Mother Nature tried to put a damper on the Kansas cross
country scene, and while she was moderately successful, the state's runners
charged on in the last week before championship season gets in full gear.
At least two meets -- the Salina Central Invitational on
Saturday and the Lincoln Invitational on Thursday -- were cancelled due to soggy
late-week conditions and an ominous weekend forecast.
Neither of those slowed Seaman's Maliki Pope and Washburn Rural's Jaybe Shufelberger, who won Topeka City titles Saturday at the speedy
Felker Park course.Pope outdueled Shawnee Heights senior Hunter Henderson to
win the boys' race in 16:50.1. Pope placed 14th in this same meet a year ago, a
nice year-to-year improvement for the junior runner. Henderson, a state
champion in the 1600 meters in 2016, clocked 17:06 on Saturday.
Shufelberger, a junior, successfully defended her City title
with a time of 19:55.9, leading a 1-2-3 finish by Washburn Rural runners.
Senior Amanda Mille...