Another new season is upon us in Kansas! The fall of 2023 will likely feature the deepest field of talent that the state has ever seen, and MileSplit could not be more excited to report on it all season long.
Big-name returners headline many of the state's divisions: Katelyn Rupe, Clay Shively, Micah Blomker, and Anjali Hocker-Singh are just a few, and all were in action during Week 1.
As usual, the season started in the blistering heat of a Thursday afternoon. From Goodland to Garnett, temperatures were high as runners took to the grass. Out in Goodland, Norton's girls proved once again that they are the team to beat in the West, cleaning house with 25 points. Freshman Emma Collins was the top finisher for the Bluejays. Holcomb's boys won a battle of the 3A schools over Scott City, Norton, & Lakin. Brody Deniston led the Longhorns in 1st place, showing his freshman campaign a year ago was no fluke.
Down in Meade, the girls' race looked a little different without Stanton County's Chesney Peterson. The generational runner had all of Southwest Kansas in the palm of her hand for four years, but is now off running for Tennessee. Filling her spot up front was South Gray's Kylie Stapleton, one of 1A's best athletes with state medals in XC, 800m, Long Jump, and 100 hurdles last year. On the boys side, the Buffaloes defended their home turf well, with Logan Keith winning the 2-mile race and his teammates following it up with a team victory.
At the Mission Valley Invitational, Council Grove's Lakoddah Downes pulled away in the final mile to win his 20th high school XC race, but it was Aiden Amis and the Hayden Wildcats that came away with the team title. For the girls, Oskaloosa emerged victorious behind a 1-2 finish of Emma and Katelyn Vogel.
One of the bigger meets of Thursday, though, was in Great Bend. The highly-anticipated debut of Salina Central freshman Kaylie Schultz went as advertised. The rising star was second only to her equally impressive teammate Katelyn Rupe. The Mustangs still struggle with numbers, though, and didn't field a full team. Instead, Great Bend destroyed everyone. Maize senior Kaleb Glazier, another familiar name to many, won the senior-heavy boys' race, while Garden City managed to win over Buhler despite graduating Devin Chappel.
Rounding off the Thursday slate was the Basehor-Linwood Invite, where Isabella Ross cruised to victory for Blue Valley Southwest. The Timberwolves outmatched everyone in the team battles, but Shawnee Heights senior Jackson Esquibel started his final high school campaign with an impressive victory individually.
Saturday morning brought us a few more large-school meets, including the Manhattan Invite, where the Indians swept the team titles. The individual winners were some surprising new faces, though. For the girls, Junction City's Lorna Rae Pearce ran a PR at 18:56 and knocked off the more established Ryin Miller from Seaman. For the boys, it was Manhattan's Lucas Holdren with the shocking opener. Coming in with a PR of 17:38 and a 76th place finish at state last year, Holdren unleashed a 15:53 to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with in 6A.
Over in Johnson County, St. Thomas Aquinas hosted their annual Greg Wilson Classic. We got a good first look at Olathe West's girls. Despite the loss of an incredible senior class, the Owls have kept their attack-pack identity. With no front-runner, they placed 7-8-9-10-11 with just a 10-second spread to crush the field. Rockhurst won on the boys side, while Lida Padgett (SM East) and Micah Blomker (SM North) both sailed to victory as individuals.
In Wichita, the JK Gold Classic had a new look, running for the first time at Clapp Park. Gardner-Edgerton's Parker Walion was the boys' champion. His Trailblazer teammates held strong to win as well. While Walion is certainly among the state's best, many probably expected Wichita Trinity's Clay Shively to win, but he was 45 seconds back in 5th place. That will be an interesting story to watch heading into next week. Brett Jacobson from Circle won the girls' division, while Andover took the team title.
A few small-school snippets from Saturday:
Evan Pearce of Wallace County took care of business at Leoti, winning by nearly 3 minutes.
Smith Center freshman Madison Howland will be one to watch, running 19:20 to win at Hays-TMP.
Marysville's Silas Miller solidified his claim as the best in Northern Kansas, beating John Langill & Grady Buessing at his home invite.