Photo: Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
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The Rim Rock Farm High School Cross Country Classic brought together some of the best talent in the region as it typically does, and Kansas athletes were well represented at the top of the leaderboard.
Here are the top three Kansas finishers on both the boys' and girls' sides.
Jacob D'Souza (Blue Valley Northwest): After winning his first state title a year ago in a dogfight, D'Souza has been a man on a mission as a senior, winning all four races this fall, including big wins over incredible fields. The senior took the Gold race at Rim Rock in 15:50.53, making the most of a muddy day and holding off a strong field and 6A rival Carter Moser, who we will get to in just a bit. With wins at the Greg Wilson Classic, Olathe Twilight, and Shufelberger Top City Classic already on his resume, the defending 6A champ is the clear favorite heading into the postseason and has yet to be beaten through the first month.
Ava Claassen (Kapaun Mt. Carmel): Unsurprisingly, the junior and distance phenom has been flawless through her three races this fall, winning all of them and dropping her best to 17:13.21 at Rim Rock last weekend. Claassen has won by comfortable margins each time out and looks like the runaway favorite in the girls race heading into October despite 5A once again being the most talented class in the state. She has run 17:17 or quicker in all three wins and has won by a total of 3:56 this fall, even though she has raced the region's best in back-to-back meets.
Carter Moser (Blue Valley): The senior has been one of the most dangerous runners in the state all fall, finishing no worse than fourth in any of his three races and running as fast as 15:30.40 at the Greg Wilson Classic. His runner-up finish at Rim Rock in 15:54.73 keeps him firmly in the conversation as one of the top boys in Kansas heading into the final stretch of the regular season, and he has been the only Kansas runner to truly challenge D'Souza on the grass.
Kaylie Shultz (Salina Central): Runner-up in two of her three races this fall, Shultz gave Claassen an early challenge before pulling away from the rest of the pack and finishing 25 seconds ahead of the next finisher in Lawrence. The defending 5A state champion opened with an 18:18.93 win at the Great Bend Invitational before running a season-best 17:45.60 at Olathe Twilight earlier this month, and her 18:20.40 at Rim Rock keeps her right in the mix behind Claassen heading into October as the two look set to see a lot more of each other.
Andrew Claar (Blue Valley Southwest): The junior ran a season-best 15:24.00 at Olathe Twilight two weeks prior before finishing fifth on a grueling, rain-soaked Rim Rock Farm course in 16:17.88. It was still more than enough for third in the Gold division, the highest of the meet, and he sits at the top of the 5A leaderboard both thanks to his season-best and the fact he took down some of his biggest 5A threats head-to-head last Saturday.
Gabrielle Converse (Manhattan): After transferring in last fall as a junior, Converse has been one of the state's top performers all fall regardless of class, dropping from 19:03.23 to open the season all the way down to 17:58.43 at the Southern Stampede, which lowered both her PB and the Manhattan school record. The senior finished third at Rim Rock in 18:45.13 and has shown she can compete at the top of the field week in and week out, looking like the favorite to take down defending champion Charlotte Hardy, whom she beat by 30 seconds last weekend.