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Soucie 18th At 4A State

Sports

Written by David Wolman

Wednesday, 04 November 2009 07:00

WAMEGO, Kan. — Osawatomie senior Brendan Soucie usually has one good kick left in him in the final half-mile of a cross country race.

He needed one Saturday.

Osawatomie senior Brendan Soucie paces himself as he passes a group of spectators during Saturday’s Class 4A state cross country meet in Wamego. He placed 18th to earn his first state medal. (photo by David Wolman)

Heading into the final 400 meters of the Class 4A 5-kilometer boys’ state cross country run at Wamego Country Club, he wasn’t exactly sure what place he was in. He knew was fighting for a medal, which are awarded to the top 20 finishers, so he had to dig into the reserves and find some energy to finish the race strong.

“I thought I was 21st,” he said. “Coach (Amber) Campbell told me I had to pass the kid in front of me to get a medal. Once I made that last turn, I gutted it out.”

Turns out, Soucie was actually in a better position than he originally thought, although it was still a little too close for comfort. He was in 19th, and with one final kick as he neared the finish line, he passed a runner and placed 18th in a time of 17 minutes, 27.82 seconds.
The time, he said, is what he was most pleased about, as he was only three seconds off his personal best.

After placing 29th at state a year ago, Soucie was determined to do even better this time around. He couldn’t have asked for a better way to end his cross country career. A good start saw him remain in fifth place in the first mile. He was passed by several runners in the second mile, but his fast start allowed him to build enough of a cushion so that he can position himself to earn a medal.

“I felt like it was probably the best race throughout my cross country career,” he said. “I probably had the best start ever. There was some tough competition this year. It was fast. I got my goal of getting a state medal. Dustin (Kueser) was there as well, and he ran really well. It was perfect.”

Osawatomie senior Dustin Kueser works his way around a turn on the Wamego Country Club course during Saturday’s Class 4A state cross country meet. He placed 35th in his first-ever state meet. (photo by David Wolman)

Kueser, also a senior, was competing in his first state meet. While he ran on the course for the first time, it wasn’t a new sight to him, since he was there as a spectator last year to watch Soucie and recent graduate Cody Goff compete.

Nervousness was an issue for Kueser prior to the race, but once the gun sounded, he said, he felt comfortable. He went on to place 35th in 18:03.28 in his final career cross country race.

“It was fun,” he said. “It was one of my favorite courses to run. That, and the competition there was tough. It was a fun last race to have.”

A steady race by Kueser saw him remain in about 30th place for nearly the entire race before crossing the finish line at 35th.
“I kept passing people, and people kept passing me,” he said. “I was around the top 30 most of the time.”

For Soucie and Kueser, it was the perfect way to cap off not only strong careers, but also stellar senior seasons. Both earned Pioneer League first-team honors and ran to personal-best times in mid-September in Bonner Springs.

“It was a good way to end cross country,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to success in basketball and track.”

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