Jayhawks' Long, Craig qualify for 2A State

MOUND CITY -- Jayhawk-Linn senior Meriel Long and junior Mason Craig qualified individually for the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet as a result of their finishes at the Jayhawk-Linn Class 2A Regional Meet at Sugar Valley Golf Course here Saturday.

Long finished fourth in the 4-kilometer girls' race with a time of 16 minutes, 44,63 seconds. Katelyn Henderson, a junior from Olpe, was the winner in 15:41.27. Peabody-Burns junior Lauren Pickens was second in 16:23.20 and Shawnee Maranatha Academy senior Bethany Zarda placed third in 16:36.71.

Elbing Berean Academy won the team title with 50 points followed by Maranatha with 55 and Pittsburg Colgan with 66. Long was the only competitor for Jayhawk-Linn.

Craig finished in 18th place in the 5K boys' race with a time if 17:48.37. He was the last of the at-large qualifiers (Those who did not qualify as a member of one of top-three placing teams). Daniel Classan, a sophomore from Berean, was the winner in 16:35.81 followed by senior teammate Arlan Newby in 16:41.60.

Berean won the team title with 29 points. Olpe was second with 57 and Peabody-Burns third with 64.

The girls' race at the State meet will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday. The boys' race will begin at 10 a.m. The Wamego Country Club in Wamego is the site for the Class 2A races as well as the State meets for classes 4A, 3A and 1A.