KANSAS STATE MEET

St. Thomas Aquinas Boys Win Eighth Straight 5A Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The St. Thomas Aquinas boys won their eighth straight Class 5A cross country title in Kansas on Saturday at 4 Mile Creek Resort.

The Kansas state meet was was held in three locations, same as 2020, and not held at the traditional venue at Rim Rock Farm due to COVID restrictions. 

Seniors Logan Seger and Ashton Higgerson went 1-2 to lead STA to the title. Seger ran 15:39.1 and Higgerson was 12 seconds back. 

Sophomore Micah Blomker of Shawnee Mission North was the top runner in the state all season and he won the 6A boys title in the fastest time of the day -- 15:25.3. As a freshman last year at Bishop Miege, Blomker finished second in the 4A race.

Olathe South put a winning combination together in the team competition and won the title with 70 points. 

Anjali Hocker Singh of Olathe North repeated her Class 6A girls title in 17:45.5. Her teammate, Shea Johnson, was second in 18:11.5. Despite going 1-2-3 in the team scoring, Olathe West beat Olathe North 52-68 for the team championship, its third straight.

Katie Schwartzkopf of Mill Valley, bookended her career with a 5A individual title in 17:51.7. She won the 6A title in 2018. She also led her team to the championship.  

The 4A and 3A championships were held at Wamego Country Club. 

In the 4A boys race, Buhler's Crusaders retained the title by scoring 51 points, with Tanner Lindahl leading the group by taking second. Sawyer Schmidt from Augusta won the 4A race in 15:54.5.

The Eudora girls won the 4A division, sliding past defending champion Baldwin 56-64. The order of teams was reversed in 2020. Hayley Trotter from Clearwater ran to the individual victory in 19:26.6.

Dylan Sprecker from Southeast of Saline won the 3A boys race in 16:09.3. Trinity Academy put five runners in the top 17 overall to win the title with 35 points. 

Jentrie Alderson of Southeast of Saline won the 3A girls race and led her team to the championship as well. Alderson ran 18:59.8 and her team scored 46 points. 

The 2A and 1A event was at Sand Plum Nature Trail in Victoria. 

Stanton County earned a sweep of the team titles and individual medals at the 2A level. The boys were led by Kamryn Golub's individual win in 16:08.0. Chesney Peterson ran 18:38.8 to lead the girls. 

Meade repeated the 1A boys team title with 31 points, getting past Quinter (40). The Quinter girls won a championship with 60 points. 

Team Champions - 

Class 6A - Olathe South boys 70 points, Olathe West girls 52 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - St. Thomas Aquinas boys 55 points, Mill Valley girls 71 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Buhler boys 51 points, Eudora girls 56 points - RESULTS 

Class 3A - Trinity Academy boys 35 points, Southeast of Saline girls 46 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - Stanton County boys 71 points, Stanton County girls 84 points -RESULTS

Class 1A - Meade boys 31 points, Quinter girls 60 points - RESULTS (scoring four)