Boys look to defend WAC title; girls seek to move up
Every season during her two-plus decades of being the head girls and boys’ cross country coach, Garden City High School’s Krista Linenberger looks forward to the start of the fall campaign.
Now entering her 22nd year at the program’s helm, and 26th overall (4 years assistant to Randy Sleep), Linenberger eagerly awaits Thursday’s (Sept. 5) opening meet at Great Bend’s Lake Barton (9 a.m. scheduled start).
While there remains some unknowns for both girls’ and boys’ teams in the fifth through seventh positions, the top of the roster is loaded with experience and talent.
The Buffs’ boys will be looking to five key returners from 2023 as they seek to defend and claim their third consecutive Western Athletic Conference title. They also placed first at the Class 6A regional in Wichita and then placed fifth among 12 teams at the state meet at Kansas University’s Rim Rock Farm.
The Lady Buffs, meanwhile, return three of the top six from a year ago as two potential returners did not elect to compete this year.
But certainly, the cupboard is not bare.
“I would say we had a good summer of training and like most years, we had the upper level kids doing a great job of preparing for the fall season and others possibly not doing as much as we would like,” Linenberger said. “The biggest thing is we are down in overall numbers (22 girls, 24 boys) when in the past we might have 70, 80 or more. That will affect our overall depth.”
Leading the way for the Buffs’ boys will be a pair of seniors in Hayden Nemechek and Taran Castro, juniors Trevor Fry and Uriel Gurrola and sophom*ore Jayden Smith.
Nemechek captured the individual WAC title while helping the Buffs to repeat as champions and placed in the top 10 in all but one meet in 2023. He was named Runner of the Year for the WAC. Castro and Fry were fourth and sixth, respectively, at the WAC meet.
At the state meet, however, on a miserable weather day, only graduated Kailyn Munoz ran well, placing eighth. No other Buff placed in the top 20.
When the teams head to Great Bend on Thursday, the boys will be without Gurrola, who is out with an illness, but expected to be ready for the Sept. 12 race at Hesston.
“The biggest fear for us at the bigger meets potentially might be the gap between our fifth, sixth and seventh runners compared to the top four,” Linenberger said. “We’ve got a good core groupback. The depth might be our Achilles heel if we don’t develop a good fifth runner.”
Two newcomers to the varsity, both juniors, will complete the opening meet roster for the boys, Linenberger said. Those will be Luis Martinez and Jacob Pammenter.
“I think the biggest thing I look for in Week 1 is to see the kids run and find those who do better than what they’ve shown in practice,” Linenberger said. “We can learn more about them and then begin to work more with them in the following weeks.”
For the Lady Buffs, it will be senior Cate Wiese leading the way after a stellar junior season. She was second team all-WAC as that group was dominated by Great Bend’s championship runners. Wiese was the top performer at the 6A state with a 34th place finish as the Lady Buffs took 12th place.
“Cate is very motivated and I know she has her sights on running in college, so I think we’ll see an even better season from her,” Linenberger said. “All the other girls have gotten stronger from a year ago, but it remains to be seen if they put enough work in during the summer to be prepared for the fall season. That’s always the biggest question.”
In addition to Wiese, the Lady Buffs return senior Riley Sekavec, junior Juklianne Baca and sophom*ore Silvia Barahona. Newcomers who will race varsity this week include sophom*ore Cara Wiese, younger sister to Cate, and junior Raygen Meza-McDermott.
“I think many of the girls who ran a year ago learned a ton and I’m excited to see how they have improved,” Linenberger said.
The Buffs’ season will be like a road map, of sorts, with meets in central and eastern Kansas, and in Colorado.
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2024 GCHS Cross Country Schedule
Sept. 5–at Great Bend Inv., Lake Barton, 9 a.m.; Sept. 12–at Hesston, Hesston Golf Course, 3:30 p.m.; Sept. 19–at Hays, Ellis County Fairgrounds, 10 a.m.;l Sept.26–at Canon City, Colo., Run at the Rim, Royal Gorge, 5 p.m.; Sept. 28–at Lawrence, KU Rim Rock Classic, Rim Rock Farm, 10 a.m.; Oct. 4–at Colorado Springs, Colo., Monument Valley Park, 4 p.m.; Oct. 12–at Salina Central, Bill Burke Complex, 9 a.m.; Oct. 17–Western Athletic Conference, at Hays, Ellis County Fairgrounds, 4 p.m.; Oct. 26–Class 6A Regionals, TBA; Nov. 2–Class 6A State, at Lawrence, Rim Rock Farm, 10 a.m.
