, Austin Clowes of LS West, Jason Fambrough of Raymore-Peculiar, Zac Miller and Jeff Bachman of St. Joseph Central, Liban Samatar of Oak Park andTucker Melles (White Conference champion) of Park Hill South.
4. Finally, will a new Longview course record get set on Saturday?
(photo: Herriott breaking Forest Park record earlier this season)
Rockhurst's Herriott holds that record, at 15:24.71, which he set last year in edging Devon Young of Raymore-Peculiar by six seconds. If Herriott is pushed again, I could see that record falling, either to Herriott or to another runner peaking at just the right time of the 2011 cross country season.
Good luck to all on Saturday.