Area Runners Shine at State Cross Country Meets, Riley County's Jeter Adams Claims 3A Championship

Runners from across northeast Kansas delivered strong performances at the state cross country championships, highlighted by an individual state title for Riley County's Jeter Adams in Class 3A.

The Kansas state cross country championships brought the season to a close, with area runners taking on some of the state's best competition across three classifications.

From Wamego Country Club in Classes 1A and 2A to Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence for Class 3A, northeast Kansas athletes turned in a number of impressive performances, including a state championship, several top-15 finishes and numerous top-50 efforts.

The biggest accomplishment of the weekend came in Class 3A, where Riley County's Jeter Adams raced his way to the boys individual state championship.

Here's a look at how area runners performed across the three classifications.

Class 1A: Wamego Country Club

Wamego Country Club hosted the Class 1A state championships, with athletes from Troy, Blue Valley-Randolph, Centralia, Axtell and Onaga representing the area.

On the girls side, Troy's Ella Grable led the local contingent with a 14th-place finish, crossing the line in 21:04.39. Teammate Hailey Groff also earned a top-40 finish, placing 39th in 22:41.88.

Blue Valley-Randolph's Samantha Gibson finished 81st with a time of 25:18.73.

The boys race featured one of the area's strongest individual performances, as Blue Valley-Randolph's Titus Cobb earned a fourth-place finish in 16:39.35, narrowly missing the podium's top three.

Centralia's Kaden Franklin also cracked the top 25, finishing 24th in 18:00.52.

Axtell had a strong showing with five runners finishing inside the top 57. Henry Stallbaumer led the Eagles in 34th place (18:31.89), followed by Kasen Kohake in 46th (18:56.50), Bill Lybarger in 50th (18:59.75), Ethan Ronnebaum in 57th (19:08.67), Brycen Heinen in 64th (19:22.31), Matt Miller in 72nd (19:46.74) and Chaize Deters in 82nd (20:40.81).

Onaga's Miken Wheeler finished 47th in 18:56.88.

Blue Valley-Randolph also had three additional boys compete, with Kory Fowler placing 74th in 19:50.02, Emmett Risdon finishing 76th in 19:56.80 and Westin Haugaard taking 79th in 20:18.60.

Class 2A: Wamego Country Club

Class 2A also competed at Wamego Country Club, where northeast Kansas athletes produced several top-25 finishes in both races.

On the girls side, ACCHS's Aubrey Vanderpool led the area runners with a 22nd-place finish in 21:14.23. Valley Heights' Emma Warders followed closely, taking 24th in 21:32.43.

Jefferson County North had a strong group represented in the race, led by Ella Seymour in 46th place (22:36.98) and Rowan Robey in 47th (22:39.90).

Rossville's Payton Shaddox finished 45th in 22:35.90, while teammate Madelyn Wonnell placed 58th in 22:56.52.

Oskaloosa's Annabelle Shelkey finished 71st in 23:34.48.

Jefferson County North also had three more runners compete, with Maddie Gerety placing 72nd in 23:35.81, Adalynn Rice finishing 85th in 25:55.23, Bailey Jenkins taking 88th in 26:35.01 and Aletta Borg finishing 89th in 26:56.75.

In the boys race, Jefferson County North's Max Kane led the area's contingent with a 12th-place finish in 17:30.80. Valley Heights' Langston Gray was close behind in 14th at 17:33.90, while Clifton-Clyde's Cohen Girard claimed 15th in 17:36.60.

ACCHS also put together a pair of top-30 finishes, with Clint Wilson placing 23rd in 17:53.40 and Abe Bell finishing 27th in 18:02.80.

Doniphan West's Jackson Cole finished 29th in 18:09.20, while Maur Hill-Mount Academy's Corbin Madden placed 34th in 18:11.90.

Horton's Kail Bare came home 47th in 18:26.80, and Washington County's Atticus Jensen finished 53rd in 18:34.60.

Jefferson County North had several more runners in the field, with Scott Roloff placing 54th (18:35.72), Riley Ladesic 55th (18:36.00), Caliber Beecham 61st (18:46.60), Tucker Bryant 68th (18:58.00), Sawyer Huff 83rd (19:39.30) and Judah Borg 91st (20:14.20).

McLouth's Caleb Bandel finished 56th in 18:36.90, Clifton-Clyde's Remy Girard placed 63rd in 18:49.40 and Jackson Heights' Duke Condo finished 81st in 19:35.60.

Class 3A: Rim Rock Farm

The Class 3A state championships took place at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, where Riley County's Jeter Adams delivered the performance of the weekend for northeast Kansas.

Adams captured the boys individual state championship, crossing the finish line in 15:58.85 to claim the top spot in Class 3A.

It was a remarkable finish to the season for Adams, who led a strong Riley County contingent.

Dash Hancock also turned in a top-10 performance, finishing ninth in 16:34.56. Jagger Adams placed 51st in 18:02.39, Tanner Rhoton finished 67th in 18:29.13, Sam Frese took 71st in 18:37.51 and Caden Kinsey placed 75th in 18:44.60.

Nemaha Central had a strong showing in both races.

On the girls side, Cora Langill finished 15th in 20:26.98, earning a top-15 state finish. Riley County's Kinley Henle also placed inside the top 15, finishing 13th in 20:16.49.

Hiawatha's Pauly Rockey came in 25th in 20:56.69, while Silver Lake's Alessandra Gerber placed 43rd in 21:39.50.

Holton's Lexis Mick finished 62nd in 22:22.04, followed by Silver Lake's JessiLyn Mohler in 66th (22:31.03). Royal Valley had two runners compete, with Clara Larison finishing 70th in 22:38.57 and Josie Shelton placing 76th in 23:11.02.

In the boys race, Nemaha Central's Will Martin earned an 11th-place finish in 16:37.99, followed by teammate Harry Langill in 14th at 16:49.93.

The Panthers also had several additional runners compete, with Colten Corby finishing 57th in 18:09.39, Abbott Sullivan placing 59th in 18:15.17, Braxten Cain taking 82nd in 19:08.73, Milo Heinen finishing 86th in 19:15.31 and Ethan Jost placing 87th in 19:16.35.

Riverside's Eric Ashworth finished 44th in 17:47.00, while Jefferson West's Dalton Westbrook placed 63rd in 18:19.25.

Royal Valley's Jarrett Johnson came in 68th in 18:30.74, and Riley County's Cooper Merriam rounded out the area's finishers in 90th place in 19:25.35.

A strong finish to the season

From a state championship performance at Rim Rock Farm to top-15 finishes at Wamego Country Club, area runners gave their schools and communities plenty to celebrate at the state cross country championships.

Adams' Class 3A individual title highlighted the weekend, while runners from Troy, Blue Valley-Randolph, Axtell, Centralia, Valley Heights, Jefferson County North, ACCHS, Nemaha Central and numerous other area schools represented northeast Kansas on the state's biggest stage.

Congratulations to all the area runners on outstanding seasons and a memorable finish to the cross country year. You can find the complete state cross country results here.