(KMAland) -- Logan-Magnolia girls cross country and East Atchison volleyball are the next teams highlighted on the KMA Sports Top 50 Team Countdown.
20. Logan-Magnolia Girls Cross Country
One of the most consistent cross country programs in KMA was a state title contender again in 2022. The Panthers had some holes to fill in 2022, such as the reigning WIC champion Courtney Sporrer.
However, the Panthers reloaded well.
The Panthers quickly found themselves at the top of the IATC's Class 1A rankings. They maintained their firm grip atop the Western Iowa Conference when they rolled to a team title in October. The Panthers put up 33 points to win a sixth consecutive title.
"This is an awesome group," Logan-Magnolia head coach Kelli Kersten said. "They work really hard. It's always a goal to win the conference. This is one of the goals we've had each of the last several years."
Allysen Johnsen ran to an individual title at the WIC.
The former conference middle school champion made her WIC high school debut emphatically with a time of 21:04.22.
"It was a big step up from two miles to three miles," Johnsen said. "It means hard work pays off. It feels pretty good to know I deserved this. I did well on the hills and pushed down the hills. That helped me pace myself pretty well."
Teammate Mya Moss was close behind in second with a time of 21:14.84.
"We do everything we can as a team to make ourselves better," Moss said. "We're constantly pushing each other in practice."
The Panthers continued their dominance at their Class 1A State Qualifying Meet in Corning. They scored 27 points, 38 better than runner-up Woodbine.
“I’m just so proud of [the team],” Kersten said. “This is a tough course and they ran those hills awesome, they performed awesome, they just ran tough and I’m so proud of all of them.”
Madison Sporrer paced Logan-Magnolia with a runner-up finish and a time of 20:35, while her teammates, Johnsen (20:42) and Moss (20:44), took third and fourth.
The pack running was part of the plan for the Panthers.
“We focus on each other and we know we can rely on each other to push each other,” Moss said. “When things are getting tough, we know we can look to our teammates to help us out.”
Not far behind that top pack of Panthers was Haedyn Hall, who placed seventh with a time of 21:22. Greylan Hornbeck (15th, 22:51), Jada Cohn (23rd, 23:49) and Cora Killpack (34th, 25:27) rounded out the winning effort for Logan-Magnolia.
The Panthers entered state as a serious contender for a state title.
"We always tell them they just need to go out and do their best," Kersten said. "I know they're going to do that. They're a group of hard-working girls. They've trained for it. I know they'll give everything they have."
The Panthers finished fourth at state, missing a team trophy because of the tiebreaker.
Sporrer led their efforts by finishing 16th.
19. East Atchison Volleyball
It was a memorable late October/early November for East Atchison volleyball as the program reached newfound heights.
The Wolves started the year strongly, racing to a 4-1 start.
“We really spent the preseason working on having good serve receive and fine-tuning our defense,” East Atchison head coach Madison Hagey said. “I think we need to adjust our focus on the attacking side of it and make sure we’re able to set up our good hitters and run an aggressive offense all of the time.”
Coach Hagey's squad came into the year an experienced bunch.
“Those girls have experience playing together from the middle of elementary all the way through to where we are now,” Hagey said. “They’re in volleyball, basketball, track and field. They’re together all the time and work really well with each other.”
The Wolves compiled a 24-6 regular-season record. They opened the postseason with a win over Mound City in a district semifinal and advanced to the state sectionals with a sweep of Rock Port.
"The girls played really well tonight," said Hagey. "When we were getting balls up in system, they were unstoppable."
East Atchison advanced to the state quarterfinals with a sectional win over St. Joseph Christian.
"It's amazing," senior Natalie Hedlund said. "We've gone further than we ever had. Playing at home during a state sectional game is amazing."
Hedlund was amazing herself, totaling 26 kills, including 12 in the first set.
"We work on connections a lot," she said. "If it's there, it's there. It was there. We saw a single block, which isn't what we are used to. We adjusted to that and put it to play."
Undoubtedly the most memorable performance of East Atchison's remarkable season came in their quarterfinal bout with Santa Fe. The Wolves won the first two sets, lost the next two and then rallied in set five, overcoming a deficit to win the instant classic.
"Our girls know how to battle through sets," said Hagey. "We've been in situations before where we had to battle. I sure wish we wouldn't have dropped those two sets in the middle, but they knew how to pull it back and they knew how to get it under control. They wanted it really bad."
"It was now or never," said Tommi Martin. "It could have been our last game. Emilee Caudill said that we're either going to state or this is our last game, so give it all you got. I really took what she said to heart, and I just tried my best to give it all I had."
East Atchison lost in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Advance. They ended their season with a loss to Winona in the third-place match.
Hagey was named the KMAland Volleyball Coach of the Year.
“I always said, these girls are special,” Hagey told KMA Sports. “They’ve played together for a long time, and you can just tell that this group of girls are winners. It was really fun this season to watch them work together and get better as the season went on.”
“The senior season was definitely one of the most memorable seasons of my high school career,” the multi-sport star told KMA Sports. “Looking back and watching film (from the Final Four), it really made me content with how our season went, seeing some of the good plays we had. We played together, and I could tell we were having fun out there.”
TOP 50 TEAM COUNTDOWN
50: Martensdale-St. Marys Girls Basketball
49: AHSTW Football
47: Denison-Schleswig Girls Bowling
42: Denison-Schleswig Boys Bowling
40: Kuemper Catholic Boys Basketball
39: Harlan Baseball
37: Glenwood Boys Cross Country
36. Lewis Central Girls Wrestling
35. IKM-Manning Boys Cross Country
33. Wayne Softball
29: Kuemper Catholic Volleyball
22: Platte Valley Boys Basketball
21: Lenox Football
