On Oct 14, the Blue Jay’s Cross Country team won Conference, taking first place in all four 5000m silver division races at KC Suburban Conference at Lee’s Summit North High School.

   “My mindset was very motivated going into this race,” junior Connor Nicholson said. “I felt like I had a lot to prove after two straight races where I wasn’t satisfied with my performance, so I was very motivated to prove myself again.”

   The Men’s Varsity team finished in first place by 22 points with four top ten finishers, including three in the top five. Senior Peyton Willbanks, who broke the school record time for a 5k earlier this year, placed first. Juniors Connor Nicholson, Todd Yeates and Patrick Cleary finished second, fourth and seventh, respectively, while sophomore Colin McKenna finished in eleventh place. 

   “I’m trying to treat Conference like any other race, so not a lot is different with my training leading up to this meet,” Willbanks said. “We are nearing the end of the season though, so I am starting to run less mileage as we prepare for State.”

   The Women’s Varsity team also finished in first but by an even larger margin than the men’s team. They finished 49 points ahead of second place Park Hill South, with juniors Ella Brown, Cambell Grosdidier and Charlotte Timba finished in first, second and fourth, correspondingly. Other finishes included freshman Lily Hurt finishing in seventh and senior Reagan Phillips finishing in ninth.

   “I think the team did as good as they possibly could,” Nicholson said. “Between the boys and girls, we had the top two finishers in each race, varsity and jv, as well as the team championship in both races.”

   The Women’s JV team also finished in first with six runners placing in the top ten. Sophomore Avala Freire finished first, junior Addison McDuffie finished in second and freshman Blake Rogers finished third. The Men’s JV team also finished in first with juniors Jaeger Hicks, Gannon Dermody and Benjamin Tramell finishing in first, second and sixth.

   The team’s next race will be Districts at Staley on Oct 28 and from there they will go to State in Columbia, MO on Nov 4. To keep up with the team’s results, visit the team’s Twitter account, @JaysXC or visit the team’s website here.