10 CLASS 3A BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS TO WATCH IN 2024
 

HUNTER BAILEY, WEST FRANKLIN
 
Bailey announced himself as a potential contender for the Class 3A state title when he clocked a career-best and school-record 15:49.01 at the Osage City Invitational to win a race that also included eventual Class 1A champion Caleb Durst of Lebo and 2A runner-up Cody Hammond of Central Heights. Though he couldn’t quite go that fast at state, he still turned in a 16:35.90 that was his second-best time of the season. That earned him a 17^th-place state finish in 3A, giving him his second state medal after placing 19^th as a freshman in 2021. Bailey has finished as the Flint Hills League runner-up the past two seasons and with Central Heights now in the Three Rivers League, he’ll be the favorite for the title this fall. Bailey also holds West Franklin’s 1,600 school record as well as being on the record-setting 3,200 relay and also helped the Falcons to a fourth-place team finish at state cross country in 2022, the highest ever finish for the program.
 

JACOB BIRCHER, SOUTHEAST OF SALINE
 
Bircher consistently held down the No. 3 or 4 spot on Southeast’s deep Class 3A state runner-up team a year ago, posting top-six finishes in eight of 10 meets after having five top 10s as a freshman in 2022. But he also showed flashes of being a team leader, jumping up to a runner-up finish overall at the Northern Plains/Lakeside Invitational meet behind fellow sophomore Brayden Walker. With graduation claiming senior state placers Cayden Walker and Levi Allen, Bircher and Brayden Walker will take over the role as team leaders this season as juniors. Using a strong finishing kick as his biggest weapon – he focuses on the 400 and 800 in track – Bircher was fourth at his Class 3A regional before finishing 19^th at the Class 3A state meet. His season-best was a 16:39.62 at the Wamego Invitational and Bircher had five meets where he crossed in 16:51 or faster.
 

BRODY DENISTON, HOLCOMB

Deniston won six meets last year, crossing first in races at Goodland, Hugoton, Syracuse and Lakin as well as the Great West Activities Conference meet at Scott City and the 3A regional at Great Bend. Deniston is Holcomb’s school record holder in the 5K after clocking a 15:51.40 to take third at the 3A state meet last year. Wichita Trinity’s Clay Shively nipped teammate Sam Ferguson by 0.10 seconds at the finish line to win the 3A title in 15:48.00. With the graduation of both Shively and Ferguson, Deniston figures to be on the short list of contenders for a state title. He has also placed in multiple events at state track and ran a leg on Holcomb’s 3,200 relay champion team that set a 3A record last year. Holcomb returns everyone from last year’s third-place team in cross country.
 

ALEX LUCE, LAKIN

Luce capped a solid junior season with a seventh-place showing at the 3A state meet, clocking a personal-best 16:00.40. He never finished outside of the top 10 in any of his nine races last year. Luce won the Stanton County Invitational in 16:39.68 last year. He took third at regionals in 16:47.55. Luce is a three-time state qualifier, placing 11th at state as a sophomore and 37th as a freshman. He was a regional champion as a sophomore. 

 

HOUSTON MCGOWN, GIRARD
 
McGown returns for his senior season looking to improve his state performance once again. As a freshman in 2021, McGown finished 46th at state with a time of 18:33.60. He shaved off 1:21.49 as he took 29th the next season. McGown moved up 11 spots with his finish last season, completing the Rim Rock Farm course in 16:40.30. That result was also a major jump for his best time in a postseason event, with McGown earning three sub-17:20 times while never going lower than 17:12 in four previous outings at league, regionals and state events. McGown also picked up his first cross country win last season when he posted his PR of 15:51.13 at the Pleasanton Invitational. He edged out his then-senior teammate Gabe Onelio by 0.17 seconds, while the next best runner did not cross until just after the 17-minute mark. Now that Onelio, who finished six spots and 10 seconds ahead of McGowan at state, has graduated, McGowan is hoping younger runners on the team can help push him near the front of the pack.
 

WILL MEYER, WICHITA COLLEGIATE

A three-time state medalist in cross country, Meyer had an eventful 2023 season that could set the stage for a big senior campaign. He posted victories in the Rim Rock Classic Blue race, the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division IV meet and the Class 3A regional hosted by Wichita Trinity. He twice defeated now-graduated Trinity standout Clay Shively, set a personal best of 15:26.30 at the lightning-fast Olathe Twilight and added a 25^th-place finish at the prestigious Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. His high school season ended with a second consecutive fourth-place finish in 3A behind Shively, another Trinity grad, Sam Ferguson, and Holcomb returnee Brody Deniston. Deniston and Meyer were less than a second apart at state, offering some intrigue heading into the fall.
 

AUSTIN RITSEMA, LAKIN

Ritsema is the reigning Hi-Plains League meet champion and also won the Greeley County Invitational last year. He wrapped up his junior season with a personal-best run of 16:12.30 at the 3A state meet. That performance earned Ritsema a 10th-place finish. He finished in the top five in all eight of his other races, taking second at regionals behind Holcomb’s Brody Deniston. Ritsema is a three-time state qualifier, placing 13th as a sophomore and 53rd as a freshman.
 

KAMDEN TARLTON, HOISINGTON

Tarlton, a senior, evolved into a frequent winner on the course and track last year for the Cardinals. His first of three cross country victories came at the Herington Invitational, where he ran a personal-best 16:29.34 to rank No. 7 on Hoisington’s all-time list. Tarlton also won the Larned and Central Kansas League meets, leading the Cardinals to the team title. Tarlton, a three-time state qualifier, earned his first Class 3A individual medal, finishing 20^th. He also won the CKL 3,200-meter title last spring.
 

CALEB TOFTELAND, WICHITA TRINITY

Tofteland has been an essential piece of Trinity’s run to three consecutive Class 3A boys cross country titles. Now he becomes the primary piece. With the Knights’ 1-2-3 punch of Clay Shively, Sam Ferguson and Jacob Hobson graduated, Tofteland inherits the lead role as one of four returning seniors from last year’s state squad. He earned his third individual state medal last season, finishing 11^th after taking ninth as a sophomore and 15^th as a freshman. Tofteland flashed his potential shortly after the Kansas high school season, running a personal-best 15:39.40 at the NXR Heartland Regionals. He also capped a solid track season with third-place finishes in the 3A 1,600 and 3,200.
 

BRAYDEN WALKER, SOUTHEAST OF SALINE
 
Coming off a big freshman season in 2022 that saw him post top-six finishes at every meet except for state, where he was 14^th, Walker took things to a different level last year as a sophomore. He began the year with a victory at the Abilene Invitational and kept on winning. Walker won each of his eight races in the regular season and then added a Class 3A regional crown. Bidding for the undefeated season, Walker couldn’t make it happen and wound up finishing 15^th at the Class 3A state meet, third on his own team behind older brother Cayden (8^th) and Levi Allen (14^th). With those two graduated, Brayden and fellow junior Jacob Bircher (19^th at state) will take over as team leaders as the Trojans look to get back on top in Class 3A for the first time since winning three straight titles from 2018-20, each of the past three seasons taking second to Wichita Trinity Academy. Walker ran a season-best time of 16:02.23 in winning the 4A race at the Wamego Invitational in a 1-2 finish with Cayden.