By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The competition in Class 5A has been especially tough for runners over the past two decades. St. Thomas Aquinas has won the last eight 5A state cross country championships, and last October, two Aquinas runners led the state field before heading on to NCAA Div. I schools.
Right behind them was Great Bend's Kaiden Esfeld. Logan Seger won last year's title in 15:39, followed by teammate Ashton Higgerson in 15:51. Esfeld, in 15:54, was the only other 5A runner to crack 16 minutes at state. Now a senior, Esfeld is the de facto front runner for this year's 5A championship. He opened the season strong on Sept. 1 by setting the course record at Lake Barton.
"I know it will probably be a good battle with some of the other guys up there with me," Esfeld said, "but I do consider myself one of the top ones to be up there with them."
Esfeld set the Lake Barton record in 16:09.6, 33 seconds ahead of Garden City's silver medalist Devin Chappel, who ran fourth at the 6A state cross country meet last October.
Not that the wins come easy. Esfeld said there were a lot of early morning practices this summer, and he's changed his diet to maximize endurance. By the end of the summer, he was running 50-70 miles a week in preparation for the season.
"Training-wise, it's not as horrible as what it seems like after we get done," he said. "During it, it seems like a very painful thing, and sometimes it's one of the worst things we're doing. Really, I've gotten more used to the training style (Great Bend Coach Lyles) Lashley has, and I've kind of adapted my body to be able to take it pretty well."
Like many distance runners, Esfeld shows his versatility on the track each spring. As a sophomore, he swept the Western Athletic Conference in the 800, 1600, and 3200m races. Last May he repeated as the 800m champion but lost the 1600 and 3200m league titles to Chappel.
"The kid from Garden had beat him twice at the WAC track meet last year, so it was nice for him to avenge that loss," Lashley said.
Esfeld went on to win 5A regional titles in the 800m and 1600m runs, not competing in the 3200m race. A week later at the state meet in Wichita, with no Seger in the races for Aquinas, Esfeld placed fourth in the 1600m run and fell to ninth in the 800, missing the final state medal by just a quarter of a second.
Now a senior and with many of the horses in front of him gone to graduation, Esfeld is on the short list of contenders for the Class 5A title this year. He set the course record in his first meet, running alone. His time will only improve as he runs against better competition.
"A lot of my races were running with someone and trying to take in that last 400 or 800 meters," he said. "I would have to say I enjoy those races more. It's a lot easier when you have someone to go back and forth with, pushing each other, compared to your having to push yourself and stay mentally strong throughout the whole race."
Kaiden got his start as a runner in middle school after watching his sister, McKenna, run for the Lady Panthers. She finished her prep cross country career with a 47th-place finish at the state meet in 2019. With no spring season in 2020, she ended her prep track career with state medals in the 800m run and 4x800m relay as a junior.
Following high school, Kaiden plans to study construction science management and run at a college to be determined.