Kansas XC Week 5 Recap
You came back? Just kidding, we sent the email, you didn't really have a say in the matter. Let's dive deep into what was a packed week.
I missed it last week, but the Oberlin-Decatur Invitational took place last Tuesday on September 28th, but made sure to cover it this week.
Another week, another win for Golden Plains sophomore Emma Weiner. 21:16.90 was more than enough for the victory over Mackenzie Clydesdale (22:25.7) of Norton Community. Weiner continues to show why she is the favorite for the 1A title, by not letting an opponent finish within sixty-three seconds of her throughout the 2021 season. Kathie Chavez of Colby finished in third in 22:59.20, just over twenty seconds ahead of fourth. Clydesdale’s runner-up finish propelled Norton Community to a 22-49-53 victory over Oakley and Goodland.
Noah Schears of Goodland was the lone runner to dip under twenty in the boys’ race with a winning time of 19:59.40. Ethan Weiner (20:17.90) and Tyler Stewart (20:42.70) finished in second and third respectively, representing Golden Plans and Norton Community. Similar to the girls, there were three teams in the field, with Hoxie (28) taking down Norton Community (44) and Colby (55).
Kansas City Christian, have you heard of them this season? If your answer is no, get ready because they are on the rise in 2A. This past Thursday at the Maranatha Invitational, the KC Christian boys went 1-4, led by Luke Browning, who won in 17:12.80. Close behind him was the trio of Andrew Schumacher (17:27.00), Spencer Mumford (17:34.40), and Nathan Connealy (17:45.90). Christ Preparatory, led by Henry Glenn (18:45.80), finished as the runner-up to KC Christian 66-43. Third place belonged to Kansas City East Christian Academy (78).
Hannah Thong, a sophomore from Heritage Christian got back to her winning ways, running away to a 19:27.1, finishing over two minutes ahead of second place. Finishing in second, was Hannah’s sister, Elise Thong (21:41.9). Seven seconds back of Elise was Rebekah Jenks (21:48.3) of Kansas City Christian. Thanks to their 1-2 punch, Heritage Christian scored 17 points on route to a 33 point victory over Bishop Seabury (50), Christ Preparatory (80), Kansas City East Christian (110), Sumner Academy (136) and Maranatha Academy (183). Before we move on, I want to give a shoutout to @BrentKSHSAA who wrote a great piece on the last five years of the Heritage Christian program. I recommend you guys check it out if you are interested.
The Halstead Invitational saw some of the biggest names in 3A and 4A compete last Thursday, starting off with two stars, Jentrie Alderson and Hayley Trotter. Alderson is a fresh off of her fourth win and a personal best, while Trotter is coming fresh off a win in the Blue Division at Rim Rock. In the battle between two of the state’s best, it was Alderson who pulled out the victory with an 18:44.00, over Trotter’s 19:30. In third place, running to her fourth top five finish of the season with a 20:34.00 was Abby Commerford, a freshman for Southeast of Saline. The team race saw Southeast of Saline (31) take the team win over Cheney (69), Circle (86) and Smoky Valley (86). Hutchinson-Trinity (138), Pretty Prairie (144), Halstead (152) and Ellinwood (220) rounded out the eight team field.
Dylan Sprecker, the current 3A favorite by over thirty-eight seconds picked up his fourth win of the season. Sprecker took the win, covering the course in 16:01, more than enough for the win over Circle senior Ian Hunter (16:54.00) and Hutchinson-Trinity’s Jonah Godina (16:59.00). Thanks to a 1-4-6-9 finish, Southeast of Saline handily won over Smoky Valley and Hutchinson-Trinity, 34-81-113. The eleven team field consisted of Wichita Collegiate (117), Circle (137), Marion (185), Clearwater (201), Haven (244), Classical School of Wichita (249), Wellington (256) and Goddard (276).
What’s going on in Council Grove? Jordyn Picolet (20:57.00) set the tone and picked up the individual win, 44 seconds in front of M.J. Huff (21:41.00) of Burlington. Finishing 3-4-5 was a trio from Santa Fe Trail, Ashlynn Rowe (21:50.00), Whitney Herren (23:00), and Ajah Banks (23:00.00). That pack was enough for the victory over Osage City, Burlington and Chase County, 28-44-57-86.
Kodi Downes can’t stop winning. Five wins in five races, each won with a faster 5k than the previous one. From 16:43.19 down to 16:10.00. Keep an eye out for Kodi this season, he doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Downes won the Council Grove Invitational by 55 seconds, over Drew Elliot (17:05.00) of Chapman and Alfonso Rubio (17:10.00) of Mission Valley. With another statement race, Riley County (62) took down a competitive field, winning over Council Grove (73) and Silver Lake (98).
Over the years, Hope Jackson has cemented herself as one of the most successful high school runners that the state has seen recently. Since starting her high school career, Hope has gone 45-13 on the track and the grass, and has won four state championships going into her senior year. So yeah, you could say she’s pretty good. Last Saturday at the Bishop Carroll Invitational, Jackson took down Zoie Ecord of Maize, winning 19:20. to Ecord’s 19:54. Close behind in third was Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Addie Curtis in 19:59. In terms of team scoring, Great Bend put four in the top ten and seven in the top fifteen, leading them to a 39-48 win over Bishop Carroll. In third was Kapaun Mt. Carmel (82), followed by Maize (102), Eisenhower (120) and Wichita North (122).
Great Bend’s Kaiden Esfeld continues to dominate, winning his fourth race out of five on the year. Esfeld happens to be in arguably the most difficult classification in the state, one that currently has the state’s second fastest runner in St. Thomas Aquinas’ Logan Seger (15:05.80), along with seven more under sixteen. The more we get to watch Kaiden, the more I think he is going to have the capability to hang with the top guys in 5A. He cruised to a 16:31-16:55 victory over Ryan Son of Wichita East. In third was Logan Libel of Eisenhower in 17:11. In a close team race, Kapaun Mt. Carmel edged out Bishop Carroll 54-57. with Maize finishing in third with 68. Wichita East (77), Eisenhower (89), Wichita North (197) and Classical School of Wichita (202) rounded out the seven team field.
Milford State Park, in my opinion one of the toughest if not THE toughest course in the state. I ran at Milford twice for Regionals in high school and it’s a grueling course. On their home course at the Bob Schmoekel Invitational, it was a Junction City trio of Brynna York (20:09.90), Lorna Rae Pierce (20:26.60) and Reagan McGuire (20:57.40) who finished 1-2-4. Chloe Inskeep of Hutchinson broke up the pack with a third place finish in 20:42.70. The Blue Jays won the meet 36-54-84 against Hays and Salina South. Hutchinson (90), Clay Center (112) and Salina Central (131) finished 4-5-6.
On the boys’ side, Junction City senior Tyler Atkins is fresh off of a 15:58.60 at Rim Rock and used that momentum to win the race over William Griffith (16:54.00) and Grant Smith (16:59.30) from Salina Central and Clay Center. Junction City completed the team sweep, winning 32-75-77 over Clay Center and Salina Central. Salina South (94), Hays (95) and St. Mary’s Academy (116) finished 4-5-6.
It was a 1-2-3 finish for Madeline Carter (19:07.65), Khloi Bird (19:28.03), and Payton Fink (19:42.32) at the Seaman Invitational. In fourth place and not far behind the Jr. Blue trio is Seaman’s Bethany Druse (20:14.94). Washburn Rural has made a name for themselves this season with three runners in the 6A top 20 and their five all in the top 42. Definitely keep an eye on them when the postseason comes around. The team race was won by Washburn Rural, over Seaman and Lawrence 29-37-65. Leavenworth (110) and Cair Paravel (149) finished 4th and 5th.
For the second time this season, Kory Sutton and Jackson Esquibel went 1-2 in a race. The pair ran 16:15.31 and 16:22.72. Behind them in 3rd and 4th were Jack Ryan (16:25.92) of Lawrence and Alex Holmes (16:32.74) of Washburn Rural. It was a Jr. Blue sweep, with the boys taking the victory over city rivals Seaman and Shawnee Heights, 49-63-63. Lawrence (86), Leavenworth (123), and Topeka (140) rounded out the six team field.
We talked about her last week, and she didn’t give us a reason to skip over her this week. Chesney Peterson of Stanton County won her fifth straight with a 19:58.1 effort at the Syracuse Invitational. Behind her in second and third were Ozia Trujillo (21:13.4) and Suzanne Farnham of Southwestern Heights and Stanton County. In the team race it was Hooker High School (49) from Oklahoma, winning over Southwestern Heights (51) and Stanton County (68)
Stanton County junior Kamryn Golub ran his way to third win of the season with his 17:31.2 performance. Lawson Beymer (17:52.9) and Israel Ramos (18:14.8) of Lakin and Hooker were the second and third place finishers. Hooker swept the team titles, winning 34-53 over Stanton County. Lakin finished in 3rd with 81 points.
Baldwin City played host to their second meet of the year, the Maple Leaf Classic. The last meet at the Baldwin City Golf Course was the Baldwin Invitational , which saw Ben Shryock (15:57.2) of Lawrence Free State and Katie Schwartzkoph (18:23.31) win the individual titles. Last Saturday it was Micah Blomker and Paige Mullen who took the individual victories. Mullen won her race with an 18:54.21, 40 seconds ahead of freshman runner-up Rebekah Pickering (19:36.57) and third place sophomore Haley Henningson (19:39.78) of Manhattan. Manhattan had their five in the top ten, which was enough for a comfortable win over 4A contenders Baldwin, 31-64. Shawnee Mission North finished with 70 to place 3rd.
Micah Blomker, wow. The fastest boy in Kansas won his second race of the year, setting the course record of 15:31.94. Blomker took down a very talented Tanner Newkirk (15:55.63) of Topeka-Hayden and Henry Born (16:05.00) of Shawnee Mission Northwest. Newkirk is the defending 4A state champion, and Born is ranked third in a deep 6A field. Blomker, recently ran the fastest 5k in Kansas history, took down two of the best runners in the state. If that doesn’t remind you stacked this field was, I’m not sure what will. Shawnee Mission North edged out Manhattan 53-59 to take the team win, with St. James and Lansing taking 3rd and 4th with 90 and 96 points.
On October 2nd, Ness City High School hosted the Ness City Invitational, where Corbin Ricke of Spearville and Holcomb’s Jenera Ardery were the boys and girls champions. With her second win of the year, Ardery won by fifty seconds over Scott Community’s Clare Hawkins (21:38.30) and Courtney Bailey (22:10.20) of Ingalls. The ladies of Holcomb (37) placed their five in the top twelve, narrowly taking down Scott Community (42) , Hoisington (57) and Kiowa County (84).
Corbin Ricke took home his third gold of the year, only continuing to be the 1A favorite. Ricke’s 17:19.60 beat out Bryndan Bailey and Brenden Ellis from Scott Community and Ingalls. Hoisington and their 3-7-10-12-13 finish took home the team title 45-52 over Scott Community. Holcomb finished in third with 68 points, and Quinter and Ingalls took home 4th and 5th.
The KC XC Classic brought in some of the fastest athletes in Kansas and Missouri. The Ray-Pec XC Course has seen some fast times in its past as well. The boys course record is 15:21.30, ran by Zach Herriott from Rockhurst, and the girls course record is 17:15.70, ran ten years ago by Samantha Nightingale of Blue Springs South. In only her sophomore year, Olathe North’s Anjali Hocker-Singh won her third race of the year and dipped below eighteen for the second time in her career. 17:52.40 was enough to outlast Amelia Arrieta of St. Teresa’s Academy who finished in 17:58.40. Kansas athletes had seven of the top ten finishers, led by Hocker-Singh. Mill Valley’s Katie Schwartzkoph ran 18:00 for the second straight week, this time taking third. Placing 4th-8th were two seniors and two sophomores. Blue Valley West’s Olivia Bakker (18:30.10), Tori Wingrove (18:41.90) of Blue Valley, and Olathe West duo Kate Miller (18:55.90) and Bree Newport (19:00.60). In 9th, the final Kansas runner in the top ten was Blue Valley Northwest senior Cecilia Fisher (19:01.60). In the team race, the most dominant team in the state, Olathe West won their fifth meet in five meets this year. This week, the Owls beat thirty other teams, placing first with 75 points, which was made possible thanks to their 6-7-11-24-27 finish and fifty-eight second pack time. St. Teresa’s Academy (131) and Blue Springs South (133), both from Missouri took second and third. The next three Kansas schools were Mill Valley (156) in 4th, Olathe North (176) in 6th and Blue Valley Northwest (211) in 7th.
The boys’ side saw some familiar names towards the top of the results just like the girls. Tanner Lindahl, the Buhler senior traveled over two-hundred miles to win a race with over three-hundred runners. Lindahl won with a time of 15:52.10, six seconds over Olathe West senior Aidan Reyna and his 15:58.20. After a string of three runner-up finishes and a 6th place finish at Rim Rock last week, Lindahl picked up his first win of the season. Finishing 8th, 9th and 10th were AJ Vega (16:10.30), a sophomore from Mill Valley, the junior Sam Hurley (16:15.80) from Blue Valley Northwest and Olathe South senior Matthew Tolman (16:22.50). It was a 1-2-3 finish for Kansas teams, with Olathe South beating out Olathe East and DeSoto, 107-162-194. Just like Olathe West in the girls’ race, the 6A favorites won their respective race, reminding the field what they are capable of. Olathe East sits in 3rd in the XC Team Scores with DeSoto entering the running for a podium finish in a tough 5A field.
This year’s addition of the Berean XC Meet, Lucy Brown and Ellie Van Zelfden of Remington took home first and second, running to the #6 and #8 times in 2A with a 20:07.18 and 20:27.00. In third, was Lexi Scheufler from Trinity Academy out of Wichita. In the team race, Remington took down the six team field, winning over Trinity Academy and Augusta 42-62-69. Remington is currently third in 2A behind Salina-Sacred Heart and Stanton County in the most updated XC Team Scores on MileSplit.
The boys’ race saw the fastest runner in 4A, Sawyer Schmidt of Augusta run away with the race for his third win of the year and his second fastest 5k of his career. 15:34.30 was enough for a minute and twenty-two second win over Andrew Harder (16:56.31) of Berean Academy and Christian Darrah (17:01.57) from Canton-Galva. Let’s take a moment to look at the boys of Trinity Academy. They finished 4th-8th, led by Samuel Ferguson and his 17:23.20. Rounding out the scoring for Trinity Academy was Ian Carroll (17:23.56) , Clay Shively (17:23.85) , Jacob Hobson (17:24.22), and Caleb Toftland (17:24.57). If you’re keeping up, that is a 1.37 second pack time. By the time you finish reading this sentence, their five runners would be across the finish line. Trinity Academy has made quite the name for themselves and the last week, and now move up to a significant threat to end the back-to-back-back state championship streak for Southeast of Saline. I’m not sure where both teams are racing this week, but mark your calendars for October 23rd at 10:45am, where both Trinity Academy and Southeast of Saline will be competing with each other and Smoky Valley, Wichita Collegiate and Riley County for a ticket to state. Keep in mind, only three schools will make it through, leaving some competitive 3A teams at home the next weekend.
The Centralia Invitational, ran on the Centralia Cross Country Cours saw 2A Wabaunsee nearly take down the #1 team in 1A, Doniphan West. Elle Williams, a senior from Doniphan West and the second fastest girl in 1A take home the win with a season best of 20:13.75. Finishing second and third were Payton Wurtz (20:34.84) and Bowie Weishaar (21:04.84) of Wabaunsee and Jefferson County North. The team race was separated by nine points from 1st-3rd, with Doniphan West outlasting Wabaunsee and Jefferson County North 40-41-49.
With what I found to be his first career win, Colby Hanzlicek of Wetmore ran to the 8th fastest time in 1A with a 17:34. Behind him in 2nd and 3rd, Grady Buessing and Trent Meredith who ran 17:38 and 17:43. Meredith was the leader of a three person pack of Jefferson County North athletes, with Isaac Kane (18:15) and Cole Burk (18:19) following behind. Thanks to that trio, Jefferson County North Took down Wetmore and Pike Valley, 31-67-82.
The Newton Invitational started off with a duo of sub-nineteen performances by Britton Kelly (19:42) of Maize South and Dodge City’s Serenity Larson (19:55.40). In a close third was Andover senior Lizzie Vetter in 20:01. In the team race, Derby placed four in the top ten, which was enough for a seventeen point victory over Maize South, 44-61. Dodge City and Andover finished 3rd and 4th only separated by nine points, 90-99.
The boys race saw Noah Morenz of Wamego lead the field with a win, running 16:53.60, winning over Austin Schaeffer and Emery Wolfe, of Maize South and Wamego. Schaeffer ran 16:57 and Wolfe ran 17:16.00. Wamego, who put four in the top six, scored 39 points to defeat Maize South (77) and Dodge City (98). Wamego remains one of the top contenders in 4A, basically neck and neck with Buhler.
Beloit High School, hosted the most recent edition of the Beloit Invitational. Let’s start with the girls’ race, where Minneapolis’ Alayna Cossaart won her third race of the season, along with her first sub-twenty performance of the year. Cossaart ran 19:39.60 to take down a competitive field, one that saw Bennington’s Ashlyn Harbaugh (20:04.30) , Maddie Ehrlich of Salina-Sacred Heart (20:11.40) , Jane Letourneau (20:19.00) of Beloit-St. John and Smith Center’s Gracie Enochs (20:20) taking 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th. Salina-Sacred Heart took a team win with a twenty point margin over Minneapolis, 39-59. Osborne took third with 73 points.
In the boys’ race, Beloit sophomore Lance Lundine took down two freshman to win the race in 16:45.40, for his fastest time of his short career. Garrison Zerger from Ell-Saline and Brady Wells from Salina-Sacred Heart both ran lifetime PR’s with a 16:51.40 and 17:01.70 to finish 2nd and 3rd. Winning the team race was Abilene, taking down Ell-Saline and Bennington, 63-71-74.
The Central Heights Invitational started off with a BANG. Bree Allen, the Prairie View freshman won her third meet in four tries this season, running her way to a seventy-three second PR. Allen is now a top contender in the 3A field, now with her eyes set on Jentrie Alderson, the Southeast of Saline senior who has ran 18:25.40 this year. Allen won the race in 19:15.91, sixty-four seconds over runner-up Campbell O’Dell from Fredonia, who is the fourth fastest runner in 3A, chasing both Alderson and Allen. Emma Cubit of Central Heights finished in 3rd, running a 21:51.54Prairie View edged out Central Heights in the team race, 32-35, with Humboldt finishing 3rd with 58.
Connor Burkdoll, the freshman from Central Heights won his home meet, breaking eighteen for the first time in the process. Burkdoll’s 17:49.72 was enough for a fifteen second win over Iola senior Jesse Taylor (18:04.93), followed by Burkdoll’s teammate and fellow freshman Cody Hammond, who ran 18:10.36 to finish 3rd. Iola, helped with their three in the top ten were able to beat Central Heights and Wellsville, 33-64-77.
That’s a wrap for our second newsletter, as always, if you missed us talking about a certain meet or covering something else across the state, let us know on our Twitter or you can email us at ksxcountrytandf@gmail.com. Also, I have a few more thing I wanted to talk about, so keep an eye out on your email throughout the week, and enjoy some cross country as well. We’ll see you guys soon, have a great rest of your week!