Closing time🔒
"You don’t gotta go home but ya can’t stay here"
In my defense, I’ve been sick all week and have barely picked up my laptop since Tuesday, so I’m just happy that this is getting sent out. Nonetheless, hopefully all of you running nerds (as a compliment) enjoy this recap of an exciting weekend of state cross country.
Johnson County is… fast?💨
From her return at Olathe Twilight to her dominance throughout the month of October, Olathe North junior Anjali Hocker Singh showed that she’s back. After missing the entirety of her sophomore track season, she left nothing up for question after winning her third straight state cross country title, with twelve seconds to spare between her and the field. In 18:17.04, the two-time defending champ gapped herself fairly early from the field, as she ran her way towards her fourth state title. Hocker Singh ended the Kansas season on a four meet winning streak and will most likely be competing in a couple more out-of-state races over the next month, but I can neither confirm nor deny that, because I don’t know. Taking 2nd and 3rd were two seniors, Paige Mullen and Charis Robinson, from Shawnee Mission Northwest and Olathe West. Mullen ran 18:29, with Robinson thirteen seconds back in 18:42. For Mullen, it was her third straight top three finish at state cross country, and her highest finish ever in state competition besides her 3200m state title she won in May. Robinson recorded her highest ever individual finish at state, on the track or the grass. Shawnee Mission East’s Lida Padgett and Washburn Rural’s Payton Fink also had great showings. For Padgett, this was her first ever all-state finish, after just missing out in the 3200m in May, and the second all-state finish for Fink, as she similarly took 9th in the 1600m just a few months ago. The pair ran 18:48 and 18:53, respectively.
In the team race, just as we expected, the Owls of Olathe West made it a three-peat, winning their third straight 6A state title. The Owls are arguably one of the greatest teams we’ve seen in state history, and their five in the top twenty and forty-nine point victory back that statement up. The Owls will take the line again next Sunday, as they try to book their ticket to Portland for Nike Cross Nationals. The Lancers of Shawnee Mission East and Jr. Blues of Washburn Rural completed the rest of the podium, as they scored 95 and 112 to seal the deal. Olathe North finished in 4th, just one point shy of Washburn Rural. However, Washburn Rural would have won the tiebreaker if that had been the scenario that fell into place.
Wow. Wyatt Haughton is him. I don’t care who you are, where you are, or what you’re doing, but for anyone that was in doubt of his state record time in September, hopefully the ONLY ever sub-fifteen performance by a high schooler at Rim Rock is enough to confirm his legitimacy. That’s right, to cap his dream Kansas season, the Shawnee Mission East senior ran 14:59.65 to pull away from the defending champ and win his third state title of 2022. There were only two times Haughton didn’t win a race this season, at Olathe Twilight and the Chile Pepper Festival, two meets where the winning times were 14:45 and 14:32. Haughton broke the fifteen minute barrier three times (so far) this season and is the only high schooler in Kansas history to do so. Haughton continues to keep the momentum from his track campaign and is gearing up for a big race next month in Huntsville, AL. I’m not sure if he’s racing at NXR or Eastbay, but I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything.
The only other Kansan to break fifteen multiple times in a season (and the first to ever to do so) was the 6A runner-up last week, as Micah Blomker was the state runner-up for the fourth time in his career. The Shawnee Mission North junior may have not had the season he was hoping for but still had one of the strongest seasons in recent memory. He never finished outside of the top ten and ran under sixteen five times this season, and he ran 15:12 to take 2nd behind Haughton. Henry Born, Carter Stewart and Parker Walion made up the rest of the top five, running 15:36, 15:43 and 15:49. For the Shawnee Mission Northwest athlete Born, this was a two spot jump from his 5th place finish last year, and his highest ever state finish. For Olathe East’s Stewart, he finished just a spot shy of his 2021 finish, and also earned his highest ever state finish. For Walion, the Gardner-Edgerton stud, he earned his second all-state finish of his career, and the highest Blazer finish at state since his brother Quenton took 2nd in 2020.
In the team race, Haughton and co. (co.= Caden Peters & Blair Ptacek) won the team title over Olathe East and defending champs Olathe South. With Haughton, Ptacek, and Peters going 1-6-10, the Lancers had enough to hold off East and win the title 65-78-100.
Private vs. Public, but not in a bad way👍
The record books at Rim Rock Farm got shaken up on Saturday, not only by Haughton, but also by Salina Central phenom Katelyn Rupe. After winning the 3200m and 1600m on the track in May over a talented group of ladies, Rupe entered into her first season as a cross country athlete. Survey says she adjusted to the title just fine, winning all six races—running under eighteen in five of those races, and playing tennis at the same time. I’d like to say that at this current moment, Rupe is most definitely in a world of her own in terms of Kansas cross country. You could take that literally or metaphorically, since she was literally in a land of her own last Saturday, winning by over a minute with a time of 17:13.84. Taking 2nd behind Rupe was Kansas City-Piper’s Grace Hanson, who ran 18:17 to gap herself from the rest of the field by nearly a minute, but fifty-five seconds to be exact. This is Hanson’s eighth time earning all-state honors, and the third time she’s been runner-up in cross country at state. Hanson ends the in-state season with six wins and two runner-up finishes, which both came behind Rupe. St. Thomas Aquinas’ Sophia Spinello, St. James’ Quinn Hays, and Topeka-Seaman’s Ryin Miller went 3-4-5, as the trio finished within seven seconds of one another. Spinello ended the season on a high note, winning both the EKL and regional title, and riding that wave to a PR of 19:12 at state. Hays ran 19:19.84 and led a St. James contingent, as the sophomore ran her way to her first all-state finish, and a twelve second PR. The freshman Miller ran 19:19.85 and capped an extraordinary debut, taking 5th in a season that has seen her run 18:36 and finish outside of the top five just once.
The team race was all Thunder, as the pack time prevailed yet again, and by putting five in the top twenty-one and having them all cross the line within forty-seven seconds of each other, they ran away with the title, taking down St. Thomas Aquinas 51-81. Kapaun Mt. Carmel took 3rd, just a single point ahead of Topeka-Seaman.
“King Colby,” as he’s been dubbed, did what I thought he would do and didn’t leave anything up for chance. Since October 1st, he is yet to lose a race, and he has set the St. Thomas Aquinas course record at EVERY race he’s competed in this season. On top of that, he’s one of only five Kansas high schoolers to ever break fifteen, and the fourth fastest in state history. For a guy who’s PR was 18:26 in 2019, I’d say that’s some solid progression. On Saturday, it wasn’t a 14:50, but still a 15:16.59, which is the 6th fastest time ever run on the course. King won by thirty-two seconds, but behind him was Maize’ Kaleb Glazier, Blue Valley Southwest’s Thomas Caul, Topeka West’s Lenny Njoroge, and Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Luke Brock. The four runners all finished within six seconds of each other, with Caul and Njoroge needing to dive into the decimals to see who took 3rd. Glazier, who had won five out of his last six, didn’t stray far, taking 2nd in 15:48, only nine seconds back of a PR. The Maize junior had a great day and set himself up great for the track season. Caul and Njoroge ran 15:51.82 and 15:51.86, as the two charged down the homestretch, with Caul just barely edging out Njoroge. Caul led the Timberwolves to a fairly decent team finish, but more on that later. And Njoroge finishes the Kansas season 7-2. Brock of Kapaun was 5th in 15:54, and led the Crusaders to what could also be described as a good team finish.
Since 2004, only one school that was not named Bishop Carroll or St. Thomas Aquinas had won the 5A state title, and that was Emporia. Besides 2007, it was either the Golden Eagles (7 titles) or the Saints (10 titles) that were dominating the ranks of 5A. Most recently it was the Saints who had won the title eight straight years. But for the first time since the Spartans did it in ‘07, it was the Timberwolves who made history and won the state title. Led by Caul, Southwest put three more in the top eighteen spots, and were able to pull away from Aquinas, ending the historical streak. With a final score of 67-82, the Timberwolves pulled away and the Saints had to settle for runner-up, which is still a great finish to the season. They took out Kapaun Mt. Carmel 82-87. Also, for my Aquinas readers, you’re still in the midst of a successful streak, as the boys have been either the champion or runner-up since 2010.
Some streaks come to an end, while some begin✅❌
If this was a newspaper, the headline would be “Trotter trots to a 5th state title,” and that’s something I’m proud of. But, the headline would be correct, as Clearwater senior Hayley Trotter won her fifth state title and defended her 4A title from a year ago, capping an 8-1 senior season, where she ran under nineteen five separate times, something she had never done once before this year. Trotter kept the entirety of 4A an arm’s length away throughout the season, consistently proving and demonstrating that she was still the queen of the class. Winning by thirty-four seconds, Trotter didn’t even give the field a chance, winning in 19:17.44, her slowest time of the year. That’s a flex on its own I’d say. Behind her like they were last year, just in a different order, were Eudora’s front pair of Sydney Owens and Hanna Keltner, who ran 19:51 and 20:10. This is Owens’ eighth time being an all-state finisher, and her second time finishing as the 4A runner-up in cross country. For Keltner, this is her third finish in state competition, and her fifth top three finish at state in her career. Anna Cantrell of Labette County moved up twenty-six spots from her 2021 finish, and shaved roughly a minute and twenty-two seconds off of her time as well, running 20:16 and earning the highest state finish of her young career. Just a sophomore, she won three races this season, and placed runner-up in the three, with the outlier being this finish at state. Lauren Smith of Clay Center Community rounded out the top five finishers, running 20:18 for 5th, her fourth all-state finish, and improving on her 2021 finish by nine places.
By a score of 51-84, it was Eudora who took down Baldwin for the second straight year, as they put three in the top fifteen, overpowering Baldwin’s top two runners in the top eleven. Winfield was three points back of Baldwin, taking 3rd with 87 points.
Similar to Trotter, Tonganoxie’s Eli Gilmore made the race his own, running 16:18.56 to win his first state title, winning by thirteen seconds. The Chieftain senior won five out of his six races this season, with his lone loss coming to the 6A and 5A champ at the Rim Rock Farm Classic. He lowered his PR to. 15:49.40 that day, and ran under 16:30 all but once this season. He had finished in the top five in this race the previous three years, but with a trio of state champs graduating in May, the door opened for Gilmore, and he waltzed on in. Behind him was a familiar face for Gilmore, Eudora’s Zach Arnold, running 16:31 for runner-up. Arnold finished up a season that saw him finish in the top ten all but once in his nine races. From his 6th place finish a year ago, it’s a sizable jump for the junior, who will now enter his senior year as the highest finisher from the previous year. Taking 3rd, 4th, and 5th was Clay Center’s Grant Smith and Wamego’s Brady Stegman and Harrison Cutting. The trio ran 16:35, 16:38 and 16:44, as they all added more state hardware to their collection. For Smith, it was third time earning all-state honors, while Stegman and Cutting picked up their third and second respectively.
A new team champion was crowned after a four year cycle of dominance from Buhler, as Wamego took the title on their own course, taking down the Crusaders 48-56. Buhler’s forty-two second pack time wasn’t enough to overpower four Raiders in the top eleven. Augusta took 3rd again, scoring 118 to edge out Winfield by seven points.
A tale of two schools🏫
The 3A landscape over the past few years has been highlighted by someone named Jentrie Alderson, the Southeast of Saline alum who has been responsible for a bundle of state titles over the past couple of years, and with her graduating May, it was up to the field to fill the void.
*Enter Bree Allen of Prairie View*
After finishing runner-up last fall, and three more top three finishes on the track, Allen finally got her first state title, in a shiny new PR of 18:56.48, shaving over half of a minute off of her previous mark. As Allen began her descent into the finish at Rim Rock and came onto the Jim Ryun Skyline, she solidified her undefeated season. Despite fast times from newcomers throughout the season, Allen stayed true to her training, kept her focus on the goal, and sits at the top of 3A heading into the track season. Behind her, like we saw a lot last weekend, were two freshman rounding out the top three. Hesston’s Ashley Lehman and Wichita-Trinity’s Brecken Howell squeaked under twenty, running 19:37 and 19:52 in the process. Both cement stellar debut seasons showed the rest of the 3A that they mean business. Taking 4th and 5th were two familiar faces in the 3A landscape, Abbye Hudson of Cheney and Abby Commerford of Southeast of Saline. Hudson, a senior, picked up her second all-state finish in cross country, moving up ten spots from her 2021 finish. Commerford, on the other hand, moved up a single spot from a year ago, getting into the top five for the first time. She also came just seven seconds from a PR, and will surely get under twenty next fall, maybe sooner if she has anymore out-of-state racing planned in the next month.
Just like they have for a while, Southeast of Saline did it again, winning their third straight state title, which was nearly solidified by their top three runners in the top ten finishers, as Ashley Prochazka and Breckyn Alderson joined Commerford. Taking second by a slim two points, were the ladies of Cheney, edging out Wichita-Trinity 108-110, as Southeast of Saline was in a world of their own with 64 points. There’s a certain reader out there who owes me an “I told you so,” and trust me, you’ve earned it, but you know who you are.
On the boy’s side, eleven of the top twenty finishers came from three schools, and the team battle was solely between two of those three teams. Just like last year, the boys of Wichita-Trinity prevailed over the boys of Southeast of Saline. Clay Shively, the junior leader for the Knights, led the way not just for his team, but the entire field, as he ran away from the competition and won his first state title in 15:26.11. After a runner-up finish last year, and two more on the track, Shively finally got the title he’s been so close to. His performance at state marked the fifth time he ran under sixteen this season and made it an entire season of top six finishes. Taking 2nd was Shively’s teammate Jacob Hobson, who ran 15:41. It’s Hobson’s third all-state finish (‘21 XC, ‘22 1600m), and he is yet to finish outside of the top six at any state competition since last fall. Behind the pair of Knights was a pair of Wichita Collegiate runners, who also happened to be brothers, as Cj Meyer and Will Meyer took 3rd and 4th in 15:56 and 16:04 to lead their squad. Cj, the older of the pair, added his seventh all-state finish to his collection, and his highest ever finish on the grass as well. His younger brother Will, finished right behind Cj for the third time this season. This is his third all-state finish. Rounding out the top five was the Southeast of Saline senior Damion Jackson, who ended the Kansas season with a new PR of 16:11, as he led the Trojans to a runner-up finish. Jackson heads into his final season of high school track with five all-state finishes to his name.
Like I mentioned, the team race was a highly anticipated duel between Wichita-Trinity and Southeast of Saline for the second straight year, as the Knights came out on top and won 35-58. Trinity put all five scorers in the top eighteen spots, as Saline squeezed four in the top fifteen, but the 1-2 finish proved to be just enough to clinch it for the defending champs. Hiawatha had a great day, as they took 3rd as a team, scoring 155 points to edge out West Franklin by two.
Back-to-back has a nice ring to it☎️
Well, she’s done it. Stanton County senior Chesney Peterson accomplished a number of things on Saturday, adding to what is arguably one of the most complete resumes that we have seen in the history of Kansas cross country. If you are somehow unfamiliar with Peterson and what she’s accomplished, then let me fill you in. For starters, this was her tenth state title, and quite honestly could have been more than that had the 2020 track season not been cancelled due to the pandemic. Throughout her career, she’s also put up a 76-5 record in competition, which calculates to a .938 win percentage, which is straight up phenomenal. And I know I bring it up often, but if you were writing this newsletter, you’d do the same; she hasn’t lost a race since May 01, 2021 (Trials of Miles Kansas City Qualifier), and is currently on a fifty-six race winning streak. Like I said, last Saturday Peterson won her third straight cross country state title, doing so in 18:19.11, which to my knowledge is the second fastest time recorded at Wamego, behind Kansas legend Cailie Logue of Girard.
DISCLAIMER: I have no idea if anyone has run faster than Logue or Peterson at Wamego, so simply let me know if I’m leaving someone out.
Since coming onto the 2A scene last year, Wabaunsee’s Payton Wurtz was the first finisher behind Peterson, as she was the state runner-up for the fifth time in her career. This was the lone loss of the season for Wurtz, as she had all eight races leading up to state. Her official time of 19:43.38 marked her fastest time she’s ever run at the Wamego Country Club. Behind Wurtz was Sterling freshman Julia Kilgore, running 19:55, breaking twenty for the first time in her freshman campaign and her high school career. Kilgore took advantage of the fast field and ran with it (literally), giving her the seventh top three finish of the season. Ellis freshman Avery Boydston and Meade senior Madison Sutterfield rounded out the top five, as the pair were separated by just seven seconds, running 20:13 and 20:20 respectively. Obviously, it was Boydston’s first time earning all-state honors, while it was Sutterfield’s fourth time doing so, and her fourth time finishing in the top five.
The senior ladies of Stanton County made it a perfect “4 for $4” and opted for another state championship trophy instead of fries, a drink, four chicken nuggets and their choice of a main entree. As they have since 2019, the Trojans stayed atop 2A, and this time did it by taking down Remington and Salina-Sacred Heart 72-97-103.
Just like Peterson, her senior teammate Kamryn Golub successfully defended his title, winning his second straight 2A cross country title in 16:56.65. He let us know back in August that he was “Comin’ back for more”, and he backed it up in Wamego. Throughout his career, Golub has proved that he’s no stranger to the podium, as this was his fifth time being in the top three finishers at state, both on the track and the grass, and his second state title overall. Just as they have multiple times this season, it was a battle between Golub and Meade’s Logan Keith. Keith wasn’t phased by the jump in classifications, taking 2nd just five seconds behind Golub in 17:01. This was Keith’s third straight top fifteen finish in cross country, and his fifth all-state finish after winning both the 3200m and 1600m 1A titles in May. Behind him was a trio of talented runners, as Spencer Mumford, Zach Briscoe and Carson Fouard rounded out the top five finishers. Mumford of Kansas City Christian ran 17:03, with Berean Academy’s Briscoe running 17:04, and Ell-Saline’s Fouard in 17:06. Mumford matched his finish in the 3200m in the spring, while collecting his third state medal along the way. As far as I can tell, this was Briscoe’s first season of cross country, and boy did he do pretty well, leading Berean Academy to the state title, but we’ll get to that in a bit. For Fouard, what a day to get your first state medal, as he ran under 17:10 for the fifth time this season, and also failed to finish outside of the top five.
Like I alluded to a few sentences back, Berean Academy re-claimed their state title, thanks to Briscoe and Andrew Harder in the top ten, and their five scorers in the top thirty. They had a dominant win over the field, beating Meade and Marion, 63-95-109. What a day it was for Meade, as they placed second after getting thrown into 2A and transitioning from four scoring runners to five.
Out with the old, and in with the new👴👶
To say that Emma Weiner of Golden Plains has been dominant is an understatement. The junior just capped off her second straight undefeated cross country season, and this time she ended it without a broken fibula. The junior again posted an unblemished record, racking up eight wins in all eight of her races. Not to mention, there were only two instances this season where the runner-up of the race was within a minute of her. One of those instances was at state, where Weiner was the lone runner to get under twenty minutes. With a time of 19:37.01, the defending champ was able to re-create the same outcome from 2021, as she was the first girl across the line. It was Weiner’s fourth state title of her career, and I doubt her last.
Behind her though was something I found incredibly interesting, and hopefully explains the title for this section. Filling up the rest of the medal positions were ten freshman and nine sophomores. Three freshman went 2-4, and over half of the top fifteen were freshman. I think that demonstrates alone that the future of 1A is both bright and exciting, especially for next year, as all twenty medalists have a solid chance to be back again to leave Wamego with some more hardware.
Remember how I mentioned there were three freshman in the top five, let’s shed a little light on those talented ladies. Hailey Walden, Josie Walter, and Lillian Skalsky didn’t wait long in their careers to make a statement. Walden, representing the Classical School of Wichita, ran 20:07, helping her to her fourth runner-up finish and ninth top ten finish of the year. Walter of Colony Crest crossed the line in 20:24 for 3rd, making it a solid 7/7 in top five finishes during her freshman season. Olpe’s Skalsky took 4th in 20:38, which marked her first time outside of the top three this season. It would be unfair for me to leave out Kylie Stapleton who placed 5th in 21:17, as the sophomore earned her third state medal of her career. In case you’re curious, her other two came in the spring, as she finished runner-up in both the 800m and long jump.
Led by Stapleton in 5th, South Gray was able to put two more athletes in the top fifteen (Gwyn Jantz - 6th & Jacee Deges - 15th) to clinch the team title over Ness City, by a final score of 40-58. This is South Gray’s first title in program history (according to KSHSAA), and they took down a strong field in the process. Taking 3rd was Colony Crest with 74 points, who edged out defending champion Quinter by ten points.
Is there a better time to break seventeen and set a PR than at state? If your name is Brenden Ellis, then, no, there isn’t! The Ingalls senior capped his cross country career on the highest of notes, claiming the first state title of his life. Last week I wrote about how the 1A boy’s race was between a couple of runners, and that it would be a close finish. Unfortunately for me, he made me regret my prediction, because Ellis took the race and made it his own, going on to win by forty-two seconds. If you’re reading this. Brenden, you’ve proved your point, and I’ll keep this in mind when state track rolls around.
Similar to the girls, there were a few freshmen who found themselves in the top three spots, as Ness City’s Broxton Gall and Kiowa County’s Sam Martinez had a day, as the pair ran 17:32 and 17:38, as they made the state podium in their first attempt at doing so. Gall made it a whole season of placing in the top fifteen, while Martinez kept it in the top ten throughout his season. Both had stellar debut seasons and will look to make their mark in 1A on the track in a few months. Taking 4th was Wallace County’s Evan Pearce and Lebo’s Caleb Durst, each running 17:44 and 17:47 respectively. This was the third all-state finish for Pearce, and Durst’s first.
With Meade up in 2A for the postseason, the door was swung wide open and the trophy was open for the taking. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t set in stone that Meade would repeat, but they had the weapons and experience to do so. Who took advantage of the defending champion’s absence? None-other than 2021 runner-up Quinter. Seemingly avenging their finish a year ago, the Bulldogs put all four scorers in the top twenty, as they held off Beloit-St. John’s and Ness City with a final score of 30-45-57.
Though it’s nearly 9:30 on Friday as this is getting sent to your inboxes, I hope it finds you well on this cold and rainy night. Personally, I’m thriving with the rain, mainly because I love this weather, plus I just ordered some Chipotle to go pick up and enjoy. I hope you enjoy your weekend off of competition, whether that’s as an athlete, fan, parent, or whatever your tie is to the sport.