Both the Lawrence High and Free State boys cross country teams knew they’d have a difficult time chasing Shawnee Mission Northwest at the Sunflower League cross country meet.

Instead, they settled for something else – a good, old-fashioned crosstown battle for supremacy.

Led by five runners who finished among the top 35, the Lions finished with 105 team points during Saturday’s 5-kilometer race at Rim Rock Farm, edging the Firebirds by just one point to claim second place on the 11-team leaderboard.

Shawnee Mission Northwest led the pack with 26 points.

“They’ve worked really hard this season to get to this point,” LHS coach Brian Anderson said. “I thought the best thing for us was our depth.”

Leading the charge was senior Matt Riley, who crossed the line 11th in a time of 17 minutes, 14 seconds. Teammate Dylan Hedges was just four seconds back in 13th, while Kyle Morgison narrowly missed out on a top-20 finish, placing 21st in 17:51.

“I can say that we all were pretty happy with our races,” said Riley, who recorded his best-ever time on the challenging course just north of Lawrence. “Northwest is separate from everyone else. If we finished second, that’s pretty promising.”

It came by the slimmest of margins. Like Lawrence, all five Free State scorers finished in the top 35, led by senior M.J. Hassaballa’s sixth-place showing.

“I’m really excited about the guys’ performance,” Free State coach Steve Heffernan said. “Three of our top five weren’t even running cross country last year. It’s just a fantastic compliment to how hard they’ve worked and their desire to be successful.”

Among the newcomers to this year’s squad is Hassaballa, who used a solid kick near the finish line to hold off a challenge by Olathe South’s Mike Partridge and keep his spot.

“It just went to my mind, ‘You can’t beat me. I’m there. It’s mine,'” said Hassaballa about his desire during the home stretch.

“I’m very pleased I gave it my best shot. If I look back, I can’t run any harder. I gave it all I’ve got.”

While the girls race failed to offer a comparable team finish between the local squads, it did feature a competitive battle between three of the city’s top individuals.

In the early moments, Free State’s Alysha Valencia led a breakaway pack of six runners that also included teammate Kyra Kilwein and Lawrence’s Kelly Renfro. However, as the runners emerged from behind a tree line near the end of the 4-kilometer race, Kilwein and Renfro still were battling for top-five finishes, while Valencia had fallen off the pace.

Kilwein ultimately took top local honors, finishing fourth in 15:31, one second ahead of the fifth-place Renfro. Valencia was seventh in 15:50.

“I’m very pleased, and I’m very thankful for the way I finished,” Kilwein said. “I just wanted to finish and not let anybody behind me pass me.”

Kilwein may have won the individual battle, but LHS again won the team showdown, taking third with 86 points. Free State finished sixth with 140 points.

“I was really happy with the way the girls performed,” said Anderson, who singled out Renfro’s performance. “She was only three-tenths of a second slower than last year. That was really outstanding.”

Shawnee Mission Northwest made it a daily double on the team scoreboard, winning the girls half of the event with 60 points.

Next up for the local squads is the regional meet at Topeka, the last stage before the state meet Oct. 29 back at Rim Rock Farm.