WAMEGO — Bringing its entire boys team to state, the Chanute Blue Comets competed at the KSHSAA 4A Cross Country Championships in Wamego on Saturday.
Chanute placed ninth as a team in the boys race with 208 points.
“I thought the kids competed hard,” Chanute head coach Brett Rinehart said. “It was different conditions — wet, muddy and raining the whole time. We’ve been running in dry and hot conditions all year. Everybody has. So it was an interesting race. I think the kids had fun. I thought we would run a little better than we did. But ninth was an improvement over last year and we haven’t been healthy a lot. So, overall, I was pretty pleased.”
Tucker Applegate was the highest finisher for the Chanute boys, finishing 24th with a time of 18:08.
“He ran really well. When you look at his time and place compared to last year, he was significantly higher in the placings,” Rinehart said. “He ran a strong race.”
Jaron Powers, who won the SEK League title earlier this year, placed 37th with a time of 18:37.
“I was happy with his race, too,” Rinehart said. “He had some troubles at the end of the year with injuries. He ran sick at regionals. I don’t think he was at 100% on Saturday. But he gave a great effort.”
Easton Colborn finished 40th with a time of 18:42.
“He had injury issues, too, the last few weeks of the season,” Rinehart said. “He ran really well even though he was in a boot all week. He couldn’t train all week and he still had a competitive race. I was proud of him.”
Tyler Rowden placed 60th (19:06), Mason Greve 99th (21:50) and Joshua Schoenhofer 100th (21:58).
Wamego won the boys state title as a team with 52 points. Buhler was runner-up with 66 points, followed by McPherson (119), Augusta (147), Tonganoxie (150), Chapman (163), Mulvane (176), Chanute (208), Hayden (228), Winfield (229) and Baldwin (231).
McPherson’s Caleb Muehler won the individual crown, posting a time of 16:33 to best runner-up Drew Elliott of Chapman by four seconds.
In the girls’ race, Chanute’s Macie Moore, a senior, placed 25th with a time of 21:37.
“It was bittersweet. She ran a great race, but it was hard knowing that was the last time we’d see her run cross country for us,” Rinehart said. “The girls’ 4A division has been really tough. She medaled as a sophomore and has run better races as a junior and senior, but the competition has been stronger. She still competed extremely well.”
Violet Stich placed 60th (23:34) while Jarynn Hockett was 89th (25:40). Buhler won the team state title in the girls’ race with 78 points. Eudora was runner-up (89), followed by Baldwin (90), Augusta (108), Clay Center (115), Holton (120), McPherson (158), Wamego (159), Winfield (197), Fort Scott (278), Wellington (286) and Labette County (289).
Eudora’s Hanna Keltner won the state title individually with a time of 19:18.
Moore and Stich were the only seniors that ran at state for Chanute, setting the stage for another high-profile campaign in 2025.
“It’s very exciting to have all the guys coming back,” Rinehart said. “We’ve talked about having a long term plan. We do a great job getting out and running in the summer. We need to keep going with that. We’re thinking about some strength training to try and keep people healthy. The kids have a great work ethic, so I’m not worried about that.”
