Douglass girls cross country find depth in familiar place
Last season all that was holding the Douglass girls' cross country team back from contending for a Class 3A title was the gap between its fourth and fifth runners.
With the top four back, freshman Suzie Wright has emerged as a candidate to fill out the scoring lineup. It's a familiar name to the Bulldogs — Wright's two older sisters, Savannah and Sarah, are the top runners on the team that finished third in 3A last year.
"They're all three quality runners," Douglass coach Leland Shaffer said. "They're all great to have on the team, but we also have two very good runners back to compliment them in Mackenzie McBeth and Cassie Hollenback."
The two elder Wright sisters return after placing in the top-10 of 3A last season.
"That No. 5 can be just as important as No. 1," Shaffer said. "If you don't have a fifth runner, then other teams can really start to bunch up and beat you that way."
But the youngest Wright has solved those woes, as the Bulldogs have won every meet this season. That has led Shaffer to entering his team in the Crimson division this Saturday in KU's Rim Rock Invitational.
"We've never been to Rim Rock before, so we're in uncharted waters going in," Shaffer said. "But they're very competitive and focused. They really are wanting to have a say-so this year for the state title."
Knowing what it takes — Luca and Liam Trooien-Smith had a pretty good example set for them by their older brother Nikki.
Nikki Trooien-Smith was a key member of the Mulvane teams that won Class 4A for three consecutive years, most recently in 2009. Now Luca, a junior, and Liam, a freshman, look to follow his footsteps.
"I think they both understand what it takes to be successful because they watched Nikki and saw how hard he and those other guys worked," Mulvane coach Dale Landes said. "I think that work ethic has really been passed down to Luca and Liam, those guys put in a lot of time."
As Mulvane transitions to more of a pack mentality, depth is a requirement. The Trooien-Smiths have aided in that.
"That family is just a running family," Landes said. "The father and mother are both very active and run a lot and that's been passed onto their sons."
Similar, but different — It's hard for Maize coach Skeeter Rankins not to compare freshman Deidra Walker to her sister Dani, who graduated in 2010 and is currently running for Lipscomb University.
"Of course in the back of my mind I'm thinking about where Dani was as a freshman," Rankins said. "But I don't expect Deidra to be there. I'll tell you what though, she's not that far off."
Deidra Walker made her high school debut last week at the Southeast Invitational, placing ninth in a time of 16:10. She will compete in the Gold division at Rim Rock this weekend with the Eagles.
Brotherly rivalry — Being twin brothers, there is a natural rivalry between Goddard sophomores Jacob and Joseph Newman.
The twins nearly always finish within seconds of each other.
Both set personal-best times at the Southeast Invitational. Joseph was 23rd in 17:38, while Jacob was two seconds behind him in 24th.
"I think it makes them both better because they are twins and they do compete with each other," Goddard coach Mel Hussey said. "They don't get angry. It doesn't matter who wins, as long as they keep getting better."