By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Some high school sports in Kansas feature a regional competition to begin the postseason. Others have sub-states. Cross country now has…both. For an eighth consecutive season, Great Bend High School will host a Class 5A cross country regional this Saturday at Lake Barton. Instead of one regional, an 18-team sub-state will consist of two regionals, each with a boy's and girl's race. GBHS coach Lyles Lashley said Saturday’s races will still feature fewer runners than the growing home meet earlier this fall.
“We had 22 teams, then 14 middle school teams that came to our home meet, so this one is going to be a little smaller,” he said. “You’re talking about bringing only seven runners on both sides. We’re looking forward to hosting it, though.”
Great Bend will host the west sub-state, meaning teams from as far east as Wichita, Valley Center, and even Topeka will attend. Each of the 18 boys’ and girls’ teams were seeded and split accordingly, meaning the Panther squads will run against different schools. The top three teams from each race qualify for state, as do the top 15 runners to cross the finish line in each race. Saturday’s winners have yet to be determined, but the event will again be a boost to the local economy.
“When you take 18 teams and 14 runners from each team, two or three parents, grandparents, and brothers and sister, that’s a lot of money being spent in town,” Lashley said.
The races will also feature some of the nation’s best runners. Kapaun junior Ava Claassen has the fastest 5K time in Kansas this fall by more than 60 seconds at 16:20. That time puts her at No. 5 in the nation. Salina Central senior Kaylie Shultz, the reigning 5A champion, ranks No. 5 in Kansas and No. 178 in the nation with a season-best of 17:36. On the boys’ side, Kapaun’s Jack Sauer ranks No. 4 in Kansas this fall with a best time of 15:26, and Bishop Carroll’s Evan Englert ranks No. 20 with a 15:53.
Great Bend sophomore Decorah Schroeter has put together her own historic season, setting 5K and 4K school records. She has also reset virtually every GBHS record for the various courses ran this season. Her best time of 18:10 ranks No. 9 in Kansas this fall. For the boys, junior Brogan Lashley ranks No. 13 in Class 5A this fall with a best time of 16:23.
Races on Saturday begin at 10:30 a.m. at Lake Barton north of Great Bend.