Photo by Huey Counts: Southeast of Saline senior Piper Brown (left) and freshman Avery Tripp will lead the Trojans on Satursay in the Class 3A state cross country meet.

GYPSUM — Luke Gleason entered his first season as Southeast of Saline’s head cross country coach resigned to the fact that the Trojans lacked a single dominant runner on either the boys or girls teams.

What the Trojans did have was depth, determination and a rich tradition, and so far that has been more than good enough.

“I knew this year we were going to have to pack up a lot more,” said Gleason, himself a Southeast cross country alum, who took over the program this fall after one season as an assistant to Wade Caselman. “I wasn’t expecting to pack up this much, but every year is a different team, so we’ve got to play to the team’s strengths.”

Head coach Luke Gleason

“I was just really pleased with how everybody executed their raced plans throughout the week, and their meets showed how competitive they are.”

In fact, heading into Saturday’s Class 3A state meet at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, both Southeast’s boys and girls are ranked second in their division. The boys are defending state champions, while the girls return a full team after a one-year hiatus.

For the boys, they return four runners from the championship team, but had to replace No. 2 individual finisher Brayden Walker and 17th-place runner Jacob Bircher. What they lacked in star power, they have made up for with remarkable consistency.

Junior Brooks Carlin

“Skill-wise, we’re all super similar, which means we obviously run together,” said junior Brooks Carlin, who led the Trojans to a sub-state team title by finishing sixth last week in Norton. “Being able to encourage each other throughout the race and be able to move together helps a lot.”

That pack mentality was especially evident in the sub-state, where senior Cole Franklin and sophomore Joseph Bircher were right behind Carlin in seventh and eighth place. Junior Zachary Carlin was next in 11th place and Caleb Knopf took 14th. In all, the top five runners — five of the seven count in the scoring — were separated by just 21 seconds.

Senior Cole Franklin

“Without having that dominant lead buy, we’re obviously adding quite a few points as opposed to having someone scoring one or two points along with another person,” said Franklin, who has battled Brooks Carlin for the team’s top spot most of the year. “It really puts some pressure on our three, four and five to make sure they’re keeping up with one and two, because having that group is vital.”

The same can be said for the girls team, which placed six of its seven runners in the top 20 on the way to a sub-state title.

Senior Piper Brown, who finished fifth at state last year, has been joined at the top of the team by freshman Avery Tripp, who finished third in the sub-state, followed by Brown in fifth.

With Brown slowed most of the season by bronchitis, the arrival of Tripp and two other freshmen have played a major role on a team that also features three seniors and a junior.

“I think it takes off a little pressure for Piper to set that bar for the team,” Gleason said of Tripp’s breakout success. “It definitely helps having two frontrunners.”

Senior Piper Brown

“It helps having someone to run with, because a lot of times I’ve noticed that if I don’t have Avery, I’m often in between packs of my own,” said Brown, who still experiences breathing issues during races. “If we’re running with each other, we’re able to boost each other’s confidence and encouraging each other, and that just helps a lot.”

Typically, Brown and Tripp run together, with seniors Regan Duran and Anna Jackson, along with Ava McGraw making up another pack, often joined by freshmen Skylar Duran and Payson Murray.

“We’re always encouraging each other on long runs during workouts, helping each other push through races and running together,” Tripp said. “Staying in big packs has been a really big difference, helping us lead to individual and team goals.”

Brown is just pleased to return to Rim Rock with a full team this year.

“I’m really excited that our team is going back this year,” she said. “It makes the atmosphere better, and it’s more encouraging having everyone there rather than just individual people.”

For the girls, the team to beat at state is No. 1-ranked Hesston, while the boys are chasing 2025 runner-up Wichita Trinity.

Freshman Avery Tripp

“I think as long as we work hard and keep a positive mindset, that we can go get Hesston,” Tripp said.

The boys have the added incentive of defending a championship despite losing their top two runners from a year ago. But Gleason is not selling his team short.

“They’ve wanted to compete, and they wanted to get back to defend their title,” he said. “I’m just really proud of all their efforts.”

“They’ve been locked in from day one of cross season, and their tenacity has been everything.”

The seniors on both the boys and girls teams have been part of a state championship at one point in their careers, which Gleason sees as invaluable.

“Culture is everything,” he said. Coach Caselman planted that culture here, and everyone has just blossomed in that.

“It’s been really nice that everyone has that common goal of going back to state every year. This year has been a blessing, and all the kids have given their all.”

Central’s Kaylie Shultz going for 5A repeat

Salina Central senior Kaylie Shultz is the lone local runner competing in the Class 5A meet at Rim Rock, bet she returns as defending champion.

Shultz, who won it last year for the first time, faces a major challenge from Kapaun Mt.-Carmel junior Ava Claassen, who beat her at sub-state and got the best of her at a midseason meet at Rim Rock.

Sacred Heart has two qualifiers

In the 2A meet at Wamego, two individuals will represent Sacred Heart: junior Leo Dorzweiler on the boys side and senior Mia Hamilton for the girls. Hamilton finished sixth at sub-state, while Dorzweiler was 14th.

Bennington also has a qualifier in sophomore Marishka Pratt. Pratt finished second in her sub-state.