2023 GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW
 

 
CLASS 6A
 
2022 State champion: Olathe West
 
2022 State runner-up: Shawnee Mission East
 
2022 Individual champion: Anjali Hocker Singh, Olathe North
 
2022 Review: Last year’s Class 6A meet at Rim Rock Farm featured a pair of three-peats. Olathe West dominated to go back-to-back-to-back as team champs, clearing second-place Shawnee Mission East by 49 points. Individually, Olathe North's Anjali Hocker Singh bounced back from an injury in the spring of 2022 to capture her third straight XC title. Olathe West placed four runners in the top 12 and six in the top 21, led by Charis Robinson’s third-place showing. Paige Baker was eighth for the Owls, followed closely by teammates Bree Newport (9th) and Sydney All (12th). Hocker Singh finished in 18:17.04 to win by 12 seconds over Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Paige Mullen. Runner-up Shawnee Mission East was carried by a pair of top-10 finishers in Lida Padgett (fourth) and Scarlett Pearlman (7th). Washburn Rural was 17 points back of East to take third. 

2023 Contenders: Graduation claimed Olathe West’s top-two finishers at state last year in Robinson and Baker, but the Owls still should have enough firepower left to entertain thoughts of a four-peat. Newport is back to lead West. She was the regional-runner up as a junior and took first in the Baldwin Invitational early in the season. All will look to build on her 12th-place finish as a freshman, while seniors Kalyn Willingham and Kate Miller posted top-25 finishes last year, placing 16th and 21st, respectively. Shawnee Mission East brings back a top-five placer in Padgett but lost its next three best finishers to graduation. Washburn Rural is set to return five of its seven runners from state last year, including fifth-placer Payton Fink. Rylee Ismert finished just outside the top 25 for the Junior Blues last year as a sophomore. Olathe North's Hocker Singh will look to secure a four-peat. She won her last four cross country meets of the season last year after working her way back from the injury. Six of last year’s top-10 runners return in Hocker Singh, Padgett, Fink, Mill Valley’s Charlotte Caldwell (sixth), Newport and Free State’s Brylee Burns (10th). 
 

 
CLASS 5A
 
2022 State champion: St. James Academy
 
2022 State runner-up: St. Thomas Aquinas
 
2022 Individual champion: Katelyn Rupe, Salina Central
 
2022 Review: After not competing as a freshman to play tennis, Salina Central’s Katelyn Rupe stormed on to the cross country scene last year as a sophomore. She capped a dominant season by smashing the previous Rim Rock course record by 19 seconds with a 17:13.84. Piper’s Grace Hanson took second in 18:17.86. St. James Academy notched its third team state title in six seasons. All seven of the Thunder’s runners placed inside of the top 28. Quinn Hays led St. James with a fourth-place finish, followed by Katie Price (11th), Annie Wilken (12th), Katelyn Menghini (19th), Allie Morfeld (21st), Leah Haeusser (23rd) and Isabella Simoes (28th). St. Thomas Aquinas was 30 points back of St. James for second, paced by Sophia Spinello’s third-place finish. Kapaun Mt. Carmel took third. 

2023 Contenders: St. James could be every bit as dominant in the team race as it was a year ago. The Thunder didn’t have a senior on last year’s squad and will be stacked with tremendous depth with the return of Hays, Price, Wilken, Menghini, Morfeld, Haeusser and Simoes. Spinello leads five returners for St. Thomas Aquinas following its runner-up showing. Anna DiCarlo was 17th for the Saints last year while teammates Greta Kelly and Lilly Mauk took 25th and 26th. Kapaun Mt. Carmel returns its top two placers from last year in Taylor Barringer (seventh) and Amelia Herrman (17th). Seaman took fourth last year and brings back two top-20 finishers in Ryin Miller, who took fifth as a freshman, and Stella Applehanz, a 20th-place finisher. Great Bend’s Marissa Boone took eighth last year as a junior to help the Panthers to a fifth-place showing. She’s back to lead a Great Bend squad that returns everyone from a year ago, including 15th-place finisher Addy Nicholson. All eyes will be on Salina Central’s Rupe to see what she can do for an encore after last year’s historic season. Rupe will step aside from tennis and focus on cross country as she looks to add to her legacy. Other returners from last year’s top-10 include Andover’s Madelyn Wallace (sixth) and De Soto’s Brooke Bundt (ninth) and Addison Gillespie (10th).
 

 
CLASS 4A
 
2022 State champion: Eudora
 
2022 State runner-up: Baldwin
 
2022 Individual champion: Hayley Trotter, Clearwater
 
2022 Review: Eudora secured its second straight championship by placing five runners in the top 25 in last year’s 4A meet at Wamego. The Cardinals were led by Sydney Owens and Hanna Keltner, who placed second and third. Phoebe Fletcher was 15th while Addison Williams and Addison Metcalf crossed back-to-back in 24th and 25th. Baldwin took second, 31 points back of Eurora. The Bulldogs were led by Irelyn Kennedy’s seventh-place finish. They edged out third-place Winfield by three points. Clearwater’s Hayley Trotter closed out her career by defending her 4A individual title. She secured the repeat by running a 19:17.44, finishing 34 seconds ahead of runner-up Owens. 

2023 Contenders: Eudora should have a strong chance for a three-peat. The Cardinals return their 1-2 punch in Owens and Keltner as well as top-25 finishers in Williams and Metcalf. Baldwin is also stacked with returners and will try to end Eudora’s reign. The Bulldogs bring back all of five of their scorers from last year including Kennedy and 11th-place finisher Lily Brecheisen. Karlie Kurtz was 22nd for the Bulldogs while Bailey Smith just missed the top 25 at 26th. Winfield graduated a sixth-place finisher in Kayli Myers but return 17th-place Lauryn Turner and Lydia Nelson, who took 27th. Clay Center placed fourth last year with a young team and returns its entire squad. Junior Lauren Smith led the Tigers with a fifth-place showing at state last year while Kylie Pfizenmaier and Janae Wolf were 14th and 16th, respectively, last year as freshmen. Kimber Lovell, 20th at state, is the top returner from a Rose Hill team that placed fifth in 2022. Class 4A is just one of two classes in which last year’s champion graduated. Circle's Brett Jacobson entered the Class 4A meet last year on a three-meet winning streak. Jacobson ran in second behind Trotter for most of the race but started to waver physically and dropped out with 600 meters left. Jacobson, who ran a season 18:50.00 last year as a freshman, will be a favorite for the 4A title this season. There will no be shortage of other possible contenders, with four of last year’s top five set to return in Owens, Keltner, Labette County’s Anna Cantrell and Clay Center’s Smith. Augusta and Louisburg each return a top-10 finisher in Madison Busch (9th) for the Orioles and Emma Vohs (10th) for the Wildcats. 
 

 
CLASS 3A
 
2022 State champion: Southeast of Saline
 
2022 State runner-up: Cheney
 
2022 Individual champion: Bree Allen, Prairie View
 
2022 Review: A new-look Southeast of Saline team found its stride and delivered the program a third straight championship. The Trojans cruised to the title behind three top-10 performers in Abby Commerford (fifth), Ashley Prochazka (seventh) and Breckyn Alderson (10th). Southeast of Saline won by 44 points over second-place Cheney, which was led by Abbye Hudson’s fourth-place finish. The Cardinals edged third-place Wichita Trinity Academy by two points. After taking second as a freshman in 2021, Prairie View’s Bree Allen wouldn’t be denied for the individual title. She capped an undefeated season by running a personal-best 18:56.48 to win by more than seconds over Hesston’s Ashley Lehman. 

2023 Contenders: Southeast of Saline figures to be the team to beat again as the Trojans chase a fourth straight championship. They lost one of their three top-10 runners last year in Prochazka but return Comerford and Alderson. Cheney graduated its top runner in Hudson. Its next-best finisher from last year was Taelyn Hoch in 35th. Brecken Howell turned in a third-place finish for Wichita Trinity Academy as a freshman. The Knights lost just one runner off last year’s team and return another top-25 finisher in Emily Hein (24th). Riley County was fourth last year. The Falcons’ top returners are Anna Lambert and Meredith Baumann, who finished 32nd and 34th last year. Prairie View’s Allen is the favorite to defend her 2A crown. Hesston’s Lehman and Trinity's Howell will look to challenge for a title after fantastic freshman seasons. Cimarron’s Janae Fugitt (sixth), Osage City’s Emory Speece (eighth) and Eureka’s Rose Buck (9th) are also back after earning top-10 finishes a year ago.
 

 
CLASS 2A
 
2022 State champion: Stanton County
 
2022 State runner-up: Remington
 
2022 Individual champion: Chesney Peterson, Stanton County
 
2022 Review:  One of the most decorated distance runners in state history, Stanton County’s Chesney Peterson closed her cross country career with her third straight championship, leading the Trojans to a fourth straight team title. Peterson, now at the University of Tennessee, clocked an 18:19.11 to get her revenge on the Wamego Country Club course after a medical issue led to a 41st-place finish in 2019 as a freshman. Wabaunsee’s Payton Wurtz took second in 19:43.48. Stanton County’s Suzanne Farnham took 16th and was joined in the top 25 by Karlee Nairn. Remington was 25 points back of Stanton County to take second. The Broncos were paced by Chelsea Willour's 12th-place finish. She was joined in the top 20 by teammate Ava Klaassen, who took 19th. Sacred Heart was six points behind Remington in the team standings to take third.
 
2023 Contenders: With the graduation of Stanton County’s Peterson and Farnham, there might be an opening for a new 2A team champ. The Trojans do return a 25th-place finisher in Nairn, who is looking to build off a solid freshman season, and Madison Seyb, who placed 32nd in her first full season back after overcoming injuries suffered in a car accident. Remington and Sacred Heart could be the new frontrunners, both stacked with returners. The Broncos will be led by Willour, a sophomore, and Klaasen, a senior. Sacred Heart brings back three top-20 runners – Gracy Dorzweiler (13th), Eva Matteucci (14th) and Caroline Stone (19th). Perhaps overshadowed by Peterson’s dominance, Wabaunsee’s Payton Wurtz will have an opportunity to step into the spotlight and shoot for the state title. Wurtz won her first eight races last year before taking runner-up to Peterson at state. Sterling’s Julia Kilgore and Ellis’ Avery Boydston are back after capping strong freshman seasons with top-five finishes. Kilgore placed third and Boydston fourth. Other top-10 returners from last year include Central Heights’ Emma Cubit (sixth), Ell-Saline's Lily Salazar (seventh), Hoxie’s Taegan Lindenman (eighth) and Hillsboro’s Quinlyn Funk (ninth).
 

 
CLASS 1A DIVISION
 
2022 State champion: South Gray
 
2022 State runner-up: Ness City
 
2022 Individual champ: Emma Weiner, Golden Plains
 
2022 Review: After famously winning the 2021 state title with what was later revealed to be a broken fibula, Golden Plains' Emma Weiner enjoyed a pain-free cruise to her second straight championship, posting a 30-second victory with a time of 19:37.01 at Wamego. That effort capped an undefeated season for Weiner. Wichita Classical’s Hailey Walden was the runner-up. South Gray essentially built a team champion from scratch last year, with three rookie cross country runners posting their best times to help the Rebel girls win their first ever XC championship. Kylie Stapleton and Gwyn Jantz placed fifth and sixth to lead South Gray, which finished 18 points ahead of second-place Ness City. The Eagles were led by Emma Petersilie’s 20th-place finish. Colony-Crest took third as a team, paced by a third-place finish from Josie Walter.

2023 Contenders: Golden Plains’ Weiner is once again the favorite in the individual race after back-to-back undefeated seasons. She owns a career-best time of 19:03.36. After Weiner, freshmen and sophomores dominated the rest of the top 10 and will look to make noise this year with another year or experience under their belts. Freshmen occupied spots 2-4 with Wichita Classical’s Walden, Colony-Crest’s Walter and Olpe’s Lillian Skalsky, followed by the South Gray duo of Stapleton and Jantz, now juniors. Other returners from the top 10 include Elyria Christian’s Laney Reiff (seventh), Otis-Bison’s Destiny Mitchell (ninth) and Centre’s Kaitlynn Bina (10th). South Gray is set to return its five-person team of Stapleton, Jantz, Jacee Deges, Reegan Meairs and Alleris Granados. Deges placed 15th a year ago. Ness City brings back three top-30 finishers off a young team last year in Petersilie, Stephany Esparza (23rd) and Savannah Buhler (28th). In addition to Walter, Crest returns two more top-25 finishers in Peyton Schmidt (14th) and Aubrey Allen (24th).