​Eagles cross country boys take second, girls fifth at home meet

by Michael Smith


The Grain Valley boys cross country team has a good amount of inexperienced runners, so there hasn’t been any major team victories in 2024.

However, at Saturday’s Sock It To Cancer 5K race at Grain Valley North Middle School, the Eagle boys had an impressive showing. Grain Valley finished second as a team with 56 points in the pink (large school) division. Platte County was first with 51 and Kearney was third with 59.

“We lost Rylan Smith and Adrian Bobzien last year,” senior Landon Barnes said. “That has been a hit to our depth. Landon (Blew) has really stepped up and taken their place. A lot of the success we have had has been individual. We have a young team but have a lot of potential.”

Barnes led the way by being the top individual finisher. He took first place with a time of 16:13.50. The key for him was run hard near the end of the second mile of the race, where the rolling hills are on the course.

“I have run here since I was in seventh grade,” Barnes said. “It’s an honor to come out here and represent Grain Valley. I am proud of my teammates and myself.

“There’s a lot of rolling hills on the second mile. I was sitting on those top guys. When we got to those hills, they would lean back a little and slow down. I would then attack it and go past them.”

Junior Landon Blew noted that he took a similar approach as Barnes, and it worked out for him. He finished fifth 16:45.80.

“With this being our home course, we know it well. It’s like a home field advantage. We attack those hills hard. I don’t think other teams expect us to attack them hard.”

Rounding out the top five for the Eagles were senior David Roberson in 10th (17:16.20), senior Tyler Melton in 18th (18:09.50) and sophomore Jackson Edwards in 22nd (18:25.30).

Girls

On the girls side, Grain Valley finished fifth out of eight teams with 110 points. Blue Springs won with 57.

Senior Amyah Graybill led the way for the Eagles as she took eighth with a time of 21:08.80. She said her time wasn’t as good as her last two races and admitted the weather had an effect on her race.

“It’s very hot out,” Graybill said.  “I (had a personal record) in my last two races. The course is awfully hilly.

“We have a young team, but we get along really well. I am excited to see how they do the next few years when I am gone.”

Others finishing in the top five for Grain Valley were freshman Annabella Turner in 11th (21:42.40), senior Jordan Gossage in 20th (22:31), sophomore Emma Blew in 38th (23:44.70) and senior Clara DeMoro in 42nd (23:52.50).  

Junior Landon Blew, left, and senior Landon Barnes finished in fifth and first place, respectively, to help the Grain Valley boys cross country team take second place at the Sock It To Cancer meet Saturday at Grain Valley North Middle School. Photo credit: Michael Smith