Perhaps no runner made a bigger year-to-year jump, however,
than Washburn Rural's Jaybe Shufelberger, who put up the top girl's time in
Kansas this weekend in winning the Greg Wilson Classic in 18:33.60.
Shufelberger, a senior, has steadily progressed the last
three years, most recently earning state medals in the 1600 (6th), 3200 (8th)
and cross country (12th). But it was probably hard for some to see the leap she
made at the Greg Wilson, which is hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas and largely
considered the most competitive meet in Kansas during the opening weekend of
cross country.
Her time was a 46-second PR for 5K cross country, and she
beat defending class 5A state champion Olivia Sovereign of St. Thomas Aquinas
by 54 seconds. Sovereign placed third overall in 19:27.50.
The boys' race was pretty exciting, with 30 boys running
faster than 17:00. Wesley Porter of Rockhurst (Mo.) won the race in 15:22, a
three-second win over Clayton Whitehead of Carthage (Mo.).
Ethan Marshall of St. Thomas Aquinas, a senior and the
defending class 5A state champ, was the top Kansas runner, finishing fourth in
15:40.1 - 18 seconds better than he ran at this meet a year ago. His time also
is the best in Kansas right now, and the 42nd best time in the United States,
according to the current U.S. MileSplit rankings.
In fact, the Greg Wilson Classic featured the top five times
in Kansas on the first weekend, and 7 of the top 10. After Marshall were Sam Hubert of DeSoto (16:05.7), Reece Jones of St. Thomas Aquinas (16:05.8),
Jackson Caldwell of Olathe North (16:09.4) and Jack Terry of Mill Valley
(16:13.9).
It was a pretty exciting team race at the Greg Wilson
Classic, as well. The boys' division went to Rockhurst with 54 points, but
three-time defending state champ St. Thomas Aquinas was second with 73. Class
6A state champ Olathe North placed third at 101 and class 5A runner-up Mill
Valley was fourth at 118. That's some firepower going head-to-head at an
early-season meet.
The girls' team title went to Mill Valley, the state
runner-up in class 5A last year. They beat last year's class 5A third place
team, St. Thomas Aquinas, by a score of 41-55. Missouri powerhouse Blue Springs was third at 87 and class 6A girls defending state champion Shawnee Mission
North was fourth at 98.
The best times in Kansas not run at the Greg Wilson Classic
were put up in Manhattan where a couple of the best in class 6A won their home
meet. Manhattan's Daniel Harkin - seventh in the class 6A meet a year ago -- won
on the hilly Warner Park course with a time of 16:15.8, while Clara Mayfield -
state runner-up in 6A last year - won the girls' race with the second best time
in Kansas so far, 18:57.5. Manhattan won both team races, as well.
Taylor Briggs of Chapman -- who won state titles in cross
country, the 1600 and 3200 as a freshman -- kicked off her sophomore year with
another dominating win. She cruised to first place at the Abilene Invitational
with a time of 19:31.6. Collin Oswalt of Central Christian won the boys' race
in 16:37, a surprising 56 seconds better than Aaron Modrow of Chapman, who was fifth
at the class 4A state championships last year.
Two of the best in class 3A served notice that they're ready
to run for titles this year. 2016 state champion Owen Pearce of Kingman won the
Clearwater Invitational in 16:31.2, just a few seconds ahead of teammate Teagan Flanagan (16:35.1). They were more than a minute ahead of the rest of the
field.
Blue Valley West's girls showed off a pretty good 1-2 punch
at the Wichita State JK Gold Classic, with senior Kalea Chu winning the race in
19:46, and junior Bella Call just a couple seconds behind. Chu was fourth at
the class 6A state meet last year; Call was 83rd at state last year, and her
time was 38 seconds faster than she's ever run in cross country.
Their 1-2 finish keyed a whopping 60-point victory in the
team standings over Maize South. Blue Valley West had six of the top 9 in the
girls' race.
Two-time class 6A state champion Trent Cochran of
Gardner-Edgerton kicked off the 2018 campaign with a win at the Wichita State
JK Gold Classic, clocking 16:43.8. He outdueled El Dorado's Ezekiel Kemboi and
Maize South's Britt Magnuson, who finished in 16:46.2 and 16:46.5. Asher Moen
of Andover was fourth in 16:49.4.
Helen Giefer has her sights on adding a state cross country
title to her career. The Trego Community senior won the 3200 meter state title
last May - her first-ever high school state win - and is a strong contender for
the class 2A cross country title this fall. She kicked off her season with a
solid 19:58.1 to win the Norton Invitational.
There was an eye-opener in the girls' race at the Tescott Invitational this past week - not so much for who won the race, but for who didn't win the race. Two-time class 1A
state champion Autumn Princ of Sylvan Grove, a junior seeking her third
straight state crown this Fall, placed fourth in a time of 22:33 - about four
minutes slower than her best-ever time in cross country. Whether Princ is
injured or just not yet in running shape will be a story that merits watching
as the season moves along.
Aubry Donley of Lincoln won the race at Tescott with a time
of 21:22, leading a 1-2 finish with teammate Jaycee Vath (21:28.1). Both are
top five contenders at state in class 1A this season.
Here's a runner to keep an eye on in class 4A this season:
Fallon Russell of Bishop Miege. She won the St. Mary's Invitational in a time
of 20:43, the 21st best time among Kansas girls this week. Russell placed 12th
at the class 4A state championships last year.