First-year Maize runner stuns coach by becoming immediate high school cross country star
It’s not uncommon for inexperienced runners to experience immediate success in the cross country.
But it is uncommon to have as much success as Maize junior Kaleb Glazier, who has immediately become one of the best high school runners in Kansas in his first year in the sport.
Glazier’s meteoric rise to a lead-pack runner has been a pleasant surprise for Maize cross country coach Skeeter Rankins entering the AV-CTL Div. I league race this Saturday at Wartick Farms.
“I figured he would be right there with my other top guys and those three would form a pack and take turns as the lead runner,” Rankins said. “I did not expect this. Kaleb is what I would call a legit number one runner. I would say it’s hard to surprise me, but he has definitely surprised me this year.”
Rankins gave credit to current Maize athletic director Aaron Leichner, who had been the middle school track and field coach in the district and noticed Glazier’s talent in running.
When Leichner moved to the high school building, he alerted Rankins of the potential distant runner and Rankins began recruiting Glazier to join the track and field team in the spring. Sure enough, he experienced immediate success.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do in track, so I tried long distance and found out that I was pretty good at it,” Glazier said. “From there, it was like why not give cross country a shot.”
Glazier was stunned when he won the season-opening J.K. Gold Classic in a time of 16 minutes, 6 seconds, which beat a field that included several of the best and most experienced runners in the Wichita area by 13 seconds.
“Kaleb had never run a cross country meet in his entire life, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Rankins said. “Next thing you know, he pops another 5:12 mile and is leading the field and I’m thinking, ‘What the heck is going on here?’”
It wasn’t a fluke. The next week he lowered his time to 15:48 and won the Emporia Invitational, then he raced against some of the state’s best in the Gold division at Rim Rock and came away with a sixth-place finish.
He also won the Bishop Carroll Invitational, giving him three wins in the first four races of his career.
“I figured I was going to be pretty decent, but not this good,” Glazier said. “I shocked myself.”
Glazier’s success has also given a jolt to the Maize team, which has traditionally relied upon a pack mentality to succeed in races. The Eagle still have that with senior Zach Johnson also a consistent medalist with runners like Alex Ayin, Micah Schmidt, Caiden Unruh, Conner Fortin right behind him.
The junior is excited to see how much success he can have individually and with the team in his first cross country postseason. Rankins has been around the sport for decades and he had high praise for his rookie.
“His talent is matched by his work ethic and his desire to not want to be beat,” Rankins said. “He’s probably one of the most mentally tough kids I’ve ever been around, including myself. The only guy I know of that’s as mentally tough as him is Alex Umberger and he was a state champion. You combine all of those things and you have the makings of a kid who could be pretty special.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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