KSHSAA Covered
KSHSAA Covered
by Scott Paske, KSHSAA Covered

Pipeline fuels Buhler's run of Class 4A state success

Buhler's Tanner Lindahl and his senior cross country teammates know the stakes could be high in late October when the Class 4A championships are run at Wamego Country Club.

"We could be the first sport at Buhler to win four straight state titles," said Lindahl, who also won a 4A individual title as a freshman. "There's a lot of pressure in that, but it's definitely a thing where we have a lot of potential."

Indeed, the Crusader boys lost just one runner, Colton Lohrentz, to graduation from their 2020 state team that held off Bishop Miege by four points and Winfield by six to earn the three-peat. It was the closest competition in their run of 4A titles under fifth-year head coach Curtis Morgan, but the Crusaders performed well enough to extend a burgeoning dynasty.

"Our kids have never stepped into these seasons and felt like just because we won last season, it's going to be easy-peasy for us," Morgan said. "Sometimes you can get complacent in that situation. But you see the work ethic they put into track season in the spring and their summer miles, and you really appreciate what's happened."

Staying hungry and humble are intangible parts of Buhler's winning formula. Equally important is the Crusader program's structure. Morgan coached the Prairie Hills Middle School cross country teams in Buhler's school district for 12 years before joining the high school ranks. Since doing so, he has continued to oversee both levels.

"There's a lot of things that go into it," Lindahl said of Buhler's success. "One thing that's huge is when you go from eighth to ninth grade, it's the same coaches. That's huge in building a program. High school and middle school runners are getting their summer work in together."

Morgan saw the success of smaller schools like Berean Academy and Sterling – programs in which coaches work with runners in grades 7-12 – and pushed to follow suit. The 4A level, he admits, is on the cusp of being too large to reap similar benefits.
But the Crusaders have made it work. In the last five years, Buhler's numbers in the combined program have grown from approximately 35 runners to 75.

"When we took that on, we thought that could be the best thing to happen," Morgan said. "The last five years have been pretty amazing. Expectations don't change from the time you step in as a seventh grader to when you step into high school. We go to as many meets as we can where both programs compete.

"In a sport like this, it's good to have continuity. Those middle schoolers are seeing the high school's success and they want to be part of that. In turn, those high school kids really take the younger runners under their wing and are cheering for them when they compete."

Lindahl returns as the most accomplished runner of Morgan's tenure with the Crusaders. After winning the 4A individual title by almost 37 seconds in his first state appearance, he finished third each of the past two seasons. In last year's race at Wamego, Topeka Hayden's Tanner Newkirk and Miege's Micah Blomker came in ahead of Lindahl, but his time of 15:59.08 was more than 19 seconds ahead of his 2018 winning time.

"Tanner is an amazing individual," Morgan said. "He just wants to race. He wants to have those people up there with him. In middle school, he basically ran every race by himself. He came to the coaches his freshman year and basically said, 'Take me where I can get beat.' He wanted to learn how to compete."

Runners like Newkirk, a senior who Lindahl will face in the Wamego Invitational on Sept. 10, and Great Bend junior Kaiden Esfeld, who topped Lindahl by 11 seconds in a season-opening meet at Lake Barton, fit the profile.

"It's a skill to learn how to race someone," Lindahl said. "I'm still working on developing that."

Buhler's boys showcased their depth in winning their season opener. Sophomore Kaden Lohrentz, who earned an individual state medal a year ago, was third behind Esfeld and Lindahl. Senior Hayden Keller, a former state medal winner, freshman Cody Bunce, senior Brayden Dressman and freshman Austin Lindahl, Tanner's brother, all finished in the top 12.

"It's a sport where a young guy can step in and contribute right away," Morgan said. "Some guys do it without any experience. This year is probably our best mix of senior leadership and underclassmen stepping in to fill roles."

Even with Blomker transferring to Shawnee Mission North, Miege could remain a formidable challenge for Buhler with returning state medalists Zoran Rodriguez and Colin Batliner. Winfield lost a pair of 4A top-10 finishers to graduation, but returns junior Corban Priest, who was ninth at state. Wamego's boys finished fourth on their home course at state, and return junior Emery Wolfe, a state medalist, and top-25 finisher Noah Williams.

In 4A girls, reigning champion Baldwin had six top-25 finishers at state a year ago. Four of them – seniors Riley Smith and Jana Landreth, and sophomores Bailey Smith and Lily Breicheisen – were underclassmen. With four-time 4A individual champion Taylor Briggs of Chapman graduating, Eudora sophomore Sydney Owens, the 2020 runner-up, will try to move up a spot both individually and with her team. Seniors Mackenzie Mayer, Stella Whalen and Maya Pattison were all top-25 state finishers a year ago for the Cardinals.