BUFFS’ CROSS COUNTRY: Friday, Sept. 18, 2020
With all five runners placing in the top 15, the Garden City Buffaloes’ boys cross country team edged rival Dodge City for the Hays Invitational title which was run over the Sand Plum layout outside Victoria, Kansas.
The Buffaloes finished with 44 points to slip past Dodge City’s 46 points, which countered Dodge City’s one-point win two weeks ago at Great Bend.
Devin Chappel and Brody Hoff led the way with fourth and fifth-place finishes with times of 17:06.0 and 17:10.0 over the 5-kilometer layout. Salina Central’s William Griffin took the gold medal with a time of 16:47.5.
Evan Gurrola and Kenji Craig were not far behind in 10th and 11th place with times of 17:56.6 and 18:02.1. But it was the effort of Isaiah Casados that made the final difference in the points, as he placed 14th with a time of 18:25.8. Dodge City’s final counting finish was 16th. Dodge City had placed runners in second, third and 12th and 13th.
In the girls division, Garden City sophomore Jocelyn Sosa continued her duels with Dodge City’s Serenity Larson, with the Lady Red Demon coming out on top this time with a time of 19:51.8 to Sosa’s 20:16.8. Sosa was the only top 10 finisher for the Lady Buffs, who placed fourth in the six-team event. Dodge City won with 31 points while Hays and Salina South took second and third with 47 and 73 points, respectively.
Maria Balderas and Samantha Orozco placed 19th and 20th with times of 22:24.1 and 22:31.1. Selah Hageman was 25th in 23:08.7 while Andrea Hernandez was right behind in 26th place with a time of 23:08.8. Anna Lobmeyer rounded out the team’s effort in 34th with a time of 24:07.3.
The Buffs, who would normally be competing at the Rim Rock Invitational in Lawrence a week from Saturday, will instead compete next Tuesday at the Ulysses Invitational before traveling to Newton on Oct. 3. The remainder of their season schedule includes El Dorado on Oct. 10 and the WAC on Oct. 15 before regionals the third week of October.
Garden City High School 