State cross country qualifiers set in 4A & 5A at Lake Afton

Bishop Carroll’s Kaelyn Balch put the pedal on the floor in Saturday’s regional race at Lake Afton. Overheard in the crowd was someone saying, “I would say Balch would fade, but that girl is a beast.”

Balch took first in the 5A girls’ race in a time of 14:41, ahead of teammate Katherine Dillard, who finished in a time of 14:58. Carroll won the team title with a score of 20, a mere 48 points ahead of second-place Goddard Eisenhower. Kapaun was the third team to punch its ticket to state with 79 points.

“The start helped me a lot,” said Balch. “I wanted to push the first mile, then keep it steady the second mile and shut it down the third mile.”

She pushed the first mile with a time of 5:39. Kenzie Wills of Andover Central took third in a time of 15:29 and will run at state. Joining her is Elise Larson of Andover, who finished in 15:40. Ark City’s Calley Walters, Wichita West’s Mikki Anaya and Keegan Hanson of Andover were all qualifiers for the state championship meet.

Paige White of Baxter Springs won the 4A girls’ race in a time of 15:09, but her team did not qualify. Winfield won the regional meet with a score of 44, six points ahead of Central Plains League champion Wichita Trinity, a team that finished with 50 points. Rose Hill was the third team to qualify at the regional with a score of 76.

Alexis Mijares of Trinity took second in the race in 15:44. Clearwater’s Allison Rylant will run at state as she finished third with a time of 15:45. Labette County’s Michaela Ozier, Parsons’ Kaylee Krull and Mulvane’s Meghan Carver will all run at the 4A state championship.

In the 5A boys’ race, Carroll’s Gage Garcia beat out teammate James Hampton with a time of 16:31. Hampton ran 16:38.

“As a team, we just wanted to qualify,” said Garcia. “So we took the first two miles a little easier. Then the last mile we went faster. I wasn’t used to starting that relaxed, but it felt good.”

Wichita West’s Dominick Fonseca finished fourth and will run at the state championship. Individual qualifiers also include Jacob and Joseph Newman of Goddard, Nickalas May of Andover Central and Ark City’s Evan Vickery.

Carroll was the top team at the regional with 29 points. Cross-town rival Kapaun Mt. Carmel took second with 41 points and Eisenhower wrapped up the No. 3 spot with 108 points.

Winfield’s Josh Hanna and Mulvane’s Ren Bean know how each other run. So, Hanna did what he always does and stuck with the long-locked Bean for the first half of the race, then turned on the jets to win in 16:04. Bean took second with a time of 16:20.

“I just kind of took easy behind him then really hit it hard,” said Hanna. “I tried to get distance on him so it was easier at the end. That’s been my strategy, and he knows that because that’s what we’ve been doing every time.”

Hanna led his team to a second place finish with 34 points, while Mulvane took first with 41 points. Labette County will also run at the state meet as a team with 93 points.

Individual qualifiers include Kenton Weber of Rose Hill, who took fifth in 17:04. Teammate David Reaves will also run at state. Clearwater’s Austin O’Neal and Ian Woods will run for a state championship as well as Grant Alexander of Wichita Trinity.