All-Metro cross country: The Eagle’s second annual teams are made up of Wichita’s best
For the second time in history, the Eagle has selected All-Metro cross country teams.
The boys and girls teams are made up of the top six runners from Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties. Here are the selections:
Boys Cross Country
Cole Bixler-Large, Clearwater, Sr.
Bixler-Large is Clearwater’s first All-Metro cross country selection and the first in any sport out of his high school since Corbin Lill was selected in baseball for the 2018 season.
Bixler-Large finished 11th at the Class 4A state championships with a time of 17:08.5, and he came runner-up at the Indians’ regional meet at 17:25.0. His late season improvement of 16.5 seconds was among the largest in the classification.
Austin Fullerton, Eisenhower, Sr.
Fullerton was knocking on the door of an All-Metro cross country selection last year but just missed the cut. This year, he left little doubt.
Fullerton is Eisenhower’s second cross country selection in two years, following Kennedy Nicholson on the girls side last season. He finished sixth in Class 5A at 16:17.3 and placed third in the Tigers’ regional at 16:20.0.
Michael Iyali, Wichita North, Sr.
Iyali has been one of Kansas’ top distance runners for years. He is one of two returning All-Metro selections from last season along with Andover’s Ryan Kinnane.
The North High senior finished third at the state’s largest state championship meet with a time of 15:58.5 and also placed third at North’s Class 6A regional at 16:39.4.
Carson McEachern, Bishop Carroll, So.
McEachern is next in line of Bishop Carroll distance runners. Last season, Jack Pate earned All-Metro honors. In 2019, McEachern was among the top underclassmen in the state.
He finished fourth in Class 5A at 16:13.2 and fifth at Carroll’s regional meet at 16:36.0. His state time was the best among 5A sophomores by almost 18 seconds.
Ryan Kinnane, Andover, Sr.
Kinnane had the second-fastest state time among any runner in Kansas this season. Now a two-time All-Metro selection, he will go down as one of the best distance runners this decade in the Wichita area.
Kinnane won the Class 5A meet with a time of 15:48.4, which was almost a 13-second improvment from his regional title time of 16:01.0.
Trey Rios, Maize South, Sr.
Rios finished his career strong at Maize South. The Mavericks have become one of the most consistent cross country programs in Kansas, and Rios was one of their most consistent runners.
He finished fifth at the Class 5A state meet at 16:17.0 and won the Mavericks regional with a time of 16:31.71.
Amber McVicar, Maize South, All-Metro Coach of the Year
Following the footsteps of one of the Wichita area’s top cross country coaches, Mike Pope, McVicar had quite the job to do in 2019.
After losing Britte Magnuson, an All-Metro selection last year who now runs at Wichita State, McVicar pushed Maize South to a runner-up finish in Class 5A behind only St. Thomas Aquinas, who won its sixth straight team title in 2019.
Girls Cross Country
Addie Curtis, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Fr.
Freshmen keep pouring into the All-Metro team. Last year, four made it.
Curtis is the latest. She finished seventh at the Class 5A state meet at 19:22.0 and seventh at the Crusaders’ regional with a time of 20:24.0. Her 62-second improvement from regional to state was among the tops in the state of Kansas this season.
Zoie Ecord, Maize, So.
One of three repeat All-Metro selections, Ecord avoided the sophomore slump in 2019. Ecord is now a three-time All-Metro selection across all sports after earning the spot in the girls’ 1,600 meters in track and field.
Ecord placed 10th at the 5A meet at 19:39.3 and runner-up at the Eagles’ regional meet at 19:51.69.
Hope Jackson, Bishop Carroll, So.
Jackson is already the fastest girls distance runner in Kansas. Her Class 5A state championship time of 18:17.9 was faster than any other competitor in any classification in 2019.
Now a three-time All-Metro selection, like Ecord, with a 3,200 meter track nod, Jackson also won Carroll’s regional meet at 18:27.0, and she has two more years to go.
Mollie Reno, Cheney, Sr.
Reno is Cheney’s first All-Metro cross country selection in school history and just the second girl out of Cheney to earn a spot on any team in the past two years, joining track’s Layne Needham.
Reno placed 11th at the Class 3A state meet at 20:44.5 and fourth at the Cardinals’ regional at 21:34.0, almost a full-minute improvement.
Alexa Rios, Maize South, Jr.
Rios is the final of three back-to-back All-Metro girls cross country selections, joining Ecord and Jackson.
Rios has another year with the Mavericks but is already one of the best girls runners to come through the program. She finished third in Class 5A this season at 18:52.6 and won her regional at 19:18.12.
Brooke Wiebe, Berean Academy, Sr.
Wiebe is Berean’s first two-time All-Metro selection in recent history, doubling on her track selection in the 4x800-meter relay last season.
Wiebe finished fifth in Class 1A in her final cross country race at 20:37.1 and won the Warriors’ regional with a time of 20:14.64.
Lewis Wiebe, Berean Academy, All-Metro Coach of the Year
With another Wiebe on the All-Metro team, Lewis Wiebe is the first All-Metro Coach of the Year from Berean in any sports in recent history.
Berean finished runner-up in Class 1A in 2019, just one point behind champion Doniphan West. The Warriors had an average time of 22:31.87 at state.