By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline cross-country teams added another championship to their legacy on Saturday, as the Lady Trojans cruised to a fourth-straight 3A state title.
This one was never in doubt, as the Southeast girls took home four of the top 20 spots, finishing with a team score of 52, more than double that of the runner-up finishers from Wichita Trinity (113).
“I was very pleased with our girls,” SES cross country coach Wade Caselman said. “Throughout the season we had five different number-one runners and I think that’s amazing, it really shows off the depth of our team. We were packed together again on Saturday and there was less than a 1:00 time gap between our first and fifth runner, that’s exactly what we needed to do.”
Sophomore Breckyn Alderson led the way for the Lady Trojans with an 11th-place finish, just ahead of Piper Brown in 14th, Abby Commerford in 16th, and Anna Jackson in 19th.
Cali Augustine, Regan Duran, and Sadie Franklin rounded out the runners on the girl’s side in 31st, 35st, and 50th respectively.
On the boy’s side, the Trojans fought hard to reclaim their crown but fell as the runners-up to Wichita Trinity, who staked a third-straight 3A title.
Despite finishing second, the Trojans ran valiantly against a state power that brought back every single runner from its 2022 title-winning team.
“I’m very happy with the boy's team,” Caselman said. “We had several personal bests on a very difficult and challenging course. These boys have worked hard all season to accomplish their goals and I’m nothing but happy with what they did.”
On the girl’s side, the Lady Trojans will graduate just two seniors in Sadie Franklin and Brookelyn Adams, returning their whole top six to compete for a fifth-straight 3A crown.
“We’ll be a young team again next year with just two seniors and we have some good eighth graders that we think can add even more depth to our girl's team next year,” Caselman said.
The boy’s team will be harder hit by graduation this spring, as the Trojans lose their top two runners in Cayden Walker and Levi Allen, as well as their fifth runner in Ben Grauerholz.
Despite the losses on both sides, the culture surrounding SES cross country is one that has been built to stand the test of time, and with interest at an all-time high, there is little doubt that both teams will continue to find success for years to come.
“The kids here at Southeast want to be successful and they’re willing to do the things that are necessary to earn that success,” Caselman said. “It’s all about attitude and culture and that’s something that the programs here at SES have.”
While the upcoming track and field season means that SES won’t have to say goodbye to all of its seniors just yet, this does mark an annually bittersweet time for the program, as each and every departing senior played some role in a combined five state titles between the two teams.
“Watching our seniors come up and continue to develop through the junior high ranks and all the way up onto our varsity teams was so special,” he said. “I’ve been privileged to watch them for six years and they were just babies when they started running for me but to see them finish this season as young men and women, I know that they will go on and be successful in life and that means the world to me.”
Photo Courtesy of Ben Heinrich