Kansas high school state cross country: Wichita Trinity runners sweep 3A gold

One of the most accomplished runners in the history of Kansas high school sports added two more championships to his collection on Saturday.

Not only did Trinity Academy senior Clay Shively successfully defend his individual title at the Class 3A state cross country meet at Rim Rock Farms in Lawrence on Saturday, but he also helped lead the Knights to their third straight team championship in dominant fashion.

Running alongside teammate Samuel Ferguson for the 5-kilometer race, Shively barely edged his classmate in a time of 15 minutes, 48 seconds — one-tenth of a second faster than Ferguson. Collegiate junior Will Meyer wasn’t far behind in fourth place in a time of 15:52.

The Trinity duo once again finished first-second at the state race, while fellow senior Jacob Hobson (15:58) placed fifth and junior Caleb Tofteland (16:21) took 11th. Trinity had a team score of 49 points, 24 ahead of runner-up Southeast of Saline, as the rest of the team was rounded out by junior Grayson Payne, junior Jaren Martinson and junior Brice Wills.

It was a clean sweep for Trinity, as sophomore Emily Hein took home the gold medal in the 3A girls race in a time of 18:37 that beat the field by more than 47 seconds.

Trinity’s girls team finished with a team score of 113 points, edging Norton (116) for the second-place team trophy. Sophomore Brecken Howell (20:10) took sixth overall for Trinity, while the rest of the team featured junior Breckynn Lee, freshman Abby Tofteland, sophomore Milly Jo Davis, junior Hannah Ferguson and senior Emma Dunnegan.

Other area medalists in the 3A girls race were the Hesston duo of sophomore Ashley Lehman (fifth, 20:02) and freshman Reese Quinn (12th, 20:28) and Smoky Valley senior Keira Mullen (18th, 20:47). Despite no one in the top 30, Cheney’s team of Taelyn Hoch, Brin Bergkamp, Kinslee Ingram, Tatum Ingram, Addison Bearley, Addisyn Hudson and Lakin Green finished fourth in the team standings.

Buhler boys wins fifth 4A title in last six years

While Buhler’s string of Class 4A championships came to an end last season, the Crusaders made up for it with one of their most dominant performances yet at the state meet.

All five of Buhler’s scoring runners placed in the top 14, which equaled a team score of 31 points — 63 ahead of second-place Wamego — in the 4A team race at Wamego Golf Course. The Buhler boys have now claimed 4A titles in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

The pack of Buhler runners at the top of the race included senior Layne Whisler (fifth, 16:10), senior Kaden Lohrentz (sixth, 16:23), freshman Gavin Lindahl (seventh, 16:30), junior Henry Trumpp (11th, 16:56) and junior Kai Mendenhall (14th, 16:58). The other two runners, senior Cameron Yutzy (30th, 17:30) and senior Hunter Metzger (33rd, 17:33), also finished top-35 for the team.

Meanwhile, McPherson sophomore Caleb Muehler won the individual championship with a time of 15:58 to barely edge Eudora senior Zachary Arnold (15:59) by a second.

Other area medalists included Circle senior Blake Logan (third, 16:06), Augusta sophomore Jase Thomas (17th, 17:01) and Augusta junior Dawson Schmidt (19th, 17:02).

Other Wichita-area state medalists from KSHSAA state cross country

5A boys—Bishop Carroll (91 points) narrowly edged Kapaun Mt. Carmel (94) to finish third place in the team standings at the 5A state meet.

Both teams had runners in the lead pack, as Carroll senior Dustin Stephenson (15:39) was five seconds behind champion Jackson Esquibel of Shawnee Heights and Kapaun sophomore Daniel Enriquez (15:48) was third.

Carroll also featured senior Gunnar Leonard (sixth, 16:06), junior Luke Meier (21st, 16:28), junior Ethan Armbrister (17:03), sophomore Landon Englert (17:06), senior Logan Prichard (17:14) and junior Nathan Smith (17:15).

Meanwhile, Kapaun had four runners in the top 25 with Enriquez, junior Will Niederee (11th, 16:14), junior Andrew Guyer (20th, 16:28) and sophomore Cole Reintjes (23rd, 16:36).

Valley Center junior Brock Moses (16th, 16:24) was the other area medalist.

6A boys — Wichita East senior Ryan Son (sixth, 15:51) and Maize senior Kaleb Glazier (11th, 16:00) were the lone area medalists, as Maize finished eighth in the team standings.

5A girls — Andover sophomore Madelyn Wallace (seventh, 19:04) and Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Amelia Hermann (18th, 19:45) both captured medals, while Andover (seventh), Maize South (eighth) and Kapaun (ninth) also qualified as teams.

4A girls — Circle sophomore Brett Jacobson was the lead medalist from the area, finishing sixth overall in a time of 19:46. Other area medalists included Rose Hill junior Kimberlin Lovell (12th, 20:19), McPherson junior Lexi Patterson (14th, 20:25) and Buhler freshman Corbin Starkweather (19th, 20:29). Buhler (fourth) and Rose Hill (sixth) finished in the top half of the team standings.

2A boys — Powered by five finishers in the top 35, Hutchinson Trinity took second place in the team standings with 80 points, 13 behind champion Central Heights. The Celtics were led by sophomores John Lindstrom (12th, 16:48), Cameron Kiser (15th, 16:58), Jacob Lindstrom (17th, 17:05) and Ambrose Pennycuff (25th, 17:26) and junior Max Ryan (33rd, 17:53). Other area medalists included Medicine Lodge junior Davis Miltner (13th, 16:49) and Marion junior Luke Wessel (16th, 17:01).

2A girls — Remington took second place as a team, led by sophomore Chelsea Willour with a ninth-place individual finish in a time of 20:14. Other team members included senior Ava Klaassen (28th, 21:39), sophomore Kassi Peters (22:09), senior Kyleigh Hayworth (22:27), sophomore Hannah Jenkins and senior Macy Brown.

Meanwhile, Sterling captured the third-place team trophy behind three top-15 performances from senior Faith Ekart (fourth, 19:36), freshman Katie Inwood (10th, 20:30) and sophomore Julia Kilgore (15th, 20:55). Other team members included sophomore Israel Kuhn, senior Olivia Kilgore and senior Jessamee Francis.

Other area medalists included Eureka sophomore Rose Buck (sixth, 20:09), Hillsboro sophomore Quinlyn Funk (11th, 20:41), Classical sophomore Hailey Walden (17th, 21:00) and Berean Academy sophomore Autumn Hirsch (19th, 21:16).

1A boys — Hutchinson Central Christian senior Blake Yoder was in contention for individual medalist honors and finished runner-up with a time of 16:32, three seconds behind champion Caleb Durst of Lebo. Other area medalists featured Pratt Skyline juniors Ethan Robinson (fourth, 17:06) and Jude Nelson (fifth, 17:08), Goessel freshman Eli Gaeddert (seventh, 17:21), Pretty Prairie senior James White III (15th, 17:37) and Stafford freshman Joel Valadez (16th, 17:38). Pratt Skyline (79 points) finished fourth in the team standings, just nine points behind second place.

1A girls — McPherson Elyria Christian (82 points) narrowly edged South Haven (84) to take third place in the team standings. The team was led by three top-35 finishes by sophomore Laney Reiff (third, 19:22), senior Macy Reiff (25th, 21:52) and sophomore Joy Beck (35th, 22:15). Other area medalists included Attica sophomore Cady Hemphill (second, 19:21) and Centre junior Kaitlynn Bina (11th, 20:43).