The 2024 All-Shawnee County boys cross country team: Front row, from left -- Evan Carter, Shawnee Heights; Bodie King, Washburn Rural; Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural; Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural; Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural; Brody Anderson, Seaman. Back row, from left -- coach Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural; Connor Olsen, Washburn Rural; Connor Baldwin, Hayden; Max Esquibel, Shawnee Heights; Adrian Lehman, Topeka West; Mark Wilkie, Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Three state medalists and five first-team repeat picks headline the 2024 All-Shawnee County boys cross country team.
Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman and Seaman junior Brody Anderson finished seventh and ninth individually in the Class 5A state meet while Washburn Rural freshman Henry Laubach finished 14th in 6A in his first state meet.
Lehman and Anderson are both all-county first-team repeat selections along with Shawnee Heights senior Evan Carter, Washburn Rural junior Brooks Kehoe and Rural senior Conner Olsen.
Washburn Rural, which won the city team championship, is also represented on the all-county team by senior Bodie King and freshman Clayton Fink, who helped the Junior Blues qualify for the 6A state meet as a team, while Rural coach Matt Swedlund was named the city boys coach of the year.
Topeka West's senior Mark Wilkie, Hayden junior Connor Baldwin and Shawnee Heights junior Max Esquibel were named to the all-county team for the first time.
All-Shawnee County boys capsules:
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman -- A junior, Anderson completed one of the most impressive seasons in Seaman history, earning All-United Kansas Conference first-team, UKC runner of the year, all-regional, All-State and All-Shawnee County honors. A first-team all-county repeater, Anderson broke his own school record with a time of 15:17 at the Joe Schrag Invitational, improving the mark by 33 seconds. His ninth-place finish in the Class 5A state meet was faster than anyone at Seaman has run for 5,000 meters and his average time for the season was faster than his school record from 2023.
CONNOR BALDWIN, Hayden -- Baldwin turned in an impressive junior cross country season for the Wildcats, highlighted by a personal-best five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 48.70 seconds at the Centennial League meet, where he finished 13th. He placed fifth in the Class 4A regional at Blue Valley Southwest with a time of 17:23.60 and went on to finish 28th at the state championship. Baldwin is also an honor student, maintaining a a 3.86 grade point average.
EVAN CARTER, Shawnee Heights -- Carter earned All-Shawnee County first-team honors for the second straight season after turning in a solid senior season for the T-Birds. Carter posted a sixth-place finish in the city meet, finished fifth in the United Kansas Conference championships and qualified for the Class 5A state meet with a 10th-place finish at regionals, posting a season-best time of 16 minutes, 27.50 seconds. Carter capped his high school career with a 31st-place finish in the 5A state meet.
MAX ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights -- The Shawnee Heights junior posted an 11th-place finish in the city championships and also placed 11th in the United Kansas Conference meet for the T-Birds. Esquibel clocked a personal-best time of 16 minues, 58.98 seconds in the Joe Schrag Invitational. Esquibel finished 28th in Class 5A regional competition.
CLAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural -- A freshman, Fink placed 12th in the city championships for the city-champion Junior Blues and finished 19th in the Centennial Lague meet. Fink finished 28th in Class 6A regional competition at Kanza Park as Washburn Rural qualified for state as a team. He finished 49th in his first state meet and clocked a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 03 seconds.
BROOKS KEHOE, Washburn Rural -- A junior, Kehoe posted a fourth-place finish in the city meet to help lead the Junior Blues to the team championship and he finished ninth in the Centennial League and was eighth in Class 6A regional competition to help Washburn Rural qualify for the state meet as a team. Kehoe finished 25th in the state meet at Rim Rock Farm. He clocked a personal-best time of 16:24. Kehoe is an All-Shawnee County first-team repeater.
BODIE KING, Washburn Rural -- A senior, King placed fifth in the city championships for the team-champion Junior Blues, finished 14th in the Centennial League meet and was 15th in the Class 6A regional at Kanza Park, helping Rural qualify for state as a team. King placed 55th in the state meet at Rim Rock Farm. King had five-kilometer best of 16 minutes, 33 seconds. King moved up to the first team after receiving honorable mention as a junior.
HENRY LAUBACH, Washburn Rural -- Laubach burst onto the local cross country scene as a freshman, including a 14th-place finish in the Class 6A state meet to earn All-State recognition. Laubach posted a third-place finish in the city championships for the team-champion Junior Blues, placed second in the Centennial League meet and was third in Class 6A regional competition to help Rural earn a state team berth. Laubach ran a personal-best time of 15 minutes, 59 seconds on the season.
ADRIAN LEHMAN, Topeka West -- In only his second season of cross country, Lehman turned in an outstanding senior season. Lehman was the individual runnerup in the city meet, placed third in the United Kansas Conference meet to earn first-team all-conference honors and finished third at regionals to qualify for the Class 5A state meet. He capped off the season with a seventh-place finish at state, the fastest time ever by a Topeka West runner at the Rim Rock Farm course in 15:49. Lehman is a first-team all-county repeat pick.
CONNER OLSEN, Washburn Rural -- A senior, Olsen posted an eighth-place finish in the city meet for the team-champion Junior Blues and placed 17th in the Centennial League meet and was 37th in Class 6A regional competition, helping the Junior Blues qualify for the state meet as a team. Olsen placed 64th in the state meet at Rim Rock Farm. Olsen clocked a season-best five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 58 seconds. Olsen was a first-team All-Shawnee County repeat pick.
MARK WILKIE, Topeka West -- Wilkie turned in a solid senior season for the Chargers, posting a seventh-place finish in the city championships, a 17th-place showing at the United Kansas Conference meet to earn all-league honorable mention and finished 12th in Class 5A regional competition to earn an individual berth for his first Class 5A state meet. Wilkie posted a personal-best five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 51 seconds.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
First team
Name, school Class
Brody Anderson, Seaman Jr.
Connor Baldwin, Hayden Jr.
Evan Carter, Shawnee Heights Sr.
Max Esquibel, Shawnee Heights Jr.
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural Fr.
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural Jr.
Bodie King, Washburn Rural Sr.
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural Fr.
Adrian Lehman, Topeka West Sr.
Conner Olsen, Washburn Rural Sr
Mark Wilkie, Topeka West Sr.
Honorable mention
Hayden: Nick Newkirk, fr.; Jonah Stewart, sr. Rossville: Dalton Verschelden, jr. Seaman: Alex Newell, sr. Silver Lake: Aemon Coffman, sr.; Hunter Rooks, so. Topeka High: Stuart Campbell, sr.; Easton Davis, fr. Washburn Rural: Chris Quarles, sr.
Coach of the year - Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural.
