By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Sacred Heart girl’s cross-country team rose to the challenge on Saturday, conquering the rest of their class in Wamego to claim this year’s 2A state title.
This marks the fourth state championship in the history of the program, and the first since a back-to-back in 2003-04.
The Lady Knights overcame several strong challengers for this year’s crown, posting a team score of 85 to beat out Whitewater-Remington by 21 points.
Sacred Heart was led by freshman Mia Hamilton, whose time of 20:49.2 was good enough for 14th place.
The Lady Knights had two more finishers inside the top 30, with Gracy Dorzweiler coming home in 27th, and Lauryn Mikkelson finishing 30th.
It was a strong run for the back of the Sacred Heart lineup as well, as Eva Matteucci took 31st, Bethany Campa took 36th, and Caroline Stone and Libby Kierscht took 42nd and 49th, putting the whole team inside the top 50.
On the boy’s side, junior Brady Wells competed as an individual, and finished inside the top 25, with a time of 17:20.8
The Lady Knights will graduate a trio of seniors in Dorzweiller, Mikkelson, and Matteucci, but should return a strong team to defend their throne in 2024.