By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ryin Miller's biggest and toughest cross country meet of the season is on tap Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, but the undefeated Seaman junior star just wants to run her best and will accept the outcome.
Seaman junior cross country star Ryin Miller remained undefeated in last Saturday's Class 5A regional and will take aim on her first state cross country title Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Miller finished third in last year's state meet and the two runners who beat her in 2023, Salina Central senior two-time state champ Katelyn Rupe and sophomore Kaylie Shultz are both in the field for Saturday's 10 a.m. 5A race.
Miller, a two-time state champ in track, beat both Central standouts earlier this fall on the same course in the Rim Rock Classic.
"Honestly, I'm just going to go out there with full confidence in myself,'' Miller said about state. "I'm just going to run the best race that I have on that day and if (a title) happens, amazing. Obviously that's what everybody wants to happen for themselves, but if it doesn't happen I'm still going to be incredibly proud of my season regardless.''
Miller said she enjoys the challenge of racing against Rupe and Shultz.
"It's great racing against them,'' Miller said. "They're obviously great competition. It's fun running against them, it's fun to finally kind of have somebody there with you. Always fun, but always hard, too, so it really could be anybody's race. It's just whoever has the best race on the day.''
Seaman qualified its entire team for state with a second-place regional finish behind defending 5A team champ St. James Academy, with Viking sophomore Brynn Spencer and senior Stella Appelhanz finishing eighth and ninth while sophomore Kinley Robinson placed 16th and freshman Avery Villines was 22nd (21:16.6) to round out Seaman's top five.
Seaman's boys also turned in a solid regional performance, earning a state team berth with a third-place team finish and will compete in Saturday's 11:30 a.m. state race.
Seaman junior Brody Anderson finished second in Saturday's Class 5A regional cross county meet as the Vikings qualified as a team with a third-place finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Brody Anderson led the Vikings with a runnerup individual finish while Seaman also got an 18th-place showing from senior Alex Newell, a 20th-place finish from sophomore Conner Bloom, a 23rd from senior Corbin Murrow and a 25th-place finish from junior Drake Spurlock.
Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman qualified for the Class 5A state cross country meet with a third-place finish in Saturday's 5A regional at Kanza Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West qualified seniors Adrian Lehman and Mark Wilkie for state as individuals, with Lehman finishing third while Wilkie placed 12th.
The 5A girls race is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start Saturday while the boys race is set for 11:45 a.m.
CLASS 6A
Senior Rylee Ismert followed up her Centennial League individual cross country title with a Class 6A regional win last week while leading Washburn Rural to the team championship in the Junior Blues' tuneup for Saturday's state meet at Rim Rock Farm.
Washburn Rural senior Rylee Ismert enters Saturday's Class 6A state meet on a two-race win streak with Centennial League and regional titles . [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ismert took individual honors in last Saturday's 6A regional, one of four Junior Blues in the top eight spots as Rural took the team title by a 45-55 margin over Lawrence Free State.
Washburn Rural senior Payton Fink, the Class 6A runnerup in the 2023 state meet, finished third in Saturday's Class 6A regional, helping the Junior Blues win the team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rural senior Payton Fink finished third in the regional meet while junior Emily Graf was fifth, senior Brooklyn Nolte eighth and junior Kenzie Maddox 29th to round out the Junior Blues' top five.
Rural's girls have now swept city, league and regional team titles and are on the short list of state title contenders Saturday.
"That's where we want to be, that's the plan,'' Washburn Rural coach Matt Swedlund said at regionals. "We have a few things to figure out. We'll work on tweaking some stuff this week and want to be competing for that title (on) Saturday.''
The Junior Blue boys tied Manhattan for second place with 86 points and finished third on a tiebreaker to garner the final team berth for state.
Washburn Rural freshman Henry Laubach (1935) posted a third-place individual finish in last Saturday's Class 6A regional cross country meet, helping the Junior Blues earn a Class 6A state berth. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Freshman Henry Laubach finished third to pace Washburn Rural at regionals while junior Brooks Kehoe finished eighth, senior Bodie King 15th, freshman Clayton Fink 28th and senior Chris Quarles 32nd.
The 6A girls race is scheduled for an 11 a.m. Saturday while the boys race is the final race of the day at 12:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Hayden's boys earned a team berth for Saturday's Class 4A state meet at Wamego Country Club with a third-place regional finish, one point behind second-place Baldwin.
Junior Connor Baldwin led the Wildcats with a fifth-place regional finish, while freshman Nick Newkirk finished seventh, senior Jonah Stewart 13th, junior Luke Franklin 22nd and senior Derek Ahlstedt 31st to complete Hayden's scoring runners.
Hayden senior girls standout Elliot Wrench qualified for state as an individual, posting a fourth-place regional finish.
The 4A girls race is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday while the boys race is set for a 12:30 p.m. start.
CLASS 3A
Silver Lake will have a pair of runners in both the boys and girls Class 3A state events Saturday at Rim Rock Farm.
The Eagle boys will be represented by senior Aemon Coffman and sophomore Hunter Rooks in the 10:30 a.m. boys race, with Coffman finishing sixth at regionals while Rooks qualified 15th.
Silver Lake sophomore Alessandra Gerber and senior Tessa Gerber will compete in the 3A girls race at 12 p.m.
Alessandra Gerber posted a sixth-place individual finish at regionals while Tessa Gerber placed 13th to earn a state berth.
CLASS 2A
Rossville's boys posted a second-place regional team finish to punch its ticket for Saturday's Class 2A state meet at Wamego Country Club while Bulldawg sophomore Madelyn Wonnell qualified for the girls state meet as an individual.
Rossville's boys posted a regional team score of 70 points to finish nine points behind Solomon.
Junior Dalton Verschelden led the Bulldawgs with a 16th-place regional showing, while junior Torin Culbertson was 22nd and senior Logan Kufahl 27th to lead Rossville.
Wonnell qualified for state with a 14th-place regional finish.
The 2A girls race is set to start at 10 a.m., with the boys race scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
SHAWNEE COUNTY STATE QUALIFIERS
Class 6A
Washburn Rural -- Girls: Reese Beardslee, fr.; Payton Fink, sr.; Emily Graf, jr.; Rylee Ismert, sr.; Kenzie Maddox, jr.; Kate Muir, so.; Brooklyn Nolte, sr. Boys: Clayon Fink, fr.; Duke Graf, fr.; Brooks Kehoe, jr.; Bodie King, sr.; Henry Laubach, fr.; Connor Olsen, sr.; Chris Quarles, sr.
Class 5A
Seaman -- Girls: Stella Appelhanz, sr.; Emma Gonzalez, so.; Ryin Miller, jr.; Kinley Robinson, so.; Brynn Spencer, so.; Avery Villines, fr.; Hannah Wempe, so. Boys: Brody Anderson, jr.; Conner Bloom, so.; Caleb King, fr.; Maddox Moore, fr.; Corbin Murrow, sr.; Alex Newell, sr.; Drake Spurlock, jr.
Shawnee Heights -- Boys: Evan Carter, sr.
Topeka West -- Boys: Adrian Lehman, sr.; Mark Wilkie, sr.
Class 4A
Hayden -- Girls: Elliot Wrench, sr. Boys: Derek Ahlstedt, sr.; Connor Baldwin, jr.; Luke Franklin, jr.; Matthew Harmer, jr.; Nick Newkirk, fr.; Ethan Rochford, sr.; Jonah Stewart, sr.
Class 3A
Silver Lake -- Girls: Alessandra Gerber, so.; Tessa Gerber, sr. Boys: Aemon Coffman, sr.; Hunter Rooks, so.
Class 2A
Rossville -- Girls: Madelyn Wonnell, so. Boys: Lochlan Culbertson, fr.; Torin Culbertson, jr.; Nate Fund, jr.; Logan Kufahl, sr.; Drake Robb, so.; Dalton Verschelden, jr.; Karson Weissend, fr.
SATURDAY'S STATE CROSS COUNTRY TIME SCHEDULE
Classes 3A, 5A, 6A at Rim Rock Farm
10:00 a.m. – 5A Girls
10:30 a.m. – 3A Boys
11:00 a.m. – 6A Girls
11:30 a.m. – 5A Boys
12:00 p.m. – 3A Girls
12:30 p.m. – 6A Boys
Classes 1A, 2A, 4A at Wamego Country Club
10:00 a.m. – 2A Girls
10:30 a.m. – 1A Boys
11:00 a.m. – 4A Girls
11:30 a.m. – 2A Boys
12:00 p.m. – 1A Girls
12:30 p.m. – 4A Boys
.
