By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
For the Southeast of Saline cross country teams, every mile put in over the summer, every run completed in practice, and every meet from the opener to regionals, is all in preparation for a shot at state glory.
For the girl’s team, even though these words had been uttered in each of the last two seasons, they didn’t sound any less sweet when the results were announced in 2022.
The Lady Trojans are your 3A state champions.
“Our girls ran very well,” SES head coach Wade Caselman said. “We had three runners in the top ten who claimed all-state status, and they really just went out and got the job done.”
Southeast wasn’t just content to win their third-straight 3A girl’s state title, they dominated it, finishing 44 points ahead of the pace of the next-best team in the state in Cheney, and 46 points ahead of Wichita Trinity.
Abby Commerford led the Lady Trojans with a fifth-place finish and a time of 20:08.4, followed by Ashley Prochazka in seventh with a time of 20:16.6.
Freshman phenom Breckyn Alderson ran her best race of the year when it mattered most, claiming all-state honors in her first season on varsity with a tenth-place finish.
Rounding out the Lady Trojan lineup Cali Augustine came home in 33rd, Brookelyn Adams in 55th, Savannah Sutton in 60th, and Brenna Felzien in 71st.
While the Lady Trojans entered this year’s race as overwhelming favorites to three-peat, the boy's team had a much taller task ahead of them as Southeast looked to unseat the reigning champs in Wichita Trinity, who returned every single runner from last season’s title-winning squad.
The boy’s fought valiantly with several setting personal best times, but the might of the Knights proved to be too much to overcome as the Trojans claimed a still exceptionally respectable runner-up finish at state.
“The guys went into this meet wanting to turn state into a two-horse race and they didn’t back down from Trinity,” Caselman said. “Unfortunately, Trinity has some strong horses and a lot of depth. I can’t fault our effort at all, we gave it everything we had and just came up short.”
Wichita Trinity packed four of their five runners into the top ten of a 103-runner field, with all five finishing inside the top 15 for an unheard-of state score of just 35 points.
Southeast of Saline wrapped up their race with a team score of 58, nearly 100 points clear of the third-best team in the state in Hiawatha.
Senior Damion Jackson led the way for the Trojans with a fifth-place finish and a time of 16:11.5, followed closely by teammate Levi Allen in sixth at 16:15.4.
SES was the only other team to have four runners inside the top 15 as Brayden and Cayden Walker came home to finish 14th and 15th respectively.
Jacob Bircher and Nakari Morrical-Palmer kept the whole Trojan lineup in the top 40 taking 33rd and 36th, while Isaiah Kejr rounded out all members running in 65th.
Both teams finish 2022 with a season to remember, as each closed out every meet in the leadup to state as the 3A fastest group running.
The Trojans and Lady Trojans each claimed another league title, a regional title, and a top-two finish at state, further cementing the SES dynasty.
In addition to winning their third-straight title, the girl’s team secured the tenth championship in Lady Trojan history, the eighth total under head coach Wade Caselman, and the 18th in school history dating back to 1986.
The Lady Trojans will graduate three seniors this offseason in Ashley Prochazka, Savannah Sutton, and Brenna Felzien.
Prochazka and Sutton ran in all three state-deciding races during the SES three-peat.
“Ashley and Savannah have provided great leadership for our kids and the girls look up to them and their experience,” Caselman said. “They ran on that course at Rim Rock in 2020 and they helped the girls get settled in on it when we got there.”
On the boy's side of things, the Trojans will say goodbye to Damion Jackson, Nakari Morrical-Palmer, Drew Richardson, Greyson Pembelton, Charlie Weiss & Mack Johnson, all of whom have left their mark on the SES program on the course or within the culture.
“Every one of our runners bought into what we want to do here at Southeast and their work ethic has been so good throughout the years,” he said. “A lot of them were six-year runners that we’ve had since they were seventh graders and they’ve all worked so hard even if they didn’t run varsity for us.”
Before they say goodbye to SES, many of these seniors will finish out one final season for the Trojans on the basketball court, the wrestling mat, the baseball and softball diamonds, and of course, as part of the track and field team’s this spring.