By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On what should be a chilly Saturday in Lawrence Kansas, fans of high school cross country will be treated to what should be a pair of excellent races in Class 3A.
As always, where state titles are concerned, Southeast of Saline is involved, and the purple and white will look to take the top step of the podium once again.
The two Trojan teams share an unheard-of 18 state titles, including eight in the last decade alone, and that experience has prepared the next generation of runners for their moment in the spotlight.
“The kids are very excited, we’re taking everything very seriously and we’re not taking anything for granted,” SES cross country coach Wade Caselman said. “Having state experience and running in bigger meets against bigger schools really helps, and we’ll be ready to go Saturday morning.”
For the girl's team, this state meet represents an opportunity to four-peat as 3A state champions, led by a terrific trio of freshmen phenoms.
A fourth-straight state title will not, however, come without stiff competition, and the Lady Trojans will have to fend off Cheney, Norton, and Wichita Trinity to defend their crown.
“On the girl's side we just have to take care of business and keep our time gap down,” Caselman said. “We don’t have a true front-runner like we have in years past but it’s hard to get people in-between you to run your score up when you run in a pack like we do and we really saw that at regionals.”
Meanwhile, on the boy's side, the Trojans will look to wrestle control of 3A dominance back from the two-time defending state champs in Wichita Trinity, who prevented SES from a three-peat of their own back in 2021.
Entering the season, the Knights looked unstoppable, returning every single runner from their 2022 championship team, but going into state, some cracks have shown in the Trinity armor, and the Trojans will look to pounce on Saturday.
“This could be our year to get Wichita Trinity and if we run the way we’re capable of I think we can beat them,” Caselman said. “They’re not as strong as they were last year due to some injuries and if we can split up some of our front-runners we’ve got a good shot.”
You can find profiles for each of Southeast’s top runners below.
Southeast of Saline girls (Ranked #1 in 3A)
Runner: Anna Jackson (FR)
Regionals: 7th (20:43.84)
Notes from Coach: Anna has done a great job of transitioning from junior high cross country to high school this season. She is not afraid to go and run with the leaders in the races. Anna has been a top 5 runner for the girls all season and earned ALL-NCAA League honors with her 3rd place finish.
Runner: Piper Brown (FR)
Regionals: 8th (20:44.35)
Notes from Coach: Piper is running cross country for the first time this season and has done an outstanding job for the girl’s team. She has been one of the top runners for our team this season and I feel confident that she will be in contention for All-State Honors on Saturday. Piper earned All-NCAA League honors with her 5th-place finish.
Runner: Abby Commerford (JR)
Regionals: 9th (20:47.62)
Notes from Coach: Abby has been a part of two state championships as a freshman and sophomore. Last year she placed 5th at the state meet and was the top finisher for Southeast. Abby has been running very well this season and earned ALL-NCAA League honors with her 4th place finish.
Runner: Regan Duran (FR)
Regionals: 11th (20:55.88)
Notes from Coach: Regan has been on varsity all season and has been coming on strong the last part of the year. She displayed her strength at the League meet where she placed 2nd earning ALL-NCAA League.
Runner: Cali Augustine (JR)
Regionals: 16th (21:20.62)
Notes from Coach: Cali has been a member of the HS cross country team for 3 years and this will be her third time to compete at the state cross country meet. She has been very consistent this season and earned All-NCAA League honors.
Runner: Breckyn Alderson (SO)
Regionals: 25th (22:13.85)
Notes from Coach: Breckyn will be competing in her second state cross-country meet. She placed 10th last year at the state meet earning All-State honors.
Runner: Sadie Franklin (SR)
Regionals: 26th (22:23.55)
Notes from Coach: Sadie has a lot of state experience having run in both her freshman and sophomore seasons, and was an alternate last year. She has looked very strong this season and has been a great leader for us.
Southeast of Saline Boys (Ranked #2 in Class 3A)
Runner: Brayden Walker (SO)
Regionals: 1st (16:30.60)
Notes from Coach: Brayden has been our number 1 runner all season long and has won all 8 of his races so far. The only runners close to him have been his teammates. I look to see Brayden place top 5 overall when the meet is over. He has been very strong this season but I feel his best race is yet to come. Brayden placed 1st place at the NCAA League meet this year.
Runner: Levi Allen (SR)
Regionals: 2nd (16:43.03)
Notes from Coach: Levi is finishing his third season as a Southeast of Saline cross-country runner and has been a great addition to the team. He has been a top 4 runner all season for the boys and looks to earn All-State honors once again to go along with his ALL-NCAA League honors where he placed 3rd. Last year Levi placed 6th at the state meet.
Runner: Cayden Walker (SR)
Regionals: 3rd (16:44.53)
Notes from Coach: Cayden is making his 4th appearance at the state cross-country meet, and has been one of Southeast's Top 4 runners all season long. He has not placed outside the top 5 overall at any meet this season and will be looking to improve on last year's 15th-place finish at state. Cayden has been a great leader this season, and placed 4th at the NCAA League meet.
Runner: Jacob Bircher (SO)
Regionals: 4th (16:50.46)
Notes from Coach: Jacob has been a top 4 runner for the boy’s team all season, and runs with so much confidence and determination that he will be a threat to be in the top 20 at state. Jacob earned All-NCAA League with his 2nd place finish.
Runner: Ben Grauerholz (SR)
Regionals: 9th (17:17.77)
Notes from Coach: This will be Ben’s first time competing at the state meet but he has been running with so much confidence this season and has really dropped his times. Ben has been our steady number 5 runner and I have a feeling he is going to drop even more time on Saturday. He earned All-NCAA League honors with his 6th-place finish.
Runner: Isaiah Kejr (SO)
Regionals: 15th (18:06.30)
Notes from Coach: Isaiah is making his second state appearance and hopes to build on his performance from last year. He has been progressing this season and earned All-NCAA League with his 9th place finish. I am excited to see what he can do for us on Saturday.
Runner: Miguel Ortega (SO)
Regionals: 51st (20:07.54)
Notes from Coach: This is Miguel’s first year of competing at the state meet, he had a slow start to the season but has been progressing nicely. Miguel has the potential to really shock some people with his performance and I have a lot of faith in him.