WAMEGO — Wrapping up the season at the KSHSAA 4A Cross Country Championships, Labette County brought its entire girls team as well as a pair of boys on Saturday.
In the girls’ race, Labette County, which won the SEK League crown earlier this fall, finished in 12th out of a dozen teams with 289 points.
“I thought the girls went out there and competed their best,” Labette County head coach Chris Wacker said. “We had some bugs going around to end the season. With the rain on top of everything and the course conditions, we didn’t hit the placements we wanted. But the girls did their best on that day. I’m proud of how they’ve competed over the last several years and the impact they’ve made in cross country.”
SEK League individual champion Anna Cantrell, a senior, placed 42nd with a time of 22:31.
“She bounced back from regionals. She beat everybody that beat her at regionals except Macie (Moore) from Chanute. She got her legs back under her,” Wacker said. “She got out a little slow and wanted to get into it. Course conditions didn’t allow for that strategy to pay off. It’s hard to move up the pack through the mud.”
Bethany Barger, a senior, finished 71st with a time of 23:56.
“She ran well. I was disappointed she didn’t get to have good conditions for state,” Wacker said. “She PR’d at regionals. But the course conditions just took away her momentum.”
Landry O’Brien, yet another senior and a one-year rental for Labette County who joined the team this fall, placed 81st with a time of 24:53.
“She was dinged up a little bit and we were trying to manage it all the way through to the end,” Wacker said. “Cross country isn’t her focus and I understand that. So I wanted her to be healthy. I’m thankful she came out and ran for us.”
Mikaela Carson finished 88th (25:39), Aubrie Meyer 91st (25:43), Kaylee Eberhart 97th (26:13) and Isabel Clevenger 99th (27:15). Buhler won the team state title in the girls’ race with 78 points. Eudora was runner-up (89), followed by Baldwin (90), Augusta (108), Clay Center (115), Holton (120), McPherson (158), Wamego (159), Winfield (197), Fort Scott (278), Wellington (286) and Labette County (289).
Eudora’s Hanna Keltner won the state title individually with a time of 19:18.
In the boys’ race, junior Jacob Haraughty placed 68th (19:27) while Truett Froebe, a senior, was 76th (19:46).
“I was happy to see the two of them compete at state,” Wacker said. “Especially Truett being a senior. He’s a cross country kid at heart. In his last couple of races, he was really at his best. It’s great to see him be a leader.”
Parsons also had a boys runner at state — Colten Carson placed 27th with a time of 18:13, 14 seconds off from earning a medal.
Wamego won the boys state title as a team with 52 points. Buhler was runner-up with 66 points, followed by McPherson (119), Augusta (147), Tonganoxie (150), Chapman (163), Mulvane (176), Chanute (208), Hayden (228), Winfield (229) and Baldwin (231).
McPherson’s Caleb Muehler won the individual crown, posting a time of 16:33 to best runner-up Drew Elliott of Chapman by four seconds.
For Labette County’s girls, Cantrell, Barger, O’Brien, Eberhart and Clevenger are all set to graduate.
“It’s one of those things that has been in the back of my mind, and I’ve kicked the can on those thoughts because I don’t like losing those girls,” Wacker said. “But we’ve got solid pieces coming back. Aubrie Meyer is really solid. We’ve got some other girls behind her that will step up and fill some gaps. Hopefully we’re able to pull in a freshman or two that find their way to cross country.”
The Labette County Grizzlies girls cross country team competed at the KSHSAA 4A Cross Country Championships in Wamego.
Colten Carson of the Parsons Vikings runs in the KSHSAA 4A Cross Country Championships in Wamego.
