By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A longstanding Kansas State High School Activities Association rule made it sometimes difficult to tell which runners were headed to state competition. That changed this season with the top-15 runners at each regional meet punching their ticket to state. With a 14th-place finish Saturday morning at Lake Barton, Great Bend junior Tavon Stroup is headed to Rim Rock Farm.
The Panthers would have needed a top-three team finish to qualify all members to state. Valley Center won the 5A regional meet with 61 points, followed by Goddard-Eisenhower with 66 points, and Salina Central with 67 points. Great Bend finished sixth overall with 122 points.
Salina Central's Liam Deniau-Young won the individual title by nearly eight seconds in 16:20.01. Stroup crossed in 17:36.06, 15 seconds behind the 13th-place runner and 22 seconds out of a top-10 finish.
Anthony Lawrence ran 23rd for the Panthers in 18:06.64, followed by Brogan Lashley in 28th in 18:19.26, and Diego Pasos in 18:20.26 for 29th. Isaac Aldana ran 31st in 18:25.85. Noah Kaiser placed 40th for the Panthers in 19:01.63, and Parker Coleman finished 44th in 19:22.25.