A little lightning never hurt nobody⚡️
Kansas kids picked up wins at Rim Rock, Roy Griak, and the Cowboy Jamboree
Breaking down Rim Rock ⚡️
Luckily, as severe weather pounded nearly the rest of northeast Kansas Saturday morning, spectators and athletes in Lawrence did not have to dodge any hail, high winds or sheets of rain. For the bulk of the state, Rim Rock Farm was the place to be Friday and Saturday, as 133 in-state programs made the trek through the winding gravel roads.
Girl’s Gold 🥇
Fifty-two weeks after formally introducing herself to the rest of the state in Lawrence, Salina Central’s Katelyn Rupe defended her Gold Division title she captured as a sophomore. Her third straight sub-eighteen performance was her fastest yet, solo’ing a season’s best of 17:33.10. After roughly a month under her belt in her first cross country season without dual-sporting with tennis, her sole focus on running is proving to be valuable. Of course, even while she was playing tennis last fall, she still won every in-state race, setting four course records and winning the 5A title along the way. However, this year, she’s running consistently faster, and still not letting anyone near her after the gun goes off.
Despite no one coming too close to Rupe at the finish, she probably finds some peace knowing her teammate will undoubtedly be the next runner she’ll see.
After breaking all of Rupe’s records at Lakewood Middle School, freshman Kaylie Shultz is adjusting to the 5k quite nicely, opening up in 18:20, 18:26 and 18:21 in her first three races at the distance. In each one, Rupe and Shultz pair nicely for a strong 1-2 finish. Shultz, however, did have to get used to a little more company this time around, with Junction City senior Lorna Rae Pierce hanging on to her until the homestretch.
All three girls will be going head-to-head-to-head again on Saturday at the Bob Schmoekel Invitational at Milford Lake. Rupe won the race last year in 17:26.50, the second fastest time ran that day, girl or boy.
The team title as expected went to Olathe West, who shocker, won fairly easily over a loaded field with dominant programs traveling in from all over the midwest. Even without Sydney All, the Owls left nothing up to chance, not even a little. Kalyn Willingham finished in 16th, followed by Bree Newport in 26th. Liz Browning (33rd), Kate Miller (38th) and Lily Brewer (44th) combined for 140 points, still 50 points clear of Denver East. We’ve talked about it on The BackTrack Podcast before, but it’s always a little nerve-racking to not see someone with an owl on their chest towards the very front of the race. Having since-graduated Charis Robinson being the low-stick, it’s still taking some getting used to for the rest of us. Regardless of having a low-stick scorer or not, Olathe West continues to win, and in dominant fashion.
Another team finish at the shook up the Kansas landscape was the 4th place finish for the ladies of Great Bend, who took down defending 5A champions St. James. Yes, the Thunder were still without Quinn Hays, but Makenzie Premer and company could care less, and bunched together for an eye-opening finish. Premer was 25th, followed by Addy Nicholson (30th), Marissa Boone (52nd), Sienna Smith (59th) and Eliana Beckham (60th). Aided by a 54-second spread, the Panthers also took care of business without someone scoring in the single digits.
On the boy’s side, a few standouts took their talents out-of-state, but Blake Wohler and Lawrence Free State threw their hat in the ring for the 6A title. Following four visiting teams, the Firebirds took 5th and were the top in-state program. Wohler took 9th in 15:52.9, followed by Jake Loos (34th), Ryan Whittelsey (52nd), Zach Hansen-Terry (60th) and Jonah Frye (69th). The Trail Blazers of Gardner-Edgerton were up next, trailing by 27 points behind Free State.
Crimson 🟥
If I encounter a genie between now and October 21st, the first wish coming out of my mouth will be “I wish Christ Prep Academy was a KSHSAA member school!” Okay, maybe I’ll start with a lot of money or something materialistic, but a big part of me wishes we’d get to see this team go up against the rest of the state in October.
Nonetheless, this squad doesn’t care what classification they are in or aren’t in, because they’re going to win regardless. Last Saturday, they dominated the entirety of the Crimson field, winning substantially over 5A and 6A competition. Led by Elizabeth Kurtz (19:40), Eiley Nicholl (19:44), Isabelle Wood (20:01), Mirabel Bucher (20:10) and Britta Hydeman (20:52), the top five went 4-6-11-12-25, beating Topeka-Seaman, Andover and Bishop Carroll 50-172-177-177. Keep in mind, they did this without Adelaide Hydeman, who ran 19:33 just a few weeks back at Bonner Springs. Long story short, they can keep up with even the biggest teams in the state.
However, while Christ Prep stole the show in the team race, Seaman sophomore Ryin Miller won the race in 18:55, the lone girl under nineteen. She kept Smith Center star freshman Madison Howland and Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Taylor Barringer at bay, as the duo settled for 19:06 and 19:06.8 behind Miller.
This was a good 5A preview, missing a few of the top dogs, but Seaman, Andover, Bishop Carroll and Kapaun Mt. Carmel will be fighting for a podium spot late next month, and they’ll be back at Rim Rock to settle the debate.
In the midst of his tremendous season, Shawnee Heights senior Jackson Esquibel won the Crimson race, his fourth win out of five races this fall. The Thunderbird led wire-to-wire, and was the only athlete to break sixteen. Winning in 15:57, he put fourteen seconds between Dustin Stephenson and himself, who finished in 16:11. Blue Valley’s Noah Summers was third in 16:18. The story of the day however was the Buhler Crusaders, who won the team race over a lot of strong programs. Led by freshman GavinLindahl (4th/16:21), seniors KadenLohrentz (16:40) and LayneWhisler (16:44) finishing in 8th and 11th. HenryTrumpp (17:05) and HunterMetzger (17:41) took 23rd and 48th, rounding out the Buhler scoring. They beat out-of-state Lexington and Bishop Carroll 89-118-127, with defending 4A champ Wamego in 5th with 298 points. It looks safe to say that Buhler is running well at the best time, and is only getting faster.
Blue 🟦
If you haven’t already, take some time to familiarize yourself with Northern Heights freshman Ellei McCrory, because she’s going to be really good, even better than she already is.
After winning at Wamego, we knew she was good. But to do it again on another grueling course is consistency in its purest form. McCrory left the field in her wake, running 18:47 for the 9th fastest freshman time in course history. Considering the caliber of athletes that have run on that course, I don’t think that’s something to roll your eyes at. She held off Clay Center’s Lauren Smith, who ran 19:23 for runner-up. Josie Walter of Colony Crest out-leaned Baldwin’s Irelyn Kennedy, with the pair clocking 20:05.5 and 20:05.6.
Kennedy led 4A dynasty Baldwin to the win, beating Clay Center and Buhler along the way, scoring 67 compared to their 136 and 198. Shea Griffith and Rachel Watkins both joined Kennedy in the top-twenty finishers, running 20:46 and 21:07.
Wichita Collegiate junior Will Meyer won the Blue race on the boys’ side, beating KC Christian’s Andrew Schumacher and Eudora’s Zach Arnold. The trio had similar distance in-between each other, with them finishing in 16:16. 16:24 and 16:30. In fourth it was Brody Deniston, who led Holcomb to the team title with his 16:40. Holcomb handily beat Central Heights, and cruised past Trinity Catholic. Holcomb is certainly looking for a podium finish next month at Rim Rock.
Somebody get this man a cowboy hat! 🤠
Down in Stillwater, OK, 6A favorite Micah Blomker grabbed himself another win, but this time against primarily Texas and Oklahoma competition. The Shawnee Mission North star held off the entirety of Lucas Lovejoy (TX) and Deer Creek (OK), two squads who will most likely be racing at NXN in December.
As far as the individual win was concerned, Blomker’s attention really only needed to be on Lakeside (AR) senior Joseph Bariola and Deer Creek’s Graham Mitchell, both who had stellar resumes leading up to their clash. In the end, neither was able to keep pace with Blomker, as he dropped the third-fastest high school mark in the course’s history, clocking 15:41.5.
T-Minus one month until he tries to win his second state title in three years.
Hole-In-One for Shively⛳️
For anyone racing Shively in the next few weeks, here are a few words of wisdom. If he’s behind you at the mile marker, well, good luck.
His last two races have been come-from-behind wins, where he slowly works his way through the field up to the front. After that, very few people can keep up with 4:01 mile speed, and he’s basically untouchable at that point.
His strategy at Roy Griak was no different, as the state’s best came through the mile in 4:49, four seconds back of the leaders. At 3k, Shively had moved up into 8th, still roughly four seconds back of the front pack. Despite the gap they had created, everyone fell victim to Shively’s devastating closing speed as he surged ahead of Minneapolis Southwest’s Sam Scott on the final straightaway.
On top of his statement win, Shively also broke shattered the previous course record, becoming the first high schooler to ever break 15:30. Shively stopped the clock at 15:23.9, breaking Obsa Ali’s previous record of 15:30.80 from 2013.
Weekend Calendar 🗓️
KC XC Classic — 📍 Ray-Pec XC Course
Seaman Invite — 📍 Shawnee North Community Center
Maple Leaf XC Classic — 📍 Baldwin City Golf Course
Bob Schmoekel Invitational — 📍 Milford Lake
Bishop Carroll Invite — 📍 Brown Thrush Park
Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival — 📍University of Arkansas XC Course
Sunflower State Highlights 🌻
Olathe North graduate Claire Fuhlhage moved up to #3 all-time in the Illinois State record book, running 20:45.1 in the 6k at the Loyola Lakefront Gold Women race, where she was runner-up.
This morning, Chandler Gibbens won the Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame, running 23:08.4 for the win. He held off the Alabama duo of Hilary Cheruiyot and Victor Kiprop who went 23:10 and 23:12.
Brock Olsen of Blue Valley West won the Maroon race at Roy Griak, crossing in 16:14.1, making it a Kansas sweep on the boys’ side.
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