Pictured by Huey Counts: Regan Duran closed out her senior season for Southeast with a strong surge over the last mile to place 28th at Saturday’s KSHSAA Class 3A State Cross Country Championship at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
SALINA, Kan. — Redemption is complete for the Southeast of Saline girls’ cross country team.
Just one year after missing the KSHSAA Class 3A State Championship entirely as a squad, the Trojans bounced back to claim second place, finishing behind only three-time champion Hesston.
Southeast was propelled by its steady front-running duo. Freshman Avery Tripp capped a stellar debut season by placing eighth individually, clocking a personal-best time of 19 minutes, 53.4 seconds. Senior Piper Brown closed out her high school career right behind her, taking 11th place at 20:08.11.
“I’m really happy that we all got to be up there,” Brown said, looking toward the awards stand. “Last year it was sad that we didn’t make it to state as a team. So, going from that to being the second team in 3A is just an incredible feeling. I think everybody ran the best they could for us to be able to do that.”
The medal-winning tandem relied on crucial depth from the rest of the lineup to seal the podium finish. Senior Regan Duran placed 28th (21:06.92), junior Ava McGraw took 36th (21:29.78), and freshman Skylar Duran finished 39th (21:34.53).
Freshman Skylar Duran moved from 46th to 39th in the last mile at Saturday’s KSHSAA Class 3A State Cross Country Championship at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
“I’m glad we were able to get back here as a team,” Tripp said. ”I’m glad we could show up and show out.”
The Trojans executed a patient race strategy. At the 2-mile mark, Tripp and Brown were sitting in 17th and 18th place, respectively, before launching a massive late-race surge. Tripp passed nine competitors over the final mile and a half to break into the top 10.
“I just wanted to start out conservative and then as I went, if I felt good, I would start picking up the pace,” Tripp said. “With about a mile-and-a-half left, I really started picking it up and I wanted to be in that upper group. I just worked my way up.”
The Duran sisters also made strong pushes the last mile, with Regan surging up five spots and Skylar climbing seven.
“Even if we didn’t beat Hesston, we still ran really good as a team,” Tripp said. “And we really wanted to get back on the podium.”
Avery Tripp, a Southeast freshman, ran a personal-best of 19 minutes, 53.4 seconds to place eighth at Saturday’s KSHSAA Class 3A State Cross Country Championship at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
The runner-up finish marks a fitting conclusion for Brown, who leaves the program as a three-time state medalist. She placed 14th as a freshman during Southeast’s fourth consecutive team title run, finished fifth as a junior, and secured 11th on Saturday. Severe illness kept her off the podium during her sophomore season, a year where the team also finished second.
“It went by pretty quick,” Brown said, “but I think it was really good. I got to experience the feeling of winning a state championship and running at state meets. And just all the fun of being with the team.”
