The 2025 All-Shawnee County boys cross country team: Front row, from left -- Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural; Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural; Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural; Nick Newkirk, Hayden; Connor Baldwin, Hayden. Back row, from left -- coach Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural; Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural; Duke Graf, Washburn Rural; Max Esquibel, Shawnee Heights; Brody Anderson, Seaman; Conner Bloom, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural put five runners, including three repeaters on the 2025 boys All-Shawnee County cross country team.
Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe is a three-time all-county first-teamer while sophomores Clayton Fink and Henry Laubach are also repeat first-teamers after helping the Junior Blues win the state team title by a single point (100-101) over Blue Valley.
Rural sophomores Jaxson Adams and Duke Graf are first-time All-Shawnee County honorees.
Washburn Rural coach Matt Swedlund was named the county boys coach of the year, sweeping the county girls and boys coach of the year awards.
Seaman two-time city and United Kansas Conference individual champion Brody Anderson is a three-time all-county pick while Hayden senior Connor Baldwin and Shawnee Heights senior Max Esquibel are two-time picks.
Seaman junior Conner Bloom and Hayden sophomore Nick Newkirk round out the first team, selected by local coaches.
All-Shawnee County boys capsules:
JAXSON ADAMS, Washburn Rural -- A sophomore, Adams earned All-Shawnee County first-team recognition for the first time after finishing fifth in the city meet, ninth in the Centennial League, 22nd in a Class 6A regional and 42nd at state as the Junior Blues captured the state team title by a point after earlier winning city and league championships and finishing second on a tiebreaker at regionals. Adams had a best five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 01 seconds.
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman -- A senior, Anderson is a three-time first-team All-Shawnee County pick, making the team all three years he ran cross country. Anderson ran a five-kilometer best of 15 minutes, 00.1 seconds in the Topeka City Championships, good for the 2nd-fastest time in Kansas this fall while winning his second straight city title. He won the prestigious Olathe Twilight Invitational in a time of 15:11.40, finishing ahead of runners from over 50 schools from multiple states. Anderson won the United Kansas Conference individual title and was a regional runnerup before finishing 33rd at state.
CONNOR BALDWIN, Hayden -- Baldwin, a senior, is a three-time All-Shawnee County first-team selection who posted a seventh-place finish in the city meet, a 20th-place finish in the Centennial League meet and a 15th-place finish in Class 4A regional competition to earn an individual state berth. Baldwin placed 25th at state and had a personal-record five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 06 seconds.
CONNER BLOOM, Seaman -- A junior, Bloom finished ninth in the city meet with a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 13.81 seconds. A first-time member of the All-Shawnee County first team, Bloom finished 11th in the United Kansas Conference meet, helping the Vikings finish second as a team. Bloom finished 24th in a Class 5A regional at Wichita in inclement weather and will be counted on to be a leader for the Vikings next season as a senior.
MAX ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights -- The Shawnee Heights senior posted a 15th-place finish in the city championships and also placed 14th in the United Kansas Conference meet for the T-Birds and earned an individual berth in the Class 5A state meet with a 14th-place regional finish before finishing 50th in the state meet at Rim Rock Farm in a time of 17 minutes, 24.63 seconds. Esquibel is an All-Shawnee County first-team repeat pick.
CLAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural -- A sophomore first-team All-Shawnee County first-team repeat pick, Fink placed fourth in the city championships and the Centennial League meet for the champion Junior Blues and finished seventh in a Class 6A regional and placed 26th in the state meet as Washburn Rural captured the team championship. Fink clocked a personal-best five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 15 seconds.
DUKE GRAF, Washburn Rural -- Graf, a sophomore, earned All-Shawnee County first-team recognition for the first time after finishing third in the city meet, 14th in the Centennial League, second in Class 6A regional competition and 28th in the Class 6A state meet at Rim Rock Farm as the Junior Blues won the team title by a point over Blue Valley. Graf, who had a personal-best five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 46 seconds, also helped Rural win city and league titles.
BROOKS KEHOE, Washburn Rural -- A three-time All-Shawnee County first-team honoree, the senior helped lead a young Washburn Rural team to the Class 6A state championship by a single point. Kehoe was the Centennial League champion, placed second in the city meet, 19th in Class 6A regional competition and 25th at state. Kehoe, who helped the Junior Blues win city and league titles and finish second in a tiebreaker at regionals, posted a best five-kilometer time of 16 minutes,10 seconds.
HENRY LAUBACH, Washburn Rural -- A sophomore All-Shawnee County first-team repeat pick, Laubach bounced back from an injury to post a team-best 22nd-place finish in the Class 6A state meet, helping lead Washburn Rural to the state title. Laubach placed seventh in the Centennial League and 12th in a 6A regional and has a five-kilometer personal best of 15 minutes, 32 seconds.
NICK NEWKIRK, Hayden -- Newkirk, a sophomore, posted a sixth-place finish in the city meet, was 18th in the Centennial League meet, earned a individual berth in the Class 4A state meet with a 14th-place finish at regionals to earn an individual state berth and capped his season with a 34th-place finish at state. Newkirk posted a personal-best five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 04 seconds.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
First team
Name, school Class
Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural So.
Brody Anderson, Seaman Sr.
Connor Baldwin, Hayden Sr.
Conner Bloom, Seaman Jr.
Max Esquibel, Shawnee Heights Sr.
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural So.
Duke Graf, Washburn Rural So.
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural Sr.
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural So.
Nick Newkirk, Hayden So.
Honorable mentionTopeka West:
Seaman: Weston Kennedy, fr. Topeka High: Easton Davis, so. Ezra Phelps, jr. Washburn Rural: Brody Meek, so.; Wyatt Shorb, sr.
Coach of the year - Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural.
