Jackson Heights and ACCHS at State Cross Country 2018
For Faith Little, Saturday’s run at the state Class 2A cross-country meet at Wamego Country Club marked her last opportunity to shine for the Jackson Heights High School Cobras.
For her younger brother, Daniel Little, Saturday’s race marked his first chance to bring home a medal for his Cobra team — and bring home a medal he did.
The Little family was out in force that day to cheer on their two cross-country runners, as well as other Cobra runners, at the state meet where Daniel finished ninth out of 108 to earn a medal in what his head coach, Brad Alley, called an “incredible finish” for a freshman.
“It was a little tiring,” Daniel said. “But I knew I had to keep pushing through it.”
Faith, on the other hand, finished a little farther back than she might have liked, although the way she finished the girls’ race passing several runners, including Cobra teammate Annie Allen, to finish 26th out of 96 runners while family members — including older sister Kaitlynn, who, like Faith, ran at the state 2A cross-country meet all four of her years at JHHS — cheered her on.
Coming up from behind near the end of the race, it was noted, showed her tenacity in finishing the races she begins.
“This was my last time, so I wanted to finish strong and not have any regrets,” said Faith, a Cobra senior.
Allen, a freshman, finished in 30th place, less than 10 seconds behind Faith, collapsing after crossing the finish line.
“It was really exciting, but I was also really nervous,” Allen said later. “I was really happy with how I ended up.”
So was coach Alley, noting that while both Faith Little and Annie Allen might have said that “they didn’t run as well as they would have liked,” the hard work they put into this season shone through all the way through to the race at Wamego.
“We definitely had top 20 as our goal going into the meet,” Alley said. “They’ve both worked really hard all year.”
For Faith Little, who competed at the state meet through all four years of high school — finishing with an 11th-place medal her freshman year, not finishing the race her sophomore year and coming up just short of a medal in 21st place last year — hard work has been nothing to fear, as Alley saw it.
“Faith has had a great career for us,” he said. “She was able to finish strong and pass several runners within the last 200 meters. Her work ethic, pride and ability will be missed.”
Alley is also hopeful for Allen’s future, noting that she “matured tremendously” from her eighth-grade year.
“She’s going to take the reins as our lead runner next year,” he said. “She’s ready for it.”
Furthermore, Alley noted that he’s going to miss the “rivalry” between the two girls that made Allen a better runner over the past season.
“Annie came in focused, and with her eyes on Faith. It became a real battle,” the coach said. “Annie shows her strength in courses that are hilly and long. Faith shows her strength when power and speed is needed. They fed off each other a lot.”
———
The Cobra boys’ ninth-place finish at state as a team, anchored by Daniel Little’s ninth-place individual finish a split second ahead of Salina-Sacred Heart’s Luis Mendez, is “a major accomplishment,” Alley said.
He’s hopeful that the finish motivates Little and the other members of the boys’ team — including juniors AJ Mock and Drew Holliday, sophomores Garrett Klahr and Ben Stites and freshman Wyatt Bacon — to return next year will come back next season and “be even better.”
“Each year, we set team goals,” Alley said. “We wanted to win the Northeast Kansas League, and our boys were able to do that. We wanted to qualify for state, and our boys did that, too. The ability of this group to pack it in and run close allowed us to have success.”
The only one who wasn’t “running close” was Little, who was leading the way.
“Daniel is a really talented kid,” Alley said. “There were four seniors ahead of him, so I think that looks good in the future for him. If he can continue to progress, I can see him moving up in the state meet.”
The only member of the Cobra team who won’t be back next year is senior Kolten Brenner, and Alley said his presence as a member of the team will be missed.
“Kolten really turned it on when we needed him at the end of the season,” Alley said of Brenner, who finished 66th out of 108. “I could make the argument that we wouldn’t even have been at the state meet if he hadn’t stepped up at regionals the way he did. When you stick it out until your senior year, you become stronger mentally and physically. That helped him to finish as strong as he did.”
Brenner finished in between Holliday and Mock in the race, Holliday coming in 64th and Mock 67th. Alley viewed both Holliday and Mock as potential team leaders as seniors next year after their finishes on Saturday at Wamego.
“Drew has been steady for us all year, running second or third position at every meet and taking a big step forward for us this year,” Alley said. “And AJ was a big piece to our puzzle. He almost didn’t go out at the beginning of the season, but he joined us a week in. His presence on the team immediately took us to being a top 10 team in the state.”
Alley said he is also proud of the work of the team’s sophomores, including Klahr, who “made a massive improvement from his freshman year” and looks to be a medalist at several meets next year, and Stites, finishing his first year in cross-country.
He’s also expecting great things in the future from Bacon, who did double duty this fall as a member of the JHHS football team.
“Considering that he didn’t practice with us on a daily basis, he did well,” Alley said of Bacon. “If he chooses to go out again, he could be a strong number five runner for us next year.”
———
Cobra cross-country fans ended their day at Wamego watching Daniel Little receiving his ninth-place medal at the Wamego High School football field, just across the street from the Wamego Country Club, where the state cross-country meet for KSHSAA classes 1A, 2A and 4A took place on Saturday.
Shortly after Daniel walked off the field with his medal, he reflected on his first season as a cross-country runner and his plans to improve in his sophomore year.
“I can’t wait for next year,” he said. “The next three years, in fact.”
In the meantime, he’s mulling over whether he’ll join older sister Faith in participating in a winter indoor track and field league to prepare for track season and keep him in good shape for running cross-country in the fall.
“I’m not sure yet, but I know I’ll be running with Hadley Splechter if I do, and that will be a lot of fun,” he said, referring to the Yates Center senior who finished the 2A boys’ race in first place.
Faith, on the other hand, has participated in the winter league in the past and plans to do it again this year.
“I really enjoy it, and I believe it’s going to help me prepare for the spring track season,” she said.
For the time being, Alley was content to applaud Daniel Little as he received his medal and look back on the season that was and contemplate the 2019 cross-country season.
“It was a fun season for both our boys and our girls,” he said. “At the state meet, we would have liked our boys’ pack to be closer to the 30s and 40s, rather than in the 60s. But we are young. Our boys have a chance, all things being equal, to have another great season next year.”
Alley’s also hopeful that Annie Allen will follow the lead set by Faith Little during her four years as a cross-country runner.
“I think Faith’s impact on our program will be felt for years to come,” he said. “A standard has been set.”
———
Class 2A State Cross-Country
Wamego Country Club
Boys’ team results: 1. Richmond-Central Heights 58, 2. Stanton County 86, 3. Northern Heights 136, 4. Lakin 137, 5. Ellsworth 139, 6. Wabaunsee 143, 7. Goessel 147, 8. Pratt-Skyline 174, 9. Jackson Heights 191, 10. Hutchinson-Trinity 236, 11. Humboldt 263, 12. Pittsburg-Colgan 320.
Individual results: 1. H. Splechter (Yates Center) 15:57.5, 2. E. Thompson (Meade) 16:28.7, 3. H. Nelson (Bishop Seabury) 17:14.0, 4. T. Friess (Hoxie) 17:28.2, 5. I. Barrera (Stanton Co.) 17:28.4, 6. T. Pentlin (Jeff Co. North) 17:28.5, 7. W. Giefer (Trego Comm.) 17:32.5, 8. T. Stevenson (Central Hts.) 17:33.9, 9. D. Litttle (JHHS) 17:34.8, 10. L. Mendez (Salina-SH) 17:34.9.
Other JHHS results: 64. D. Holliday 19:26.8, 66. K. Brenner 19:28.1, 67. AJ Mock 19:31.8, 87. G. Klahr 20:30.0, 96. W. Bacon 21:00.7, 102. B. Stites 21:45.4.
Girls’ team results: 1. Ellinwood 102, 2. Trego Community 110, 3. Bennington 127, 4. Rossville 141, 5. Pittsburg-Colgan 164, 6. (tie) KC Christian 166, 6. (tie) Jefferson Co. North 166, 8. Salina-Sacred Heart 177, 9. Stanton County 183, 10. Whitewater-Remington 184, 11. Mound City-Jayhawk Linn 197, 12. Hutchinson-Trinity 199.
Individual results: 1. H. Giefer (Trego Comm.) 19:30.0, 2. A. Wagner (KC Chr.) 20:20.5, 3. S. Giefer (Trego Comm.) 20:39.1, 4. E. Hammeke (Ellinwood) 20:40.5, 5. A. Harbaugh (Bennington) 20:43.6, 6. R. Clark (McLouth) 20:46.1, 7. E. Diercks (Hoxie) 20:56.0, 8. K. Dawson (MC-JL) 21:07.6, 9. S. White (Lakin) 21:09.4, 10. L. Brown (Whitewater) 21:09.7.
JHHS results: 26. F. Little 22:15.6, 30. A. Allen 22:23.3.
ACCHS results: 41. V. Caplinger 23:06.7.
