Photo: Maxx Bradley/MileSplit Kansas
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The Olathe Twilight meet has consistently been one of the biggest and fastest meets of the Kansas cross country season, but thanks to a lot of rain, some delays, and a predictably muddy course, the times were not as quick as we have seen in years past. No matter! The performances were still impressive and there was plenty of great races.
As we head into a (hopefully drier weekend of competition, take a look at six of the top Kansans from Olathe Twilight!
Jacob D'Souza, Blue Valley Northwest: The defending 6A state champion has lived up to the hype through two races this fall, dominating both the Greg Wilson Invitational and, most recently, Olathe Twilight. Under the lights, D'Souza pulled away from the field by seven seconds, running 15:17.8 on a muddy, soggy course. It is the second consecutive week that the Husky has unleashed a new PR, and another week of him solidifying himself as not only 6A's man to beat, but the state's as well.
Kaylie Shultz, Salina Central: She may not have gotten the win, but the future Florida State Seminole was the top Kansas athlete on the day, running a season-best 17:45.6 to finish runner-up. The senior was 19 seconds ahead of the next-closest Kansan and the only one to break 18:00. After a win last week in Great Bend, one of the state's top returners has already returned to form.
Andrew Claar, Blue Valley Southwest: Following the graduation of Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Daniel Enriquez, the 2025 5A state champion and state record holder, the top spot in the state's second-highest classification was left open. Claar has proved he is ready to step into that role, cemented in his runner-up finish on Saturday, lowering his PR all the way down to 15:24, 14 seconds faster than what he ran at Nike XC Town Twilight a year ago. The top 5A returner got his season started with a win earlier this month at Basehor-Linwood, and an elite run in Olathe keeps his momentum rolling.
Charlotte Hardy, Shawnee Mission East: Since her freshman year, Hardy has been elite both on the grass and on the track. After winning her third overall state championship in May, she picked up right where she left off, running the third-fastest time of her career. Her final time of 18:04.7 was 15 seconds faster than what she ran on this same course a year ago, but the time is not the most impressive thing she accomplished on Saturday. Hardy found herself in no man's land but kept her head down and still ran a strong time without anyone around her.
Brayden Troutman, Blue Valley: While Blue Valley was already expecting frontrunner and fourth-place finisher Carter Moser to be a star, Troutman has made it very clear that the Tigers have a two-headed monster situation going on. Troutman finished fifth overall in 15:35.6, marking the second consecutive week with a near 30-second PR. In his season debut, he ran 16:02.0 for a 28-second improvement, then followed it with a 27-second improvement in the best run of his life at ODAC. Troutman also helped his squad finish runner-up out of 20 teams and as the top team from the Sunflower State.
Decorah Schroeter, Great Bend: After a 14th-place finish at the 5A State Championships as a freshman, Schroeter is racing on an entirely different level in her second season, already setting two PRs through two races. At the Great Bend Invitational on September 3, she ran 18:56.21 in her runner-up finish, but an 18:18 this past weekend opened the floodgates. Schroeter also broke Addy Nicholson's program record of 18:29.3, a mark Nicholson established on the same course.
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Photo: Maxx Bradley/MileSplit Kansas
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