Great Bend Post Sports
St. James Academy has been the team to beat in the girls' race at the Class 5A State Championships. Saturday at Rim Rock Farm near Lawrence, it was the other private schools in the classification dominating the field. Kapaun Mt. Carmel cruised to the win with 58 points, followed by Bishop Carroll with 79 points. The next three teams battled for the final trophy with St. James Academy winning the tie break against Blue Valley Southwest, both with 103 points. Aquinas scored 105 points for fifth, followed by Great Bend in sixth with 187 points.
With no Ryin Miller in this year's race, Salina Central junior Kaylie Shultz was able to beat the field by 10 seconds in 17:26 for the individual title. Kapaun's Ava Claasen ran second in 17:36, and Andover's Madelyn Wallace took the bronze in 18:30.
Panther freshman Decorah Schroeter earned all-state honors in 14th with a time of 19:24.19, missing the top 10 by just under 10 seconds. Freshman Sydney Stein ran 23rd in 19:40.55 to miss all-state honors by nine seconds. Junior Bella Long placed 27th in 19:53.25, and sophomore Samantha Negaard finished 65th in 21:29.01. Makenzie Gwin scored the final team points in 89th with a time of 22:54.26. Alyssa Prendergrast followed in 23:17.88 for 91st, and Sydney James ran 93rd in 23:58.89.
The boys' team race was one of the best in history as Kapaun and Blue Valley Southwest each scored 42 points. Kapaun's sixth runner finished 24th ahead of Southwest's final runner in 38th to secure the team title. De Soto finished a distant third with 112 points. The Great Bend boys placed 11th with 258 points.
Kapaun senior Daniel Enriquez saved the day for his team, winning the individual title by 14 seconds in 15:12.42. The next three finishers hailed from Blue Valley Southwest.
Panther senior Tavon Stroup placed 22nd in 16:29.88, missing all-state honors by less than three seconds. Sophomore Brogan Lashley finished 42nd in 17:10.85. Isaac Aldana ran 70th in 18:00.99, and Noah Kaiser and Parker Coleman finished side-by-side in 18:33.12 and 18:33.80 for 86th and 87th, respectively, to cap team scoring. Sullivan Luttrell placed 90th in 18:40.60, and Alexis Garcia finished 96th in 19:40.47.