A hungry dog eats best🐶🥩
a bonus newsletter for the Monday blues (3A boys and 2A girls)
Lakoddah Downes, CJ Meyer, Clay Shively, Silas Miller and Damion Jackson are returning for what is sure to be a great battle among the 3A field. With Dylan Sprecker graduated, the 3A crown is up for grabs, and it could go a plethora of ways. These are the top five returning boys, and here are five different reasons why each one could win the title.
Downes🐶🥩
A hungry dog hunts best. Last fall, the Council Grove star was only a sophomore, coming off medals in both the 1600m and 3200m, along with a runner-up finish on the grass in 2020. He was in shape, and he was taking names as he went, winning six of his first seven races of his sophomore campaign. He had only lost to one man and one man only, leading up to state, and that was Sprecker, the best in the business. As Downes was about to earn his second runner-up finish in cross country, he was edged out by Clay Shively of Wichita-Trinity. This last spring, Downes was 5th in both the 1600m and 3200m, leaving him out of the 3A field at Cessna. Flash forward to today. He’s had all summer, and he’s had the motivation. He also has the only time under sixteen throughout all of 3A. I’ve got a strong feeling he’s going to come out swinging, and I’m just glad I’m not going to have to go up against him.
Meyer🎒
It’s his senior year, and what does he have to lose? First, he ran 16:06.20 last year at regionals, followed by a 16:31.80 on the rolling hills of the Wamego Country Club, which is a testament of someone who is fit. On the track, he followed it up with a 4:22.21, and 9:42.61, 1600m and 3200m, with both events ending with a medal at state. The senior from Wichita Collegiate is nearing times run by the great Lakelin Conrad only five years ago, so why not send it and surpass those times? Meyer is a force to be reckoned with, and is going to be one of the heavy hitters of 3A this year.
Shively🚫
He’s only getting faster, and there’s not much you can do to stop him. Last year at state, Shively “surprised” himself and the field with a runner-up finish, just edging out Downes at the line. I say surprised because while he was ranked behind a trio of runners heading into state, he made himself known when it mattered most. This spring, he reached a level that isn’t often reached by high school athletes, especially as a sophomore. He burst onto the scene (again) with a 4:10.08 1600m at the Shawnee Mission North Relays, and had already run a 9:15.99 3200m and a 1:55.17 in the 800m. At state, it was a showdown between him and top dog Sprecker, and I’m not sure anyone could have taken him down on that track. The past is in the past, and Shively is one of the scariest athletes in the state. I don’t think his 16:23.90 does him justice, because I think he is going to obliterate that in the coming weeks.
Miller🔁
Talk about consistency. He ran under seventeen in the final five races of his season last fall, setting PR’s four weeks in a row, and topping it off with a 5th place medal in Wamego. Running strictly the 1600m and 800m double in the spring, he ran 4:26.90 and 1:58.17 respectively, taking 3rd behind Sprecker and Shively in both. Miller also knows how to win, doing so fifteen times in his sophomore year, more than a lot of people can even fathom. His time ranks him the 3rd fastest returner, and his accolades speak for themselves.
Jackson👑
The heir to the Southeast of Saline throne has big shoes to fill, but is equipped to do so. The second senior in this top five has been a crucial piece to the Southeast of Saline dynasty that has won three out of the last four state titles. Being a senior leader and the top returner, Jackson has the chance to lead his team back to the top and can simultaneously contend for a high finish individually at the same time. He’s 3/3 in cross country state medals through his first three years, and is looking to end his Trojan career with his highest finish in October.
Up until a few weeks ago, I thought that Wichita-Trinity was going to have enough to semi-comfortably go back-to-back, but Southeast of Saline unveiled the trick they’ve been hiding up their sleeve all summer, Brayden Walker. At the Cowboy Up 5k in Abilene, the incoming freshman won the race with a 16:39 on the roads. Yes, I know that it was on the roads and not a cross country course, but, regardless, he has the legs to run a 16:39 5k in August. When you compare the two teams, it’s relatively close through the first four runners.
Clay Shively 16:23.90 🟢
Damion Jackson 16:30.20 🟣
Brayden Walker 16:39.00 (‘22 Road) 🟣
Jacob Hobson 16:39.80 🟢
Cayden Walker 16:44.00 (‘22 Road) 🟣
Levi Allen 16:48.60 🟣
Sam Ferguson 16:50.30 🟢
Ian Carroll 16:59.60 🟢
Caleb Toftland 17:02.10 🟢
Nakari Morrical-Palmer 17:49.30 🟣
Even with the addition of the younger Walker brother, I think there is still way too much that is yet to be seen before anybody (especially a twenty-two year old and his laptop) can make a bold statement about the team battle. With that being said, I’m going to kind of do just that, and I’ll do so with some cold hard facts, and by that I obviously mean my opinions that have no truth and very little support and/or evidence.
Even when adding in the new Walker to the Trojan lineup, the Knights still put their five roughly forty-seven seconds ahead of Southeast of Saline’s. Their pack is the best in 3A, and it showed last year when they upset the defending three-time champs. This year, they lost no one out of their top seven, and saw huge jumps in fitness from their front man Shively, and the rest of their seven. For the Trojans, they lost their state champ and their number four, but they bring in a freshman with potential that is vastly unknown. Their best chance of challenging Wichita-Trinity is if they can get their five closer to the front pack. I wish I could have written this next week so I could actually see the kind of summers that these athletes had, instead of making assumptions. Unfortunately, with this being labeled a “preview,” I don’t have that option.
To summarize, I feel that the defending champs are still the team to beat, and both teams are going to come into the season faster than they ended last October.
While those two battle it out for the top two spots, Hiawatha and Council Grove will be having a battle of their own for the third and final podium spot. Led by Camden Bachman (17:18.31), Hiawatha has a sub-1:40 pack time, as Felix McCartney (17:46.36), David Keo (18:33.05), Aden Geisendorf (18:50.65), and Jordan Hodge (18:57.93) are all within seventy seconds of one another. While they lack the front firepower of Council Grove and Downes, they more than make up for with their pack running opportunity. Council Grove has a pack of four ranging from 18:02.95-19:06.70 (Valentin Mascote, David Seymour) 18:35.06, (Gavin Mills) 18:59.45, (Levi Waring). With Downes under sixteen, their pack time is hurt by the two minute gap between their one and two, but is strong after. This matchup has the possibility of going either way, but for now, Hiawatha has the upper hand.
Jackie Stiles and Chesney Peterson. Yep, that’s the list of athletes that have won four individual state titles in state championship. Peterson is far and away one of the greatest high school athletes to ever compete at the high school level in the state’s history. Well, she’s back for one more year where she’ll be wearing a Stanton County uniform. I had the privilege to chat more in depth with Chesney a few months ago in an interview for the newsletter, and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you take the time.
Peterson is still processing the historic track season; she won four individual state titles from the 400m to the 3200m, winning each one in dominating fashion. She won by a second in the 400m, and by eight seconds in the 800m, which was her fifth and final race of the weekend. For the 1600m (state meet record) and 3200m, she won by twenty-five and sixty-six seconds. Her 800m victory gave her a remarkable tenth state title, split between two in cross country (‘20 & ‘21), two in the 800m (‘21 & ‘22), 1600m (‘21 & ‘22) and 3200m (‘21 & ‘22), along with one state medal in both the open 400m (‘22) and the 4x400m (‘22). Not to mention, she’s also won two team titles in cross country in both 2020 and 2021. Last fall, she won every race by an average of over one and a half minutes, with the closest finisher throughout the entire course of the season finishing fifty-two seconds after her. Her season best from 2021 was an 18:38.80, roughly twenty-three seconds back of her 18:15.80 PR. As of now, she hasn’t lost in a race since May 01, 2021, or for 485 days, and is riding a 46 race win streak. In her high school career, she is 67-5, with four of those losses coming back in 2019. Needless to say, Peterson is the top dog in my book as she enters her senior year.
Wabaunsee sophomore Payton Wurtz had a very successful freshman campaign, finishing runner-up in cross country, and in the 400m, 1600m and the 3200m. Just like Peterson, she attempted the quadruple in Wichita, winning three silvers and a 4th place finish in the 800m. In her debut on the high school scene, Wurtz was fantastic, notching PR’s of 19:27.90 (XC), and 5:19.24 and 11:19.29 in the 1600m and 3200m on the track. In the spring, she placed first thirteen times, and only finished out of the top two spots once. After a PR at state at the Sand Plum Nature Trail, who knows how much faster she can go, considering it was first time under the twenty-minute barrier. The Wabaunsee sophomore joins Peterson as the only two girls in 2A that are in the nineteens, with a solid thirty-seven second gap between her and the next returner.
Another Stanton County senior, Suzanne Farnham, has been a part of the Trojan’s 1-2 punch that has helped them win back-to-back-to-back 2A team titles. She has a six-time state medalists across cross country, the 800m and pole vault. Farnham has plenty of experience on the state’s highest level and is looking to get back into the nineteen’s after doing it twice in 2019 and being just seconds away from it in both 2020 and 2021. She ran 20:04.70 last fall, and is looking to go a perfect four for four with Peterson and Stanton County.
Central Heights and Sterling juniors Emma Cubit and Faith Ekart are just behind Farnham, and are both looking to get as close to 20:00 as possible. Cubit is sporting a 2021 best of 20:07.50 from state, while Ekart isn’t far behind with a 20:17.90 from the Sterling Invitational. On the track, Cubit didn’t compete this spring while Ekart had a solid season, headlined by a 3rd place finish in the 800m at state. Keep an eye out for both of these ladies this fall!
When it comes to the team race, a big part of me wants to write that Stanton County will win their fourth title in a row, as Peterson and Farnham lead them to what would be the pair’s fourth team title. On the other hand, I could also write that Salina-Sacred Heart has a shot to close the gap between them and the Trojans despite the loss of their number one runner from a year ago. I’d say both have a realistic shot of being the outcome, but unlike Bob Seger, I’m neither Ramblin’ or Gamblin’, so I’ll leave it up to your imagination. Each squad has their pros and cons when it comes to a team battle, and here they are.
Starting with Stanton County, I’d say it’s obvious who is playing to their advantage: Chesney Peterson and Suzanne Farnham. The two-time defending champ with an 18:15 PR, and the second piece of their 1-2 punch who has consistently been running in between 19:30 and 20:10 for the past three years. Their 3-5 are only within a minute of each other, but the front of that pack is a minute and forty seconds behind Farnham, giving them a 4:09.00 1-5 split. Kenzington Nairn, Kourtney Hudgens, and Lexi Martinez could be the ones who decide the outcome of the race, but they’ve all shown up big time when it matters, so in no way count them out.
With Madisyn Ehrlich now at Kansas Wesleyan, many may have not expected Sacred Heart to be back in contention, but here they are. What they lack in such a strong 1-2 punch, they make up for in a very solid 1-2-3, aided by a close four and five. Emma Roberts, Eve Matteucci and Lauryn Mikkelson are only juniors, all under 21:40 (21:15.00, 21:29.70, 21:38.10). With Gracy Dorzweiler (22:02.40) and Bethany Campa (22:48.70) being a junior and a freshman, the top five of the Knights are young and hungry, and want to strike now instead of later. Their pack time is their best friend, with all of them over the line in just over ninety seconds.
Overall, it’s going to be close between the two teams. If it’s so close that it ends in a tie after five, Belle Batterton of Stanton County and Caroline Stone become the deal breakers. Stone has a PR of 22:57.20, twenty-five seconds ahead of Batterton’s 23:22.90. Then again, those are just numbers from a year ago, so anything is possible.
Battling it out for what is most likely a third place finish (who knows though, second isn’t out of reach) is Oakley and Wabaunsee. Daysha Allison leads the way for Oakley, with Wurtz in front for Wabaunsee. To Wabaunsee’s advantage, Rebekah Stuhlsatz is the 8th fastest returner, but their 3-5 are two minutes back at the front, making for a five minute pack time. Oakley takes the advantage in terms of a faster pack time, with theirs being just over three minutes from 1-5. Just like the battle between Stanton County and Salina-Sacred Heart, the contest between Oakley and Wabaunsee could end up going either way.
Hopefully you all were pleasantly surprised with the bonus newsletter on a Monday afternoon, but due to my lack of planning, the once-a-week-newsletter plan was not going to work, considering the season starts Thursday. I for one cannot wait for the start of the season, and I’m hoping these newsletters build your excitement along the way. Expect one more in your inbox on Wednesday, but who knows? I could write it tomorrow and be early, but I doubt it. As always, my opinions and predictions should mean nothing and are in no way intended to take away confidence of any athletes, teams, or coaches. The majority of stuff I do write and confidently say are based off data and information that is not opinion-based. There isn’t a reason I’m saying this, except I thought that there was a chance some could take it the wrong way. #HopefullyGFTS
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