Cross Country

Pleasant Hill sophomore Brooke Beck saved her best race of the season for last. On Friday morning, Beck capped her season with a fifth-place finish at the Class 4 state meet in Columbia. She finished the 5-kilometer course inContinue reading “Pleasant Hill sophomore Beck medals at state”

With less than one kilometer in the race, Kayleigh Norris made her move up the last big hill Saturday and left Sisely Mitchell behind en route to winning the Class 4 District 4 championship. Norris, a Harrisonville sophomore, separatedContinue reading “Norris wins Class 4 district meet”

Teams from all across the Kansas City area participated in various meets last weekend, but three of those were the most prominent.  It started last Friday with the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota, where a handful of teams competedContinue reading “Busy weekend across three states”

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – In between the star-studded fields at the Olathe Twilight and Rim Rock meets, the Baldwin Invitational could be considered a smaller meet. But, it’s only small in terms of quantity. Although there were only about aContinue reading “Free State boys, Olathe West girls win Baldwin Invite”

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – To say Mike and Angie Spielman were surprised Saturday would be a big understatement.  They were shocked and humbled during a special presentation before awards were handed out at the Baldwin Invitational cross country meet. InContinue reading “Baldwin XC course named after Spielmans”

Saturday night’s Olathe Twilight meet was rainy, but that didn’t stop the participants from running fast times at an early season competition. There were many personal records set at the meet – too many to count, honestly. Congratulations toContinue reading “Fast times at Olathe Twilight”

The first meet since winning their first-ever state championship, the Blue Springs South girls cross country team found itself on top of the standings last week. The Jaguars returned a solid group from last year’s squad, but lost theirContinue reading “Blue Springs South girls open season with victory”

Sage Wilde kicked off his junior season at Liberty North by sending a message to the rest of Missouri last Saturday. Wilde finished third in the Class 5 state meet lsat year behind senior teammate Ethan Lee and thenContinue reading “Wilde sets Liberty North school record at Tim Nixon Invite”

Last October, the Olathe South boys cross country team made program history winning its first-ever state championship. Now, the Class 6A champs have a target on their back as they look to repeat that title in two months.The FalconsContinue reading “Season preview: Olathe South boys, girls to contend in Class 6A”

Nine straight state championships. That’s what the St. Thomas Aquinas boys cross country team is chasing this fall.The Saints won their eighth-consecutive title last October. They held off Blue Valley Southwest by 14 points by having three guys finishContinue reading “Season preview: St. Thomas Aquinas squads aiming to sweep state titles”

The Olathe West girls cross country team looks primed to bring home a third-consecutive state championship this fall, while the boys team will continue to battle through a tough regional in hopes of making it to state.On the girlsContinue reading “3-peat? Olathe West girls primed to win another state championship”

Coming off a runner-up finish at the Class 5 state meet, St. Teresa’s Academy has some work to do to bring home hardware in November. The Stars graduated four of their seven runners, including their top two in AmeliaContinue reading “Season preview: St. Teresa’s to replace talented senior class”

Both Liberty North cross country teams qualified for last year’s Class 5 state meet. The boys finished third and the girls placed 12th.  The boys team graduated its top runner, Ethan Lee, but now junior Sage Wilde was oneContinue reading “Season preview: Liberty North squads have high expectations”

Last November, the Blue Springs South girls cross country won its first-ever team state championship. The Jaguars’ top six runners all finished in the top 50 en route to an exciting end to the season. Senior Mya Trober ledContinue reading “Season preview: Blue Springs South girls poised to compete for repeat”

Logan Seger has once again found himself part of St. Thomas Aquinas boys cross country history. The STA senior became the fifth Saint to be selected for a special award. This week Seger was named the 2021-22 Gatorade KansasContinue reading “St. Thomas Aquinas senior Logan Seger named Gatorade POY”

Less than three months after winning her second individual cross country state championship in two years, Anjali Hocker Singh received a big award. The Olathe North sophomore was named 2021-22 Gatorade Kansas Girls Cross Country Player of the YearContinue reading “Olathe North’s Anjali Hocker Singh earns Gatorade POY honor”

The first national signing day of the 2021-22 school year came and went, and a handful of area runners inked their futures with various colleges around the country. Iowa State University was the big winner when it comes toContinue reading “Area cross country, track and field athletes ink futures on signing day”

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Amelia Arrieta capped her lone high school cross country season with a third-place finish, but she was only thinking about her team minutes before the race. The St. Teresa’s Academy senior sprinted down the home stretchContinue reading “State recap: St. Teresa’s Academy finishes 2nd; Liberty North boys place 3rd”

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Ryan Unruh didn’t jump in a lake Friday, but he might be getting some permanent ink on his body to commemorate an historical day. After his Blue Springs South girls cross country team won the ClassContinue reading “Blue Springs South girls win first-ever state championship”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Once the bright yellow jerseys began crossing the finish line one after the other, Zach Pope had a good feeling history was being made Saturday. The sixth-year coach was correct. Pope’s Olathe South boys cross countryContinue reading “Olathe South boys cap historical season with program’s first state title”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Micah Blomker was determined not to fall short of the ultimate prize for a second-straight year. He did that by taking out in the lead and never looking back Saturday at the 4 Mile Creek Resort.Continue reading “Shawnee Mission North sophomore Micah Blomker paces field, wins championship”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — The Olathe West girls cross country team capped off an unbeaten season Saturday at the Class 6A state meet. The Owls never lost a meet on their way to their second-straight state championship. They won meetsContinue reading “Repeat just as sweet for Olathe West girls”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Anjali Hocker Singh has competed in just two high school cross country seasons, and she’s already on pace to become one of the best runners in Kansas history. The Olathe North sophomore is undefeated at ClassContinue reading “Olathe North sophomore Anjali Hocker Singh wins 2nd state title”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Justin Wrigley knows his St. Thomas Aquinas boys cross country team might be spoken about in comparison to the legendary Shawnee Mission Northwest program. He also knows that his Saints have a long way to goContinue reading “8 straight: Saints ink place in history with 5A state championship”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Logan Seger cemented his place in St. Thomas Aquinas history Saturday. The STA senior was the latest in program history to win an individual state championship. Seger became the fourth Saint to win gold in theContinue reading “St. Thomas Aquinas senior Logan Seger ends career with state gold”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Minutes after the Class 5A girls race Saturday, as hugs were being given out, Chris McAfee walked over to his team to deliver a message. Whatever McAfee said was received with joyous screams and tears. HeContinue reading “Back on top: Mill Valley girls win third state title in 4 years”

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Mill Valley’s Katie Schwartzkopf set the tone for the day for the individual champions. The senior, who never finished worst than second at state in her career, left the competition in the dust early Saturday inContinue reading “Mill Valley senior Schwartzkopf ends career with 2nd state title”

By Jimmy Gillispie Will the state champions of the Class 6A girls cross country meet be exact same as the ones last year? Seems quite possible based on results this fall, especially the ones a week ago at theContinue reading “State preview breakdown: Class 6A girls”

By Jimmy Gillispie A newcomer to Class 6A might be winning gold Saturday morning a year after finishing runner-up two classes down as a freshman. Shawnee Mission North sophomore Micah Blomker is one of the favorites to win theContinue reading “State preview breakdown: Class 6A boys”

By Jimmy Gillispie Once the Class 5A girls state cross country race begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at the 4 Mile Creek Resort, it’s truly anyone’s race. It will be the first of four races at the course. And,Continue reading “State preview breakdown: Class 5A girls”

By Jimmy Gillispie Can any team knock the St. Thomas Aquinas boys cross country team from its throne Saturday at the Class 5A state meet? The Saints have stood atop 5A as kings of the mountain since 2014, knockingContinue reading “State preview breakdown: Class 5A boys”

By Jimmy Gillispie Mill Valley has remained atop the girls 5A cross country coaches poll all season, but the Jaguars were beaten Saturday at the St. James regional meet. The Jaguars fell to No. 2 ranked St. Thomas AquinasContinue reading “St. Thomas Aquinas takes both 5A regional titles”

By Jimmy Gillispie OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Olathe West girls won another meet Saturday, but it wasn’t quite the performance the Owls hoped for in their second-to-last competition of the season. The defending Class 6A state champions wonContinue reading “Top-ranked Olathe West girls tested at 6A regional; Olathe South, East dominate boys race”

By Jimmy Gillispie OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – In one of the two regionals hosted at the Johnson County Community College course Saturday, the same three schools qualified for the boys and girls state meet. Meanwhile, six different schools sentContinue reading “Shawnee Mission North sweeps 6A regional; SM East, South qualify for state”

By Jimmy Gillispie Cross country teams across Kansas will be competing for spots at the state meet when they compete at various regional meets Saturday. In Classes 2A-6A, the top three teams and the top 10 individual runners willContinue reading “Kansas regional meets set for Saturday “

By Jimmy Gillispie When all of the KC Suburban Conference cross country meets were completed Saturday, six different schools had won titles. At the KC Suburban Gold meet, Liberty North won the boys conference championship, and Blue Springs SouthContinue reading “KC Suburban Conference meets won by six different schools”

By Jimmy Gillispie The Sunflower League boys championship couldn’t be decided by the typical five scoring runners Saturday at the Rim Rock Farm. The battle between Olathe South, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, and Olathe East, ranked No.Continue reading “Tiebreaker decides Sunflower League boys title; Olathe West takes girls crown”

By Jimmy Gillispie Neither Eastern Kansas League cross country meet was a close finish Thursday. The boys teams race was dominated by St. Thomas Aquinas, which has won the past seven Class 5A state championships in Kansas. The No.Continue reading “St. Thomas Aquinas, Blue Valley Northwest win EKL titles”

By Jimmy Gillispie BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – With an incredibly tough regional meet coming up next weekend, the Spring Hill School boys cross country team gained some confidence Thursday. The Broncos tuned up for the Class 5A regional meetContinue reading “Spring Hill boys win closely-contested Frontier League meet”

By Jimmy Gillispie BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Only one thing was certain as runners began crossing the finish line at the Baldwin City Golf Course. It was that Piper High School junior Grace Hanson was the winner, and thatContinue reading “Eudora girls clip Baldwin to win third-straight league title; Piper’s Hanson takes individual crown”

By Jimmy Gillispie The defending Kansas Class 4A girls state champions won’t have to leave their home course before they attempt to win their fourth title in five years. The Baldwin High girls team has already competed on itsContinue reading “Top 4A girls teams to battle for Frontier League title”

By Jimmy Gillispie OLATHE, Kan. — There is a decent chance Ava Wardlaw won’t be competing in the final two meets of the season, but that won’t stop her from being the biggest cheerleader for the Olathe West crossContinue reading “Two-time state medalist Ava Wardlaw battles back from torn ACL “