Kansas 6A/5A XC Preview: Shultz, Claasen Headline 2026 Slate

Photo: Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

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The Kansas cross country season is still a few weeks away, but the picture at the top of 6A and 5A is already coming into focus as the clock continues to countdown. Defending champions are back with unfinished business, title races are shaping up to be as competitive as ever, and a handful of athletes are poised to make serious noise before Halloween arrives at Rim Rock Farm.

Here's an early look at what to expect when the season gets underway across the state's two largest classes.

Shawnee Mission East's Charlotte Hardy, Manhattan Girls Both Striving For Consecutive Titles

Photo: Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

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After finishing 15th at the KSHSAA 6A State Championships as a freshman and then runner-up as a sophomore, Shawnee Mission East's Charlotte Hardy picked up her first state title last November, pulling away from the field for a 24-second win at Rim Rock Farm. The dominant Lancer won five races in 2025 and only finished outside of the top five once in the regular season. Also the reigning 3200m state champion, the 17:40 runner has her sights set on going back-to-back this Halloween.

While it might look like there's an insurmountable gap between Hardy and the field, it's worth noting that Manhattan, Olathe West, and Blue Valley West all have an assortment of groups with upset potential written all over them.

For Susan Melgares' squad, who double as the reigning 6A team champions, Manhattan's front-running trio of Gabby Converse (18:03), Zara Koehn (18:27), and Isla Spreer (18:29) could work together and reel in Hardy when the time comes.

Olathe West's duo of sophomore Molly DeGregorio and junior Adyson Burton clocked 18:34 and 18:37 last season and could each play huge roles in getting the Owls back on the podium after winning five consecutive titles from 2020-2024.

Senior Kate Larson and freshman Bentley Blunck finished fourth and 13th last fall, and their PRs of 18:38 and 18:43 are bound to get lower before their final in-state race of the year.

Melgares and her title-winning team are the clear favorites to run it back right now, with Blue Valley and Blue Valley West both neck-and-neck in the fight for second. Both teams have a lot of similarities through five runners, but if it were to come down to a tiebreaker, Blue Valley's depth would hypothetically sneak them past the Jaguars.

Both 6A Boys Titles Are Once Again Anyone's To Claim, But It's Still Way Too Early

It wasn't that long ago that 6A was one of the more consistent classifications on the boys' side, with names like Micah Blomker, Daniel Harkin, and Trent Cochran continually finding themselves at the top of the state. Today, 6A seems to be a dogfight every year, both in the individual chase for a title and the team scores.

Last year, Washburn Rural and Blue Valley were separated by a single point, with Olathe West just 10 points back from the latter. In one of the craziest finishes we've seen over the years, the Junior Blues saw their 1-4 runners cross the finish line within seven seconds of one another, with their 1-5 spread an incredible 21 seconds, just enough to hold off Blue Valley as Rural won their second title since 2019.

This year is going to be more of the same, but before the season even starts, there's already a clear favorite when you look at the numbers: the Olathe West Owls.

Led by Lincoln Allen in 16:04.2, Kelsey Carbajo's contingent is rounded out by Archer Brown, Archer Brewer, James Merfen, and Anthony Petelin, who own 2025 bests of 16:08.5, 16:08.9, 16:29.1, and 16:59.6, respectively.

Last year's runner-up and 2026 contender Blue Valley is in a similar boat, except low-stick Carter Moser is predicted to account for just a single point, with his 15:13 from the 2025 Chile Pepper Festival the top returning time statewide. Outside of him, things look pretty comparable, but only time will be able to tell who has the upper hand.

Time will also tell if Washburn Rural is going to repeat what they did a year ago with their strong junior class led by Henry Laubach (15:32).

Shawnee Mission East, Olathe Northwest, and Manhattan are all teams to keep an eye on, but to make it out of 6A, the victorious team is going to need a low spread and as many finishers inside the top 30 as possible.

Photo: Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

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Ahead of all of the hustle and bustle of the team race a year ago was Blue Valley Northwest standout Jacob D'Souza, who ran a lifetime best of 15:42.5 to pick up what was his eighth top-three finish of the year. The defending champ is back once more to go for two in a row, but Moser, Laubach, Grahe Shade (Olathe North), and Ben Perry (Derby) all have quicker times than D'Souza. Maize's Isaac Steele and Junction City's Anthony Testa both have the experience and know-how to execute on all cylinders come race day.

Kaylie Shultz, Ava Claassen Might Need To Make History In Order To Win 5A Crown

For the last five years, 5A has had some of the greatest runners in Kansas history come through its ranks and leave their mark. Surely the names Katelyn Rupe and Ryin Miller ring a bell, and if they don't, it's worth looking into a duo that accounts for 12 total 5A titles and some of the quickest times the Sunflower State has ever seen.

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Two more names that are already in the midst of a series of head-to-head bouts are Salina Central's Kaylie Shultz and Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Ava Claassen.

Last fall, Shultz had the upper hand over Claassen, running 17:26.3 to win by 10 seconds, capping off an undefeated in-state season. Claassen turned the tables on Shultz this past spring, rapidly emerging as one of the top athletes in the country, anchored by the 10:01 she ran for 3200m in May. She went on to topple Shultz at Cessna Stadium, running 10:04 and 4:45 as she added a pair of state titles to her resume.

As of now, there's no confirmation on whether the pair will match up at all prior to the state championship in October, but it very well might take the first-ever sub-17 performance in Rim Rock Farm history to win the 5A crown.

Leavenworth's Kelsie Kudzia, Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Maddyx Erwin, Great Bend's Sydney Stein and Decorah Schroeter, Valley Center's Sophie Ellis, and Blue Valley Southwest's Campbell Harger are all in the running to take the third-place spot, but it's extremely difficult to imagine the winner not being Shultz or Claassen.

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Led by Claassen, the Crusaders cruised to the team title over Bishop Carroll, St. James, Blue Valley Southwest, and St. Thomas Aquinas, with the final scores reading 58-79-103-103-105.

It looks as if the Golden Eagles are going to put up a fight again this fall, boasting a 1-4 spread of 11 seconds to counter Kapaun's low-stick scoring from Claassen and Erwin.

It'll be the same batch of contenders we saw a year ago, with the addition of Andover Central, who could very well sneak in and take a podium spot.

Andrew Claar Looking To Make The Jump While Kapaun Mt. Carmel Looks Primed To Repeat

With state record holder Daniel Enriquez (Kapaun Mt. Carmel) graduated and off to Stillwater, Oklahoma, there's a new champion waiting to be crowned in the state's second-largest class.

Similar to the 6A boys field, there are a handful of athletes who could find themselves breaking the tape if all goes according to plan.

One of those boys, if not the best bet for a preseason favorite, is Andrew Claar, the Blue Valley Southwest Timberwolf who was third as a sophomore and currently holds the title of top returner.

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Nathan Webb of Valley Center, along with the Kapaun trio of Jack Sauer, Koelton Erwin, and Kolbe Meyer, could all spoil Claar's plans thanks to the 15:59, 16:12, and 16:13 they ran a year ago.

I'm inclined to favor Claar due to his consistency on the grass and his breakthrough track campaign that saw him run 9:12 over 3200m.

The 2025 team title was hard-fought and served as a perfect reminder of how important depth is, with Kapaun Mt. Carmel holding off Blue Valley Southwest on a tiebreaker after both teams scored 42 points through five runners.

While it's always possible, we most likely won't see razor-thin margins in this year's team standings, but we could see another Crusader title led by a blue and white trio of Sauer, Erwin, and Meyer. Just like the girls race, Bishop Carroll is looking like they've got the pieces to challenge, and along with Blue Valley Southwest and DeSoto, could jockey for the win and bragging rights.

2025 KSHSAA Champions