Manhattan High School girls cross country reached the finish line of their season on Nov. 1, bringing home a State title on the 10th year anniversary of their last State trophy season, after their first place finish at the 6A State Championship at Rim Rock Farm.
“Winning it as a team means a lot,” junior Gabby Converse said. “Every single one of them has worked so hard, and you can see it every single day in practice.”
The girls achieved a score of 61, with a 20-point margin from their second place competitor, Shawnee Mission East. Leading MHS from the gun was Converse in third place at 18:51 and coming in behind her, freshman Zara Koehn notched a 19:07 earning her seventh. Close behind Koehn was fellow freshman Isla Spreer (19:14) in ninth, the third of the three runners that claimed top 10 individual spots. Sophomore Andie Strathman was in 15th place with a finish time of 19:33 and junior Scarlett Williams closed out the top five for the girls in 37th place, clocking a 20:09.
“I was crying of joy because of how happy I was that we won,” Strathman said. “But it just shows how much hard work you do, or how much effort you put in, it’ll give you a good result… We put in a lot of effort, it was just so heartwarming knowing that our efforts actually went to good use.”
The State title ties the knot on an undefeated season for the girls side, ending it the way they started it — on top. But the potential was spotted miles away from the finish line.
“We had a strong group coming back,” coach Susan Melgares said. “We knew we had some strong freshmen coming in… And that really is something that coach Alex [Brown] just brought up. It’s been on the horizon for a while.”
Taking the title home didn’t come without pressure, steadily mounting before the day came. But the team delivered a win that carried the legacy of the past. Signs of this victory had appeared in races beforehand.
“I think it was after our meet in Joplin,” Converse said. “We won that one, and the last time we had won that meet was when the team took home the State title in 2015. I think we realized at that point, ‘Hey, maybe this is possible.’”
Rising to expectations of others started with growth, which for Strathman, involved easing away from independence and recognizing the true meaning of team.
“I’ve grown to depend on my team, instead of it just being myself,” Strathman said. “These girls are with you, no matter what. It doesn’t matter about how you place or anything. It’s just about how well you do and…how much effort you put in, if you put in good effort, then you’re good to go.”
The results of this mindset shines in the results, all seven girls on the team finished within minutes of each other.
“We also have to stay humble, because we can’t really just go around boasting about it,” Strathman said. “Because obviously next year, you would never know what next year is going to bring. But it does feel nice for it to work out, again, that we put in all this hard work, and it paid off.”
There was a lot to learn from this season, both teams gained strong additions to the team and former members came back with a drive to achieve more than last year.
“[I hope] they recognize the toughness, the work it took to get here, and the strength that they have,” Melgares said. “The team spirit, the kindness and the caring that they got from the older kids, I hope that they will… be that to the younger kids when they are the upperclassmen.”
With boys placing seventh this year, it’s an improvement of last year’s 19th place finish last year and is a showcase of how seniors kicked it into high gear for the ending of their high school cross country careers and how freshmen have brought a new energy to both teams.
“I would say it’s proven that I’ve given my all in cross country and that I was successful,” senior Patrick Huser said.
Senior Wilson Wesch lead the way in 23rd place, finishing in 16:40, behind him was Patrick Huser in 31st place at 16:49, clocking in just before younger brother Benjamin Huser at 41st place in 17:00, freshman Jaxon Wheeler (17:16) finished in 59th place and sophomore Kyler Grogg (17:24) took 66th place.
“The team struggled, but we still did better than last year,” Patrick said. “So hopefully our varsity next year can break our State curse.”
With most of the line-up looking to return next fall with this year’s perspective, there’s a lot to look forward to in the next season.
“They’re a gritty bunch,” Melgares said. “I’m proud of the kids who race. I’m also really proud of the kids who supported and boys and girls. When I say I’m proud of the kids who race boys and girls, I’m proud that we have such a huge spirit squad out here, kids that came on out to brave the weather and the early mornings and all that. So just really blessed and proud of everybody who contributed to the success of our teams this year.”
