10/16 League at Lyndon

https://ks.milesplit.com/meets/788215-flinthills-league-cross-country-meet-2026/results 

The West Franklin Cross Country Team competed in the Flint Hills League Cross Country Championships on Thursday at Lyndon. As the beginning of championship season for the high school varsity teams, but also the last meet of the season for JV and the middle school, there was a clear sense of excitement to see how much they could accomplish.

As mentioned in the last writeup, this was the first year after many where the Falcons were not the favorites for the high school team championship.  The girls had won 7 of the last 8 championships, and the boys 5 of the last 6.  But graduating seniors and some other factors made the team look very different this season.  At the start of the season, they weren’t even close to being a top league team, losing to other league teams in regular meets.  But as the season progressed, the determination of the Falcons became apparent.

Some of the inspiration came from the middle school athletes, who worked hard each day and celebrated their recently discovered abilities as runners.  The same athletes were the first to race.

The middle school girls once again did not have enough girls for a team.  A struggle that has plagued the team.  But those who did run did extremely well.  In fact, every one of them earned a medal with a top 10 finish!  Eden Mille was the runner-up, followed closely by Briley Huggard in 4th, and Penelope Crabtree in 10th.  Penelope was just the third 7th grader to finish.  If they had one more girl who even just walked the race, they would have placed 2nd as a team.

The middle school boys had their own two medalists as Zayne Wieneke and Henry Waggoner placed 4th and 8th, respectively.  Every other runner in the top 8 were 8th graders, meaning these 2 were the top 2 seventh graders in the race.  The great efforts of the rest of their team brought the middle school boys team to a 3rd place finish.

The high school girls knew they had a race on their hands after a season that included losses to Osage City and Chase County.  But they were ready to fight for it.  Throughout the race they were on the hunt.  Bailey Cameron and Baylie Wieneke passed runner after runner, catching all except one to finish in 2nd and 3rd place.  Elyse Mille and Lacy Judd battled for each place, also earning medals and All-league honors in 9th and 15th.  The final major shout-out goes to Bella Anderson and Alex Holloman, who completed the team.  Without them, the girls would not have had a team score at all.  Both ran season best times for their team.  These girls had done all they could with great races, finishing as the league runner-up to Osage City.

The high school boys also had a battle on their hands with Council Grove and Lyndon.  Plans were in place, and they knew the mission.  Kurtis McCormick executed a tactical race, bursting into the lead halfway through and pushing all of the way to the line and making him the league runner-up.  Kiel Flanary and James Hill gave the Falcons a strong top three, placing 4th and 5th.  But a flood of Council Grove runners followed to disrupt the Falcon’s team score.  The boys finished in 2nd place.

The high school varsity athletes will now take one more week to prepare for sub-state in Fredonia on Saturday, October 24th, where they will seek to qualify for the state meet.

9/30 at Central Heights

Falcon cross country traveled to Central Heights on Wednesday.  In an effort to beat the incoming storms, the meet was moved up from Thursday, and the races finished just as the rain rolled in.

Zayne Wieneke, Eden Mille, and Briley Huggard all earned medals in their divisions.  As did Lacy Judd, who improved on her season best by 1 minute.

Junior High medaled 7. JV 10. Varsity 20.

9/25 West Franklin at Camp Chippewa

Junior High medaled 20.  JV medaled 5.

Junior High Girls

Eden Mille (5th*), Briley Huggard (8th*), Penelope Crabtree (15th*), Ashlyn Ohlde (19th*), Evelyn Flory (28th)

Junior High Boys

Zayne Wieneke (9th*), Henry Waggoner (22nd), Weston Crabtree (42nd), Levi Roth (51st), Gabe Kloog (67th)

JV Girls

Isabella Anderson (9th)

JV Boys

Auston Spencer (1st*), Bowen Hamm (5th*), Tristin Moulthrop (8th), Sailor Wilson (14th)

9/17 Karr Classic hosted by Northern Heights

High School Boys (Team 2nd): Kurtis McCormick (1st*), Kiel Flanary (5th*), James Hill (15th*), Teagan Sink (26th), Auston Spencer (37th), Bowen Hamm (47th)

JV Boys: Tristin Moulthrop (6th), Sailor Wilson (10th)

High School Girls (not enough team members): Bailey Cameron (5th*), Baylie Wieneke (6th*), Elyse Mille (19th*), Lacy Judd (22nd)

Junior High Boys Team

Zayne Wieneke (10th*), Henry Waggoner (23rd), Weston Crabtree (41st), Ramzi Alsalman (55th), Gabe Kloog (59th), Levi Roth (63rd)

Junior High Girls Team

Eden Mille (8th*), Briley Huggard (11th), Penelope Crabtree (23rd), Evelyn Flory (34th)

Ashlyn Ohlde was missed in the results.

9/10 - Lyndon

*Middle school medaled the top 10 runners in each division.  High School medaled 20 varsity and 10 junior varsity.

High School Boys (Team 2nd): Kurtis McCormick (5th*), Kiel Flanary (9th*), Teagan Sink (21st), James Hill (24th), Auston Spencer (29th), Bowen Hamm (37th)

JV Boys: Tristin Moulthrop (10th*), Sailor Wilson (15th)

High School Girls (Team 3rd*): Bailey Cameron (1st*), Baylie Wieneke (6th*), Lacy Judd (10th*), Elyse Mille (15th*), Alex Holloman (37th)

Junior High Boys Team (8th)

Zayne Wieneke (9th*), Henry Waggoner (22nd), Levi Roth (65th), Gabe Kloog (74th), Ramzi Alsalman (78th)

Junior High Girls Team (not enough team members)

Eden Mille (9th*), Briley Huggard (10th*), Penelope Crabtree (17th*), Ashlyn Ohlde (31st)

9/5 - Silverlake Invitational

*Middle school medaled the top 5 runners.  High School medaled 15 varsity and 5 junior varsity.:

High School Boys (Team 2nd*): Kurtis McCormick (1st*), Kiel Flanary (6th*), Teagan Sink (18th), James Hill (28th), Auston Spencer (31st), Bowen Hamm (44th), Tristin Moulthrop (53rd)

JV Boys: Sailor Wilson (23rd)

High School Girls (Team 3rd*): Bailey Cameron (8th*), Baylie Wieneke (12th*), Lacy Judd (20th), Elyse Mille (24th), Carolyn Penner (42nd), Alex Holloman (47th)

Junior High Boys Team (2nd)

Zayne Wieneke (7th, 2nd* in 7th grade), Henry Waggoner (13th), Ramzi Alsalman (21st), Levi Roth (28th), Gabe Kloog (33rd)

Junior High Girls Team (not enough team members)

Eden Mille (4th, 4th* in 8th grade), Evelyn Flory (21st)