By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Decorah Schroeter has set school and course records all over the state this fall. It made sense, then, that the Great Bend High School sophomore should win a Class 5A regional title Saturday morning at Lake Barton. Schroeter beat the field by nine seconds to claim her individual title, and the Panther girls finished second as a team to punch their ticket to next week's state championships at Rim Rock Farm.
Great Bend High School hosted regional races for an eighth consecutive year Saturday morning. This year, 22 teams comprised a Class 5A sub-state, which was then divided into two regional races. The top 15 individual finishers from each race qualified for state, and the top three teams from each race head to state.
Schroeter, the GBHS school-record holder at the 4K and 5K distances, won Saturday's individual title in 18:25.61. Bishop Carroll sophomore Nora Thome ran behind her in 18:34.01, and Carroll senior Emily Melcher placed third in 19:31.17.
Carroll, the reigning 5A runner-up, dominated the team race with just 30 points. The next three spots, including the crucial third-place position, was decided by just five places. Great Bend scored 68 for second, and Newton scored 71 points to edge Valley Center by just two points for the final team qualifying spot.
Sophomore Sydney Stein ran 10th for the Panthers in 20:19.65, followed by senior Bella Long in 20:32.27 for 12th. Junior Alyssa Prendergast ran a personal-best 21:50.97 to place 21st, and junior Samantha Negaard claimed the crucial final team points in 25th in 22:08.59. Four Salina South runners in front of and behind Negaard helped stave off team qualification from Valley Center. Junior Sydney James ran 30th for Great Bend in 22:23.75, and sophomore McKenzie Gwin placed 33rd in 22:44.30.
Wichita teams dominated the boys' races. Defending champion Kapaun scored just 22 points to beat second-play Hays by 38 places. The Carroll boys placed five in the top seven to score just 22 points. Great Bend placed fifth in that race with 114 points to miss team qualification by 31 spots.
Bishop Carroll senior Simon Martinez won his race by 33 seconds in 16:18.01. Great Bend junior Brogan Lashley, ranked No. 13 in Class 5A this fall, secured his spot at state with a ninth-place finish in 17:13.25. Junior Isaac Aldana ran 23rd in 18:12.29, 29 seconds behind the final state qualifier. Noah Kaiser placed 27th in 18:17.99, Dalton Gregg ran 28th in 18:21.29, and Julian Hernandez scored the final Panther points in 18:26.23 for 31st.
The first race of the day featured two of the nation's best runners. Kapaun junior Ava Claassen, ranked No. 5 in the nation at 5K, won in 16:50.93. Reigning 5A champion and Florida State-commit Kaylie Shultz from Salina Central won the silver by 94 seconds in 17:40.47.
The Class 5A State Cross Country Championships will again take place at Rim Rock Farm outside Lawrence on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Class 5A boys will run at 10:35 a.m., and the 5A girls take off at 12:20 p.m.