KANSAS STATE MEET

Katelyn Rupe Wins 3rd Straight Title; Spring Hill Boys Slip Past Blue Valley Southwest; Olathe West Girls Win 6A Crown On Tiebreaker

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Katelyn Rupe of Salina Central had to dig a bit deeper for her third straight Class 5A state cross country title in Kansas on Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. 

Rupe ran a time of 17:09.8 to outlast challenger Ryin Miller of Seaman, a junior who ran 17:26.4, in what was the highest caliber race of the weekend at the Kansas state meet, which was held in two separate venues.

The 5A boys team battle also upstaged Class 6A, with Spring Hill winning a fierce competition with Blue Valley Southwest, 35-40. Logan Beckman's 15:23.9 led the way for Spring Hill, which put scorers across at 1-3-5-14-16. 

BVSW countered with 4-6-8-11-15. 

St. James Academy won the 5A girls team title with 77 points. 

In Class 6A, Olathe West, a back-to-back NXN qualifier won a tiebreaker against Washburn Rural after both teams scored 80 points. Shawnee Mission East was close as well, with 84. Olathe West's sixth actually finished in front of Washburn's fifth.

Freshman Linden Pickler won the 6A girls race in 18:37.3.

Garden City won the 6A boys title with 66 points. 

Braxton Theel from Olathe West ran a time of 15:20.1, fastest of the day, to win the 6A boys race by 16 seconds.

The 4A, 2A and 1A schools competed at Wamego Country Club. 

Caleb Muehler from McPherson won the 4A boys race in 16:33.4 and teammate Ethan Elder was third. Buhler went 5-6-7. But it was Wamego taking the team crown with 52 points. 

Hannah Keltner of Eudora, undefeated this fall, won a long-awaited state title when she ran 19:18.6. She had finished second or third the previous three years. 

Buhler won a close girls team race with 78 points. 

Trinity Academy's Emily Hein won the Class 3A girls race in a time of 18:26.9, leaving the field almost a minute behind her. It was her second straight title.

Hesston nipped Trinity Academy for the team title, 104 to 105. Southeast of Saline was close, too, with 109 points. 

Caleb Tofteland made it a Trinity sweep of the individual titles as he won the 3A boys race in 15:36.8. Second-place finisher Brody Deniston led Holcomb to the team title as the Longhorns put four in the top 18. 

Cody Hammond led a 1-2-4 finish for Central Heights in the 2A boys race and he ran a winning time of 16:35.8.

Madison Howland from Smith Center ran 18:50.8 to win the 2A girls race by 33 seconds. Frederic Remington-Whitewater won a sixth-runner tiebreaker to edge Berean Academy. 

Caleb Durst from Lebo won the small-school boys 1A final in 16:53.2. The Quinter boys put three in the top 12 on the way to a team title. 

Avery Boydston of Ellis won her race by a full minute, running 19:32.3 for the 1A title after taking second in 2A last year.

Team Champions - 

Class 6A - Garden City boys 66 points, Olathe West girls 80 (tiebreaker) - RESULTS

Class 5A - Spring Hill boys 35 points, St. James Academy girls 77 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Wamego boys 52 points, Buhler girls 78 points - RESULTS

Class 3A - Holcomb boys 58 points, Hesston girls 104 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - Central Heights boys 34 points, Frederic Remington-Whitewater girls 108 points (tiebreaker) - RESULTS

Class 1A - Quinter boys 60 points, South Gray girls 37 points - RESULTS