CLASS 3A GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS TO WATCH IN 2025
 

   
EMMA COLLINS, NORTON

Collins emerged as the Bluejays’ top runner when she was a freshman in 2023 and followed it up with a strong sophomore campaign last year. She is a two-time state placer, taking 10th in 2024 and fourth as a freshman. Collins, now a junior, earned first-place finishes at the Norton and Oberlin-Decatur meets last year. Her personal record is a 19:38.60 she ran at the Hays Invitational as a freshman. Norton took fourth place in 3A last year and should be primed for another solid season with the return of Collins and sophomore Kaison Miller, who earned a 16th-place medal as a freshman.
 

 
MOLLY EHRLICH, ELLSWORTH
 
It was a record-setting 2024 season for Ehrlich, who broke Ellsworth’s school record in the 5K not just once but multiple times last fall. Coming off a solid freshman season where she posted three top-10 finishes, Ehrlich made a huge leap last year as a sophomore and never finished lower than sixth at any of her races. She picked up her first career win at the St. John Invitational and then at her next meet broke Ellsworth’s school record of 20:45 set by Joni Schroeder in 2019 with a 20:42.08. She broke that mark with a 20:37.49 in winning the Lyons Invitational the following week and then broke it two more times, once at regionals and then again at the Class 3A state meet where she ran a career-best 19:47.72 to place sixth overall. Ehrlich was one of five sophomores to finish in the top 10 at state last year and is one of two returning state qualifiers for the Bearcats along with sophomore Lakyn Beckman, who took 25th as a freshman last year.
 

 
EMILY HEIN, WICHITA TRINITY ACADEMY
 
Hein enters her senior season with sights on a third consecutive Class 3A cross country title. The first two came in convincing fashion and helped the Knights collect a pair of second-place team finishes. Hein outpaced 2022 champion Bree Allen of Prairie View by more than 56 seconds last November at Rim Rock, one year after unseating Allen as the champion by just over 46 seconds. Hein carried the torch as 3A’s top runner into the spring, winning state 1,600 and 3,200 titles. Last fall, she set a course record of 18:09.71 in winning Trinity’s Wild Wind Festival, then established a new PR of 17:51.50 with her victory at the Southeast of Saline regional. It was her second career regional victory.
 

 
BRECKEN HOWELL, WICHITA TRINITY ACADEMY
 
While her teammate Emily Hein has taken much of the spotlight, Howell has put together three solid cross country seasons for the Knights, helping them collect a trio of Class 3A top-3 finishes. Howell finished third in the Class 3A state meet as a freshman, finishing behind current Kansas State runner Bree Allen of Prairie View and Hesston’s Ashley Lehman. After a sixth-place finish in 3A as a sophomore, Howell took 12^th a year ago. Howell’s personal-best 5K of 19:33.00 came during her freshman year in a Bishop Carroll Invitational victory. She came within arm’s length of that last year in a fifth-place regional finish, running a season-best 19:35.80.
 

 
KENNEDY KELLER, GIRARD
 
After just missing out on being a Class 3A state medalist as a freshman in 2023, Keller made sure she put herself in the top 20 last fall, earning a 15th-place finish at state with a time of 20:17.30. it was the only meet all season in which Keller didn’t end up in the top 10 with her previous lowest placing an eighth in her division at the Rim Rock Classic. Keller had five top-five finishes overall and won the Chet Hunter Invitational at Jayhawk-Linn in mid-October. She was unable to defend the CNC League title she won her freshman year, missing the meet as a sophomore, but after not posting a time under 20 minutes as a freshman, she had five such races last fall with a career-best 19:50 propelling her to a third-place regional finish.
 

 
LAYLA KISNER, SOUTHWESTERN HEIGHTS

Kisner enters her senior season as the two-time reigning Hi-Plains League champion. She is a three-time state qualifier, highlighted by a 15th-place finish as a sophomore in 2023. Kisner took 26th at the 3A meet last season. She’ll look to hit a new personal record, which currently stands at 20:07.92 from the Lakin Invitational her sophomore year. Kisner is also a basketball and track and field standout for the Mustangs.
 

 
AVERY LARSON, HESSTON
 
Larson helped Hesston pull off a thrilling victory and its first girls state cross country title last season, finishing seventh in her Class 3A meet debut. The Swathers, with a trio of top-13 finishers, edged Wichita Trinity by one point, 104-105. Larson was the top 3A freshman, posting a time of 19:57.00 to match her seventh-place finish at the Southeast of Saline regional, where she ran a season-best 19:49.10. Larson opened her 2024 season with second-place finishes at the Smoky Valley Invitational and Swather Special. She preceded her regional run with a fifth-place effort at the Central Kansas League meet, which the Swathers won.
 

 
ASHLEY LEHMAN, HESSTON
 
One of the state’s track and field stars since her freshman year, Lehman has enjoyed a standout cross country career as well. Lehman’s 13^th-place finish in the Class 3A state meet last November at Rim Rock was the lowest of her three state appearances, but it still helped Hesston edge Wichita Trinity by one point for its first girls cross country title. Her state finish came one week after she set the Swathers’ 5K record of 19:15.40 with a third-place finish at the Southeast of Saline regional. Lehman, who took second at state to Prairie View’s Bree Allen as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore, finished second or third in six cross country races last fall. The reigning 3A champion in the 100, 200, 400 and pole vault, Lehman’s last cross country victory came at the 2023 Central Kansas League meet.
 

 
TIANNA LUTTERS, HOISINGTON
 
Lutters highlighted her junior season in 2024 with a school-record run to a Class 3A individual medal for the Cardinals. She posted a time of 20:25.34 at Rim Rock to finish 17^th and established a new PR. Lutters made steady progress down the stretch, finishing sixth at the Central Kansas League meet, then cut more than a minute off her time the following week in an 11^th-place finish at the Norton regional. Her state time slashed another 24 seconds off her regional run. Lutters also posted a top-25 finish in the Rim Rock Farm Classic’s Blue division race.
 

   
KAISON MILLER, NORTON

Miller certainly knows how to make a strong first impression. She became an immediate contributor for Norton last year, ending her freshman season with a 16th-place medal in a personal-best 20:20.56. Miller followed it up with a spectacular wrestling season that culminated in a 115-pound state championship. Junior Emma Collins and Miller should form a formidable 1-2 punch for the Bluejays, who placed fourth as a team in 3A last year. Miller had four top-five finishes last season, including a pair of third-place showings at the Norton and Hays meets.

 

 
REESE QUINN, HESSTON
 
On a day in which every finish truly mattered, Quinn led Hesston to the 2024 Class 3A girls cross country title with her fifth-place effort at Rim Rock. Quinn collected her second individual state medal in two seasons, improving on her 12^th-place finish as a freshman. Hesston, which finished third to Southeast of Saline and Wichita Trinity at regionals, flipped the order at state to win by one point. That capped a season in which Quinn won the Smoky Valley Invitational and the Swather Special’s sophomore division race. Quinn finished 10^th in the Rim Rock Farm Classic’s Crimson race before taking third at the Central Kansas League meet and sixth at regionals, where she ran a personal-best 19:42.10 to set up her state heroics. Quinn posted a time of 19:47.12 at state.
 

 
JULIANA PARR, HERITAGE CHRISTIAN
 
Parr had experienced moderate success during her first two seasons at Heritage Christian, but found a different gear last year for the Chargers. She picked up the first victory of her career in winning the Kaw Valley Conference title with a then-career-best time of 20:30.01. Parr’s victory sandwiched runner-up finishes at the Maranatha Invitational and Heritage Christian’s Class 3A regional, the latter earning Parr her first state berth after coming up short as a freshman and sophomore. Parr capitalized on that and came away from the 3A state meet with her first state medal, placing 14th in a career-best time of 20:14.01. Parr recorded her first sub-20-minute time the following week at the Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regional and will look to build on her breakout junior season this fall.
 

   
LEA ROBERTS, SANTA FE TRAIL
 
Roberts made leaps and bounds during her freshman season for the Chargers, starting the year with a time of 22:40.71 and finishing the season with a time more than two minutes faster than that. That was a 20:29.62 that came at the Class 3A state meet and earned Roberts a 20th-place finish and state medal in her debut season. It also ranks as the No. 2 all-time mark in Trail history. Roberts was the Pioneer League runner to four-time champion Bree Allen of Prairie View, who has graduated. Roberts had four top-10 finishes overall last year. Her twin brother, KJ, also runs for the Charger boys’ team as do older twin brothers Bryce and Rylan, while their mom is an assistant coach for the program.
 

 
PAULY ROCKEY, HIAWATHA
 
Last fall, Rockey built off a solid freshman 2023 season that saw her post five top-10 finishes. She made the top 10 in all but one of her races as a sophomore with the lone exception coming at the Rim Rock Invitational. Every other regular season meet saw Rockey finish in the top three, including her lone win of the season at the Holton Invitational where she beat multi-time 4A state medalist Eva Cortes of Holton. Rockey finished runner-up at the Hiawatha and Sabetha Invitationals and was third at the inaugural Big East League meet. After taking third at regionals as well, Rockey capped her season with a ninth-place showing at state in a career-best time of 20:01.14.
 

   
JOSIE SHELTON, ROYAL VALLEY
 
After missing her freshman cross country season, Shelton enjoyed a solid debut for the Panthers last year as a sophomore. She finished in the top 10 at six races, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at Royal Valley’s Class 3A regional. She was just off her career-best time at that meet, but came back the next week at state and ran her best mark of the high school season with a 20:28.87 that propelled her to a 19th-place finish and state medal in her first appearance. Shelton competed in the Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regional the next week and posted a career-best time of 20:12.60.
 

  
EMORY SPEECE, OSAGE CITY
 
Speece entered high school with the loftiest of expectations after a junior high career in which she won all 12 races in which she competed. While she hasn’t been unbeatable throughout her career, she’ll graduate as arguably the Indians best all-time cross country runner. Speece broke Osage City’s school record in her very first high school meet in 2022 and has had only two races in her high school career where she hasn’t finished in the top 10. One of those likely will serve as a dose of motivation for her senior year as Speece labored to a 21st-place finish at last year’s Class 3A state meet after placing eighth at state as a freshman and ninth as a sophomore. The disappointing state showing came a week after Speece lowered her own school record to 19:19.20 in a fourth-place regional finish. Speece, who also plays volleyball in the fall, is a three-time Flint Hills League runner-up and has four career victories.
 

 
JYNTRI WILSON, CIMARRON

Wilson finished off an impressive freshman season with an 11th-place finish at the 3A meet. She set her personal record a week earlier at the regional meet in Norton, clocking a 19:53.41 to take runner-up honors. Wilson was also second at the Great West Activities Conference meet. She delivered seven top-five finishes on the season. Expect Wilson to fill the role of the Blujays’ No. 1 runner this year after the graduation of Janae Fugitt.


NOTE: Classifications for the 2025-26 school year had not been released at the time of publication. Runners featured could potentially fall into a different classification once those have been determined.