DesotoExplorer.com / Mill Valley's Lee, Matlack capture Kaw Valley crowns

Archive for Thursday, December 28, 2000

December 28, 2000

From Oct. 19, 2000

Griffin Lee and Angie Matlack each won Kaw Valley League titles and Mill Valley High School's boys and girls teams each walked away with second-place team finishes at last Thursday's Kaw Valley league cross country meet in Tonganoxie.

Mill Valley's Griffin Lee took the Kaw Valley cross country championship.

"We competed well," said Matlack, a senior who finished the 2-mile course in 12:17.

High winds made a difference, slowing the runners down and increasing their times a bit, Lee said.

"It affected my overall race because I had to use a different strategy," Lee said. "Under the windy conditions, I couldn't really go out fast because I could have fatigued early."

Coach Mark Chipman hopes last week's performance will give the Jaguars the confidence needed for Saturday's regional meet in Ottawa.

"We hope to get both teams qualified," Chipman said. "We'll just have to run very well again."

Running against strong competition is good experience for bigger meets, Lee said.

"The competition is tough right now because these are some of the most important meets," he said.

The Jaguar boys team finished a distant second to host Tonganoxie with 60 points. Matt Hall finished fourth, while Jay Matlack took home ninth-place honors.

DeSoto's Chad Johnson finished fifth for the Wildcats, who did not have enough runners to field a team.

In the girls competition, the Jaguars finished just behind Lansing. Hillary Johnson took third, while Tina Wiggins was sixth and Aubrey Hale eighth.

Katie David and Laurie Wilson took 14th and 15th, respectively, to lead DeSoto.