Okay, it's time for fall🍁
please I'm begging
After I graduated from Baker, I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that I could no longer base my life around summer, winter and spring break like I had for the previous eighteen or so years. Instead, I just count down the days to either cross country or track season. despite my love for the professional field, a lot of my joy from the sport is from being at the meets in-person, and due to my lack of planning (and funds), I couldn’t get to Eugene over the weekend, and you will most definitely not find me in Budapest next month unless someone wants to spot me ten grand. Like I said a few sentences ago, my life is based on what season is on deck, and we are somehow already to the point in the summer where we can say that “cross country starts next month”.
A few XC storylines 📖
In less than two months time, we’ll be right back in the thick of the high school cross country season and boy am I excited! We also just witnessed the fastest track season of distance running the state has ever seen, so expectations are relatively high.
Wichita-Trinity
Last fall the Knights of Trinity Academy were arguably the best team in the state. Led by 14:47.40 runner and 4:01 miler Clay Shively, the two-time defending 3A champs return their ENTIRE top five, and signs point to them all being even faster. First, Shively is coming off another breakthrough in his fitness, and that state record was just out of reach of him a year ago. Personally, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t break 14:40, or even 14:30, purely based off his historic track season. In addition to Shively, both Sam Ferguson and Jacob Hobson have run sub 15:35, and Wes Ferguson and Caleb Tofteland are under 16:25. That would hypothetically put their five scorers somewhere in the top nine spots. Keep in mind the type of progression we’ve seen from this team over the past two years. I would not at all be surprised if they put their top five under 16:00. Keep an eye on the Knights, because it’s going to be fun.
Olathe West
One would think that losing both Charis Robinson and Paige Baker would set you back quite a bit heading into the next year, but for the Owls, they aren’t re-building, they’re re-loading. Despite losing two key pieces of their dynasty, the three-time defending state champs remain heavy favorites to four-peat, thanks to their returners and incoming freshman. Statistically, they are returning four of the top ten runners in 6A, along with two more girls in the top twenty. Don’t forget about incoming freshmen and the absolute depth this program has displayed in their distance dominance. Led by senior Bree Newport and Kate Miller, once again, this team is THE team to beat.
Katelyn Rupe and Kaylie Shultz
Katelyn Rupe is already the best runner in the state, and now she’s got someone to possibly keep her company at the front of the race this fall. With an average gap of two-minutes between her and the field, it’s got to be pretty lonely when it’s just you and the gator. However, this year, a lot of eyes will be on incoming freshman Kaylie Shultz, who broke ALL of Rupe’s middle school records. Shultz has already run 10:57, 5:12 and 2:25 as an 8th grader, and now has the opportunity to consistently train and compete with Rupe for the next two years. The duo will certainly be a force to be reckoned with, and may be looking to take up the first two medals at any race where they toe the line.
Will Eudora Girls Three-Peat?
During the past two years Eudora Cardinals have had a mighty firm grasp on 4A, winning the last two state titles and putting three in the top fifteen both years. This fall, they’ll again return their star-studded duo of junior Hanna Keltner and senior Sydney Owens, but will be without Phoebe Fletcher, who has been their consistent #3 for as long as I can remember. However, their 4-7 are all back, and they’ll play a key role in the Cardinal’s title defense. Both Baldwin and Clay Center are contenders this time around, with Baldwin projected to have four in the top twenty. Obviously, nothing is even remotely set in stone because I have no idea if there are any freshmen joining the team who are looking to immediately contribute. All-in-all, Eudora has an uphill battle this fall, but their two experienced frontrunners will surely have the squad ready come October.
What’s next for Hocker-Singh?
One of the state’s greatest distance talents in recent memory has had a successul yet unexpected first three years of high school running so far. The three-time defending 6A champion has only had one complete pair of seasons, and that was back during her freshman year when she won two state titles (XC, 3200m) and was runner-up in both the 1600m and 800m. Since her freshman year, Hocker-Singh has been seemingly battling injury more often than not, but still able to win two more cross country titles her sophomore and junior year. In 2021, Hocker-Singh looked to still be at full strength, running 17:11.50 at NXR and going undefeated in the state. She was absent the 2022 track season, but made her debut on the grass under the lights at Olathe Twilight, and runner-up in 18:00, before she went on to win four straight races in October, concluding with her third straight state title. This past track season, Hocker-Singh raced on the track for the first time in a long time, where she lowered her 3200m to 11:05.36, but finished 5th in a tough region and missed out on being an individual qualifier. However, she was able to help the 4x800m team take 4th. I’m not sure what her training has been like since or what her expected plan is this fall, but fingers crossed she gets to have a stress-free senior year without any roadblocks.
USA’s 🇺🇸
Well, it definitely wasn’t the USA’s everybody may have been expecting, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining! Another year, another group of Kansas alumni that will be going-for-gold at the World Championships, this time in Budapest, Hungary next month. That’s only the American athletes, so keep in mind as there will be international alumni competing as well.
Bryce Hoppel has been doing Bryce Hoppel things ever since he wore the powder blue and pink in Lawrence. The two-time NCAA champion now has two USA Outdoor champions, as the Jayhawk grad defended his 2022 title. In one of the most physical races I’ve seen in a bit, Hoppel kept his composure and held off the likes of Clayton Murphy and Isaiah Harris to qualify for his fourth-straight national team. He crossed in 1:46.20, roughly half of a second ahead of the runner-up. The twenty-five-year-old will don the red, white and blue yet again, where he’ll shoot for his first outdoor global medal.
I think Kyle Merber said it best when he wrote “The Bowerman snub will go down as the best thing that ever happened to Cordell Tinch’s personal brand.”
I already thought that after his 12.96, but after his weekend in Oregon, I think that statement rings even more true. Cordell Tinch looked like a US Championship veteran, cool, calm, composed, you name it. Whatever word you feel best describes someone who didn’t let any ounce of pressure impact his performance, that’s what you should describe Cordell Tinch as. In the heats of the 110mH, which was his first-ever professional national championship race, he ran the second-best time of the day, crossing in 13.07, just .002 seconds behind two-time defending world champ Grant Holloway. In the semi-finals, he followed up with a 13.04, and then a 13.08 in the final, which was more than enough for a runner-up finish and a ticket to Budapest. He also placed 5th in the long jump, so yeah, he can do it all.
Talk. About. Consistency. Former Thunderbird Benard Keter qualified for his third-straight international championship, and is the only man in the US to be on all three of those teams. After two third-place finishes at the US Champs/Trials in 2021 and 2022, Keter finished as the nation’s runner-up on Saturday, setting a new PR in the process. Keter ran 8:17.19 to finish in-between Kenneth Rooks and Isaac Updike. Unfortunately, as it stands, Keter does not have the WCS nor the points to qualify via the World Ranking system. Although, there are multiple scenarios to my knowledge where Keter would still go through, I just don’t have the brainpower to learn the ins and outs of the rankings. He could also choose to race a few more times and chase the 8:15 standard, which he is just two seconds away from.
Last summer, Kansas State alum Janee’ Kassanavoid became the FIRST Native American woman to earn a medal at the World Athletics Championship, which in itself alone is a tremendous reason to be rooting for her. (Read more about that in this great article by SELF) But it also helps that she is really dang good at the hammer throw, in fact, she’s one of the greatest of all-time. Currently 7th in world history, Kassanavoid has made quite the name for herself over the past few years, and is doing so on the event’s most difficult team to make. With a throw of 76.44m (250-9), Kassanavoid finished 3rd behind the last two world champions. She’ll be looking to get her second consecutive global medal next month in Budapest.
There was also a pair of current and former Jayhawks that finished on the podium too, with Rylee Anderson and Zach Bradford finishing in the top three in their respective event. In her last competition as a Jayhawk, Anderson took 3rd after a jump-off and is still not a lock for the US team in the event, but has ten more days to either hit the qualifier of 1.97m (6-4) or move up in the World Ranking high enough into a qualifying position. I reached out to her last week to see and she wasn’t sure if she was going to chase the standard, but there is still a chance Anderson could compete at World’s if she chooses.
For Bradford, he already has the WCS and will be officially competing for the US next month, in his second world championship appearance. This was a long time coming for Bradford, as the vaulter has missed the team the last two years.
Sunflower State Highlights 🌻
Olivia Bakker, a state champion while at Blue Valley West, transferred to Northwest Missouri State after not competing this past season.
Southeast of Saline graduate Jentrie Alderson transferred from Pittsburg State to UMKC earlier this month, taking her 17:18 5k PR with her.
William Jones, the 400m state record holder, won a silver and bronze at the NACAC U23 Championships over the weekend, in the 4x400m relay and the 400m.
Kansas Wesleyan welcomed Carter Huyser from Grand View recently, as the 1:50 800m runner will be joining the Coyotes in Salina. Huyser was a member of the Grand View’s 2021 Indoor 4x800m national championship team.
Andover Central junior Bryce Barkdull won the Coast2Coast International Meet in Australia this month, clearing 17-1 in the process.
At the 9th Annual Blue Jeans Mile at Washburn Rural, soon-to-be Baker Wildcat Wyatt Allen won the race in 4:52.
Kansas State thrower Kade McCall competed at the NACAC U23 Championships this past weekend, earning silver in the Men’s Hammer.
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