40 GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS TO WATCH IN 2023
 

 
BREE ALLEN, PRAIRIE VIEW
 
Allen was pretty darn good as a freshman in 2021, winning four races and taking second in her two others, including the Class 3A state meet. There was no such thing as a sophomore slump, either, and in fact, Allen was unbeatable last fall. She won all seven races on the season, capping the year with the Class 3A state title, finishing in a career-best and school-record 18:56.48 to win the title by more than 40 seconds over Hesston freshman Ashley Lehman. Allen won her second straight regional title and her first Pioneer League title. She carried the momentum over to the track in the spring as well as she swept state titles in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 to lead Prairie View to a runner-up team finish in 3A.
 

 TAYLOR BARRINGER, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL

Class 5A was chocked full of outstanding freshmen runners a year ago and Barringer was right in there among the best of them. She opened her season with a third-place finish behind fellow frosh Brett Jacobson of Circle and Isabella Ponce of Maize South at the JK Gold Classic and added six more top-10 finishes the rest of the way, the Rim Rock Classic her only finish outside the top 10. Barringer claimed the Greater Wichita Athletic League title with a then-seson-best 19:22.60 and after taking second at regionals, Barringer capped her debut season with a seventh at the Class 5A state meet with a career-best time of 19:20.98.
 

 
MARISSA BOONE, GREAT BEND

Boone turned in the best time of her career at the Class 5A meet last year, earning an eighth-place medal with a 19:33.50. She improved 11 spots from her state showing in 2021 as a freshman. Boone was the runner-up last year at the Great Bend regional and also delivered top-five showings at the Bishop Carroll and Great Bend/Hoisington Invitationals.
 

 
AVERY BOYDSTON, ELLIS

Boydston quickly emerged as one of the top runners in western Kansas with an impressive freshman season. She won five meets last year and ran a personal best 19:27.40 at the Larned meet. Boydston was runner-up at the Great Bend meet behind three-time state champion Chesney Peterson from Stanton County. She then capped her season with a fourth-place showing at the 2A state meet in Wamego, running a 20:13.16.
 

 
ROSE BUCK, EUREKA

Buck opened her freshman season with a runner-up season at the Clearwater Invitational and spent the rest of the season backing that up with top-10 finishes. She added another runner-up finish at the Eureka Invitational before capturing the Tri-Valley League title with a 30-second win. After a fourth-place regional finish, Buck capped her season with a ninth-place finish at the Class 3A state meet, turning in a season-best time of 20:17.04. Buck continued the momentum over to the track season, sweeping league titles in the 800 and 1,600.
 

 
BROOKE BUNDT, DE SOTO
 
Bundt teamed with freshman Addison Gillespie to give De Soto a strong and youthful 1-2 punch at the top of its roster. Bundt posted two top-10 finishes as a freshman in 2021 and then doubled that number to four last fall. She took fourth at both the De Soto Invitational and United Kansas Conference Meet before finishing ninth at both regionals and the Class 5A state meet, one spot ahead of Gillespie at state. Bundt clocked a career-best time of 19:23.32 at the highly competitive Steve Johnson/Dan Huston Invitational in early October that puts her fourth on the school's all-time list. She also has a hand in three school records in track (800, 1,600 relay, 3,200 relay).
 

 
BRYLEE BURNS, FREE STATE
 
Burns returns from a top-10 finish at the 6A state meet as a sophomore last year. She finished that race with a time of 19:19.97, setting her PR. As a freshman, Burns finished 47th at the state meet.
 

MADISON BUSCH, AUGUSTA

Busch was one of the most improved runners in the state last season, cutting more than two minutes off her best time from her freshman season. After never getting below 22:10 as a freshman, Busch bettered that mark in seven of her nine races last fall. She posted only one top 10 as a freshman but had six such finishes last fall. Busch turned in a career-best time of 19:48.00 in a fourth-place regional finish and then capped her breakout season with a ninth-place showing at the class 4A state meet.
 

 
CHARLOTTE CALDWELL, MILL VALLEY
 
Caldwell heads into her junior campaign looking to add to her already lengthy resume. She finished sixth in the 6A state meet last fall with a time of 2:14.06. As a freshman, she took third in the 5A state meet and helped lead the Jaguars to the state title as a team. Caldwell is riding the momentum of a third-place finish in the 800-meter race at the 6A state track meet in the spring.
 

 
ANNA CANTRELL, LABETTE COUNTY
 
Cantrell returns as the top returner for a young group from Labette County. She took fourth in the 4A state meet with a time of 20:16.27. She also won the Southeast Kansas League meet, one year after finishing runner-up in that race. As a freshman, Cantrell took 30th at state.
 

 
ABBY COMMERFORD, SOUTHEAST OF SALINE
 
With the graduation of 2021 state champion Jentrie Alderson, Southeast of Saline was looking for a new team leader last year and Commerford seemed the logical choice after being the Trojans’ second finisher at state behind Alderson. Though just a sophomore last year, Commerford stepped up and delivered, leading the Trojans to their third straight Class 3A state championship. Commerford didn’t post an individual victory – her best finish was a runner-up showing at the season-opening Abilene Invitational – but she never finished lower than eighth in any of her nine meets and capped the season with a fifth-place showing at the Class 3A state meet, one spot up from her sixth-place finish as a freshman. Commerford is one of four returners for Southeast this year as the Trojans go for a 3A title four-peat.
 

 
EMMA CUBIT, CENTRAL HEIGHTS
 
Since missing her freshman season in 2020, Cubit has been a steady performer for the Vikings over the past two seasons. She recorded nine top-10 finishes as a sophomore in 2021 with victories at the Pleasanton Invitational and 2A regional meet. After taking eighth at the 2A state meet in 2021, Cubit followed with a junior season that saw her rack up six more top 10s. She finished fourth at the Flint Hills League meet and second at regionals before placing sixth at the 2A state meet.
 

 
PAYTON FINK, WASHBURN RURAL
 
Even with Rural boasting University of Kansas signee Madeline Carter, it was Fink who spent the bulk of the 2022 season setting the pace for the Junior Blues. Coming off a freshman season in 2021 where she had seven top-10 finishes but only got under 19 minutes once, Fink opened last season with a runner-up finish at the Tim Nixon Invitational and never finished lower than seventh the rest of the season. She hit her stride in October, winning three straight titles at the Topeka City Championships, Centennial League meet and her Class 6A regional, turning in a career-best time of 19:10.90 at the City Meet. Fink capped her breakout season with a fifth-place finish at the 6A state meet.
 

 
JANAE FUGITT, CIMARRON

Fugitt narrowly missed out on a top-five showing at the Class 3A meet last year at Rim Rock, placing sixth. She ran a 20:16.09 at state. Fugitt was the Great West Activities Conference and regional champion. She also won her home meet at Cimarron. Fugitt enters her junior season with a career best time is 20:11.53, which came last year at the Lakin Invitational. 

QUINLYN FUNK, HILLSBORO

Five freshmen finished in the top 10 at last year’s Class 2A state tournament with Funk included in that group. She started the season with a fourth-place finish at the Smoky Valley Invitational and after an 11^th at the Wamego Invitational didn’t finish outside the top 10 the rest of the season. Funk had back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Berean and Sterling Invitationals, clocking a season-best time of 20:47.10 at Sterling. She capped her debut season with a ninth at the 2A state meet, just off her season-best time with a 21:08.46.
 

 
QUINN HAYS, ST. JAMES ACADEMY
 
Hays finished as the top runner for the Thunder last year as the team won the state title, the program’s first since 2019. She finished fourth in the 5A state meet with a time of 19:19.84. As a freshman, Hays finished 66th at the state meet.
 

 
ANJALI HOCKER SMITH, OLATHE NORTH
 
Hocker Singh is looking to complete the four-peat after three years of winning the 6A state title. What might be most impressive about her accomplishments so far is that she has been dealing with injuries related to a stress fracture suffered during her sophomore year. Hocker Singh completely missed out her track season in the spring of 2022. She brushed off early struggles last fall, returning to her winning ways during the final month of the season, which she capped off with a 18:17.04 time to win her third straight state title. But Hocker Singh was still limited during the most recent high school track season. Her times in the USATF Junior Olympic competitions give the impression that she’s starting to truly return to form heading into August. So this could be her first cross country season at full strength since her freshman year.
 

 
BRECKEN HOWELL, WICHITA TRINITY ACADEMY

While Trinity’s boys were capturing their second straight Class 3A state title, Howell emerged as one of the top freshmen in the 3A and the Knights’ top girl runner, leading them to a third-place finish in Class 3A. Howell posted five top 10s during the season, including a victory at the Bishop Carroll Invitational where she ran a season-best 19:33.00. That started a streak of four straight top-four finishes to close the season, including a fourth-place finish at the regional meet and then a third-place finish at the Class 3A state meet behind Prairie View’s Bree Allen and Hesston freshman Ashley Lehman. With six of last year’s seven state runners back, Trinity and Howell could be poised to challenge for a team title this season.
 

 
BRETT JACOBSON, CIRCLE

Entering the Class 4A state meet on a three-meet winning streak, Jacobson was set to challenge defending champion Hayley Trotter of Clearwater for the state title, who she had finished second to three times during the regular season. And for the bulk of the race, Jacobson was in position, running second behind Trotter. But at the two-mile mark, Jacobson started to waver physically and with 600 meters to go she had to drop out of the race, a disappointing end to a stellar freshman season in which she was arguably the top freshman in the state. She won the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail III title in a season-best 18:50.00 and the JK Gold Classic among her four victories and added three seconds and a third at the Rim Rock Invitational. With Trotter now graduated, Jacobson will be the favorite for the 4A title this season.
 

HANNA KELTNER, EUDORA
 
Keltner took third-place at the 4A state meet as a sophomore last fall. She’ll return alongside senior Sydney Owens, who finished one place ahead of her. Before that, Keltner finished ahead of Owens as she won her regional and league title. With those two back, Eudora will once again be the frontrunners heading into this season. The Cardinals already clinched a repeat with last year’s state title. As a freshman, Keltner finished as the 4A state runner-up.
 

 
JULIA KILGORE, STERLING

Class 2A was loaded with talented freshmen last season and Kilgore wound up being the best of the bunch. She didn’t finish lower than third at any of her eight races last fall and won four straight meets, including capturing the Heart of America League title and a regional title. Kilgore finished her season strong, dipping under 20 minutes for the first time with a career-best 19:55.54 to finish third at the Class 3A state meet behind three-time champion Chesney Peterson of Stanton County and Wabaunsee standout Payton Wurtz. Kilgore was just as good in the spring, winning 2A state titles in the 200 and 400 at the State Outdoors.
 

IRELYN KENNEDY, BALDWIN
 
Kennedy wasted little time earning her spot among the top 4A runners as a freshman last season. She ended up placing ninth at the state meet with a time of 20:34.62. With Baldwin returning three other top-26 runners, the Bulldogs will likely be one of the top challengers to back-to-back champs, and Frontier League rival, Eudora.
 

 
ASHLEY LEHMAN, HESSTON

Lehman really caught the state’s attention during the spring when she emerged as one of the state’s top track athletes. But her freshman season at Hesston actually got off to a pretty strong start during cross country. Lehman not only finished in the top 10 in all eight of her races last fall, she never finished worse than sixth. Lehman won the title at the Berean Academy Invitational and peaked at the end of the season, following up a sixth-place finish at regionals with a runner-up finish at the Class 3A state meet. Her season-best time of 19:37.91 left her 41 seconds behind champion Bree Allen of Prairie View.
 

 
TAEGAN LINDENMAN, HOXIE

Lindenman notched a personal-best time of 21:05.47 at the Class 2A state meet last year as a freshman to earn an eighth-place finish. She was sixth at regionals and took third place in the Mid-Continent League meet at Phillipsburg. Lindenman also won the Norton Invitational early in the season.
 

 
RYIN MILLER, SEAMAN
 
Joining a Seaman roster already loaded with young talent that helped the Vikings to a fourth-place finish at the 2021 state meet, Miller not only cracked the varsity lineup but moved to the front of the pack with a sensational freshman season. She picked up her first career victory just two races into the season at the Joe Schrag Invitational and ended up with top-10 finishes in all nine of the Vikings’ meets. Miller took second at the Topeka City Championships, the United Kansas Conference and her Class 5A regional before being the highest-placing freshman at the Class 5A state meet, finishing fifth to help Seaman finish fourth as a team again. Miller posted a season-best 18:36.38 at regionals, breaking the school record held by teammate Bethany Druse.
 

 
BREE NEWPORT, OLATHE WEST
 
Newport is the top returner for an Olathe West team which has won the state title each of the previous three seasons. The Owls have delivered a bigger margin of victory each year, culminating into a 46 to 95 points gap between them and runner-up Shawnee Mission East. With the graduation of third-place finisher Charis Robinson and eighth-place finisher Paige Baker, it will be a tall order to repeat. But Newport will still lead a group that returns four runners from the top 21, including her ninth-place finish with a time of 19:17.34. She will be looking for her third top-10 finish after finishing eighth in 2021. As a freshman, Newport took 17th at state.
 

SYDNEY OWENS, EUDORA
 
Owens returns for her senior season as one of half of the Cardinals top tandem of runners, along with Hanna Keltner. She finished as the state runner-up at the 4A state meet, with Keltner crossing the finish line 20 seconds later to take third. Those two performances spearheaded a state title win as a team, Eudora’s second straight. With three other state runners returning, the Cardinals have a really good chance of turning this into a three-peat.
 

 
LIDA PADGETT, SHAWNEE MISSION EAST
 
After finishing her first two state meets in 57th and 60th respectively, Padgett broke through in a big way last fall. She posted top-three finishes at her league and regional meets before capping her junior campaign off with a fourth-place finish in the 6A state meet with a time of 18.48.34. Padgett kept her momentum going during the track season in the spring. She earned a gold medal in the steeplechase at the Kansas Relays, followed by a fifth-place finish in the 1600-meter at the 6A state meet. Padgett will lead a team this fall looking to duplicate the success of a state runner-up season.
 

LANEY REIFF, ELYRIA CHRISTIAN
 
Reiff had a stellar debut season for Elyria Christian, placing in the top 10 in all of her races last fall and never finishing worse than seventh. Reiff had a season-best third-place finish at the Marion Invitational where she also turned in her best time of the season with a 21:04.03. She followed with three straight fourth-place finishes, the last of those at regionals, and capped her season with a seventh-place finish at the 1A state meet in 21:27.70, fourth among freshmen at state.
  

 
KATELYN RUPE, SALINA CENTRAL
 
One of the state’s top distance runners, Rupe didn’t run cross country as a freshman, instead playing tennis for the Mustangs. But after a big freshman track season, Rupe opted to double up last year and do both tennis and cross country. It wasn’t too much as she qualified for state in tennis, but dominated in cross country, going undefeated on the season. Rupe won all six of her races, including a title at the prestigious Rim Rock Classic to win the Gold race. Rupe capped her dominant season with the Class 5A title, running away from the field in a career-best 17:13.84 to win by a whopping margin of more than a minute over Piper’s Grace Hanson. Rupe has decided to focus solely on cross country this fall as she looks to cement her legacy as one of the state’s all-time best.
 

 
LILLIAN SKALSKY, OLPE
 
Also a volleyball standout for the Eagles, Skalsky made the most noise last fall on the cross country course. In eight races, Skalsky never finished lower than fourth. She opened her career with back-to-back wins at the Burlington and Lyndon Invitationals and then added a third win at the Lyon County League meet. Skalsky also had three runner-up finishes, including at regionals, and finished the year with a fourth-place finish at the Class 1A state meet in 20:38.34, a minute behind champion Emma Weiner of Golden Plains, but 30 seconds out of second place. Her season-best time was a 20:13.00 in a runner-up finish at the Northern Heights Karr Classic.
 

 
LAUREN SMITH, CLAY CENTER
 
After enjoying a solid freshman season in 2021, Smith stepped it up a notch as a sophomore last fall. She never finished lower than fifth at any of the Tigers’ meets and posted a pair of wins, taking titles at Clay Center’s home meet as well as the North Central Kansas League meet – her second straight league title. Smith’s league time of 19:33.20 was a career-best and she followed it up with a runner-up finish at her 4A regional before taking fifth at the 4A state meet – an improvement of nine places over her 14^th-place state finish as a freshman. She led Clay Center to a fourth-place team finish at state as well as the NCKL title.
 

 
EMORY SPEECE, OSAGE CITY
 
Expected to be an impact freshman for the Indians last year, Speece was indeed just that. She began her high school career with a runner-up finish at the Silver Lake Invitational and in the process broke Osage City’s school record by 45 seconds. She never finished lower than eighth the rest of the season and kept lowering her school record. Speece won back-to-back titles at the Council Grove and Osage City Invitationals in mid-season, clocking a career-best and new school record with a time of 19:58.55 on the Indians’ home course. After taking second at both the Flint Hills League meet and 3A regional meet, Speece capped her debut season with an eighth-place finish at state in 20:16.80.
 

 
SOPHIA SPINELLO, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
 
Spinello returns from a top-three finish in the 5A state meet last fall. She finished with a time of 19:12.17, setting her PR. Heading into state, Spinello won her league and regional meet. She’ll try to keep the Saints in contention for a state title after Aquinas took runner-up last year. As a sophomore, she finished 20th at the state meet.
 

 
KYLIE STAPLETON, SOUTH GRAY

Stapleton was integral in helping South Gray win its first state championship in program history last year. She placed fifth to lead the breakthrough for the Rebels, who also put Gwyn Jantz (sixth) and Jacee Deges (15th) in the top 15. Stapleton owns a personal best time of 20:48.70, which came at the South Gray Invitational. She is coming off a standout season in track in which she captured the 800-meter state championship at the 1A meet. 
 

 
HAILEY WALDEN, WICHITA CLASSICAL

Walden had an impressive freshman season for Classical last season, finishing in the top 10 in each of her nine races. She started her prep career with a fourth at the Clearwater Invitational before posting back-to-back runner-up finishes at Hesston and Wichita Southeast. After another second at Goessel in a career-best 19:39.25, Walden won her Class 1A regional. At state, Walden took runner-up to defending champion Emma Weiner of Golden Plains, finishing 30 seconds behind. Walden hopes to give Weiner a run for the title this season and push the Saints into contention for a team trophy after they took sixth last year.
 

 
MADELYN WALLACE, ANDOVER

Wallace was part of a stellar freshman class that hit the state a year ago, finding her way into the top 10 in each of her eight races. Her lowest finish was an eighth at the Rim Rock Invitational and Wallace followed that with three straight victories at the Newton Invitational, the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail II and Class 5A regional meets. Wallace capped her season with a sixth at the Class 5A state meet, sandwiched in between fellow freshmen Ryin Miller of Seaman and Taylor Barringer of Kapaun Mt. Carmel. Her state time of 19:20.51 was just off her career best of 19:09.40 set at the league meet.
 

 
JOSIE WALTER, COLONY-CREST
 
Walter kept herself close to the top pack throughout her freshman season of cross country. She finished top four or better in every race, including her third-place finish at state. Walter also won two races, including the Pleasanton Invitational where she set her PR with a time of 19:59.60. Walter will be back with a team that includes two other sophomores who finished in the top 24 at last year’s state meet.
 

 
EMMA WEINER, GOLDEN PLAINS

Weiner has been unbeatable over the last two seasons. She hasn’t lost a cross country race since her freshman season in which she placed third at state. Weiner won her first state title as a sophomore, running with what was later discovered to be a broken fibula. She defended her 1A championship last year as a junior with a time of 19:37.01 at Rim Rock. Weiner set her career record early in the season at Norton with a 19:03.06. She also has three state titles in track, winning the 3,200 last year. 

 
PAYTON WURTZ, WABAUNSEE
 
If not for Stanton County standout Chesney Peterson, Wurtz very well could already be a two-time state champion heading into her junior season at Wabaunsee. Each of the last two seasons, Wurtz has finished runner-up to Peterson at the Class 2A state meet. That was the only loss she suffered last season when Wurtz won her first eight races on the season, including her second straight Mid-East League title and first regional crown. Wurtz clocked a career-best time of 19:21.93 at last year’s league meet, which broke her own school record previously set at the 2021 state meet. With Peterson off to run collegiately at Tennessee, Wurtz will be the favorite to assume the throne this year despite a wealth of talented underclassmen returning to challenge her. Wurtz laos holds Wabaunsee school track records in the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and is a six-time state runner-up to Peterson in track.