It took half a decade of blood, sweat and frustration, but the Southeast of Saline boys’ cross country team is finally back on top.
After finishing second each of the past four years, the Trojans got over the hump with a dominating team performance Saturday, placing five runners in the top 25 on the way to the Class 3A state championship at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
Senior Brayden Walker led the charge with a runner-up finish and was joined in the individual medal ceremony by senior Jacob Bircher in 17th place and Zachary Carlin in 20th. Junior Edgar Calzado was 22nd and Brooks Carlin 25th to give the Trojans a winning score of 57 to 70 for second-place Wichita Trinty.
“It felt great,” Walker said of the Trojans’ first team title since they won three straight from 2018-20. “Your look at my years with the streak and each year we thought we should win, and it just never happened.
“It was great when we saw our five in front of (Trinity’s) five.”
The team championship was No. 20 all time for Southeast, boys and girls, and a school-record 10th overall for Wade Caselman in his twenty-three seasons as head coach.
“It felt really good,” Caselman said. “The boys have worked really hard this season, and they knew what they needed to do to take that next step.
“They were all on board to do those things and they put it all together.”
For Walker, his 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 49.92 seconds was just a second off his personal best, and on one of the state’s most challenging courses.
“I don’t know that I would have run it any different,” said Walker, who was in a lead group with eventual winner Brody Deniston of Holcomb (15:45.83) and third-place finisher Simeon Sanchez of Caney Valley (16:11.79). “I might have run faster, but championship races tend to be slower.
“It enabled me to put a surge in and drop No. 3 with a pretty big gap. The three of us pulled each other through the race and it was probably one of the quicker races I’ve run because I had someone to run with (up front).”
Southeast’s girls did not advance as a team this year from a rugged regional that produced the top three for both boys and girls. But that didn’t slow individual qualifier Piper Brown, who placed fifth over the 3.1-mile course with a time of 19:57.72.
“She placed fifth at regionals, so her fifth today was really good,” Caselman said of Brown. “She’s been really consistent and done a really nice job for us.”
Brown was one of three individual qualifiers for the Trojan girls, with Ava McGraw finishing 39th and Anna Jackson 41st.
CLASS 3A SOUTHEAST OF SALINE RESULTS
Boys
2. Brayden Walker 15:49.92; 17. Jacob Bircher 16:59.57; 20. Zachary Carlin 17:02.82; 22. Edgar Calzado 17:06.95; 25. Brooks Carlin 17:13.76; 58. Cole Franklin 18:20.18; 61. Caleb Knopf 18:21.98.
Girls
5. Piper Brown 19:57.72; 39. Ava McGraw 21:29.01; 41. Anna Jackson 21:30.60.
