Introducing the 2021 Wichita Eagle high school cross country All-Metro teams
The Wichita area featured some of the best high school cross country runners in Kansas this season and that star power is highlighted on The Wichita Eagle’s 2021 All-Metro boys and girls cross country teams.
The All-Metro squad consists of the top seven runners and the top coach from Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties, based on season-long performance with an emphasis on postseason finishes.
Clearwater junior Hayley Trotter and Augusta senior Sawyer Schmidt, who both won the individual Class 4A state championship this season, were named the All-Metro Runner of the Year for girls and boys cross country, respectively, this season.
Below is the full team:
Wichita Eagle All-Metro girls cross country team
Hayley Trotter, Clearwater junior
After winning the 800-meter run in Class 4A on the track during spring, Trotter followed it up with a truly special junior cross country season that ended with her running away with the 4A championship. She won seven of her nine races this season and the only two she didn’t, she finished runner-up to Southeast-Saline’s Jentrie Alderson, the Class 3A state champion. Trotter won Rim Rock, AV-CTL Div. 4, regional and state championships all in dominant fashion, including a 38-second victory over the field to claim the 4A state title.
Hope Jackson, Bishop Carroll senior
One of the most decorated runners in Kansas history, Jackson left quite the legacy at Carroll by winning two individual state championships and being named the Kansas Gatorade Runner of the Year in 2020. Although she wasn’t able to make it three straight state titles this season — she finished fifth in a season-best time of 18:58 — Jackson won four races her senior year, including City League and regional titles to conclude a stellar cross country career.
Zoie Ecord, Maize senior
It would be hard to find a more consistent runner than Ecord, who delivered top-10 finishes and broke 20 minutes in five of her final six races of her senior season. Ecord was at her best in the postseason, where she took third at the AV-CTL Division I race, runner-up at regionals and finished ninth overall at the Class 5A state race with a season-best time of 19:27.
Britton Kelly, Maize South senior
It was a superb senior season for Kelly, highlighted by three straight race wins in October that included the AV-CTL Division I and regional championship. She competed along with some of the best in the state during a challenging regular-season schedule, then capped it off with an 11th-place finish at the Class 5A state meet. Elevated as the No. 1 runner for Maize South, Kelly responded by finishing in the top-five of five of her eight starts this season.
Landon Forbes, Bishop Carroll junior
Following up on a breakthrough sophomore campaign, Forbes was the steady second runner in Carroll’s lineup this season. She cracked 20 minutes in four of her six races and registered three top-10 finishes, highlighted by a third-place finish at City League and a runner-up finish at regionals. Forbes capped off the season with another state medal at the Class 5A race, finishing 13th overall with a season-best time of 19:30.
Katie Hazen, Derby sophomore
After being on the radar last season as a good runner, Hazen leveled up as a great one in her sophomore campaign. Hazen finished in the top-10 of her first six races of the season and then capped it off with a 26th-place finish in a loaded Class 6A state field with a season-best time of 19:49. In fact, Hazen finished the entire postseason running under 20 minutes, which included runner-up finishes at the AV-CTL Division I and regional meets.
Brooke Martin, Bishop Carroll freshman
The consistent No. 3 runner on the best team in Wichita, Martin had an impressive debut season that ended with her running her best times of the season at the right time. She logged three top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish at City League and a third-place finish at regionals, before earning a state medal with an 18th-place finish in Class 5A with a season-best time of 19:40.
John Bumm, Remington coach
The Remington girls team came four points away from winning the first team state championship in program history, finishing with its second straight runner-up finish in the Class 2A team race. The team accomplishment was the culmination of standout careers for a trio of seniors in Ellie Van Zelfden (fourth), Lucy Brown (11th) and Alli Willour (36th). The rest of the Remington lineup was made up of underclassmen in sophomores Ava Klaassen, Macy Brown and Kyleigh Hayworth and freshman Laila McCormick. Remington won a tightly-contested regional team championship, then finished with 87 team points at the state meet that was narrowly edged out by Stanton County’s 84 points.
All-Metro second team
Lucy Brown, Remington senior
Addie Curtis, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior
Hannah Grover, Valley Center junior
Vivian Kalb, Derby senior
Kendall Shields, Maize South junior
Ellie Van Zelfden, Remington senior
Lizzie Vetter, Andover senior
Rich Simmons, Cheney coach
All-Metro third team
Julia Berends, Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore
Kelsey Bruening, Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior
Chiara Fernando, Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior
Abbye Hudson, Cheney sophomore
Piper Hula, Derby freshman
Alexa Ornelas, Wichita North sophomore
Sage Pauly, Maize South senior
Cory Swords, Bishop Carroll coach
Wichita Eagle All-Metro boys cross country team
Jake Beauchamp, Wichita Southeast junior
Beauchamp saved his best for the biggest stage of the season, as he ran a season-best time of 16:10 at the Class 6A state meet to finish with an 11th-place finish and state medal. The junior logged four top-10 finishes this season, including wins at his home meet and in Winfield. He also took fourth at the City League meet and runner-up at regionals before shaving 10 seconds off his best time at the state meet.
Luke Brock, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior
Consistency was the name of the game for Brock, as he ascended to becoming the top runner on Kapaun. He finished in the top-10 in all but one of his races this season, highlighted by an eighth-place finish at the Class 5A state meet in a season-best time of 16:18. After a strong showing at Rim Rock, Brock took third at City League and third in regionals before saving his best for the state meet.
Ian Hunter, Circle senior
Once Hunter found his legs in mid-September, he didn’t finish worse than fourth place in his final six races of the season. Although he never won a race, Hunter was consistently near the top of races and ran his best in the month of October. He took third in a loaded league meet in AV-CTL Division III, then took runner-up at regionals behind the eventual state champion and finished in fourth place overall at the Class 4A state meet in a time of 16:36.
Carson McEachern, Bishop Carroll senior
McEachern wasn’t able to make his season debut until October, but he made the most of the short time he had in his senior season. He won his first three races, including a City League and regional title, then notched another top-five finish at state by taking fourth at Class 5A state in a time of 16:00. It was an impressive rally in such a short lead-up to the state meet for Carroll’s unquestioned leader the past few years.
C.J. Meyer, Collegiate junior
When the stakes were raised in October, Meyer was at his best for his junior season. After winning the AV-CTL Division IV title, Meyer ran a season-best time of 16:06 at regionals and followed that up with a fourth-place finish overall in the Class 3A state meet. Meyer placed in the top-10 of all eight of his races this season in another sign of his consistency.
Sawyer Schmidt, Augusta senior
After a breakthrough junior season on the track, where he won a pair of 4A titles, Schmidt carried that over into a dominant senior season of cross country. After his first race, Schmidt never failed to crack 16 minutes again and he ran away with the Class 4A state championship in a time of 15:54 to beat the field by more than 11 seconds. After not winning at Wamego and Rim Rock, the only two races he didn’t win this season, Schmidt couldn’t be caught, rattling off four straight victories in October to complete the postseason sweep of league, regional and state titles.
Clay Shively, Trinity Academy sophomore
There was no better story in the area this season than the resurgence at Trinity led by a young cast of runners, led by Shively at the top. The sophomore logged a top-10 finish in all seven of his races with him peaking at the Class 3A state meet, where he ran 16:26 to finish second overall to help Trinity win its first team state championship in program history.
Eric Carroll, Trinity Academy coach
After guiding such a young core to the team’s first team state championship, there was no question the head man in charge at Trinity would get the nod. With five sophomores, a junior and a freshman, Trinity peaked at the exact right time to win the Class 3A title with a team score of 35 points, edging its top competition, Southeast-Saline, by 16. The two teams had gone back and forth all season, but Trinity delivered a masterful performance with all five of its scoring runners in the top 20: Clay Shively (second), Jacob Hobson (sixth), Sam Ferguson (13th), Caleb Tofteland (15th) and Ian Carroll (17th). The team was rounded out by Wes Ferguson and Luke Boulware.
All-Metro second team
Vaughn Decker, Maize South senior
Jacob Hobson, Trinity Academy sophomore
Brock Moses, Valley Center freshman
William Schaeffer, Maize South senior
Ryan Son, Wichita East sophomore
Cole Waymire, Bishop Carroll senior
Daniel Zoller, Wichita East senior
All-Metro third team
Andrew Harder, Berean Academy junior
John Hippisley, Andover senior
Ethan Hock, Derby senior
Thomas Martin, Bishop Carroll junior
Eli Nord, Berean Academy senior
Landen O’Neil, Andover Central junior
Paul Sevart, Campus senior
Aiden Werner, Maize senior
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