WAMEGO — After winning multiple state medals and plaques, a trio of Crest Lady Lancers brought their high school cross country careers to an end with Saturday’s state meet.
After losing a tiebreaker due to not having a fifth runner, the Lady Lancers took fourth at Wamego.
“This is our fourth year in the top four. We’re obviously disappointed,” Crest coach Kaitlyn Cummings said. “It is what it is. We’ve had a good run. This is it.
“They built a legacy and we’re going to keep building on that legacy. Maybe with their sisters.”
Crest senior Peyton Schmidt was the only Lady Lancer to reach the medal podium after she finished in 14th place with a time of 21 minutes, 14.65 seconds. Schmidt was 3 seconds ahead of her 2024 time, but this year was twice as far back on the leaderboard, as multiple runners posted significantly better times than in 2024.
“I’m not usually this far back, which sounds kind of like I’m bragging,” Schmidt said. “It was definitely different. Over the years, they keep getting better and better. Good for them. I’m proud of everyone who finished ahead of me.”
The Lady Lancers seemed to get off to a solid start early, despite officials requiring a restart at the beginning of the race for an unspecified reason.
No runner was impacted worse by the tougher competition than senior Josie Walter.
Walter finished in 22:23, less than a minute off her time from 2024; qualifying for 32nd place. Although she missed the medal podium this fall, she hopes to bounce back for another run at state when she and her Lady Lancer basketball teammates hope for a return to the state tournament.
“It was pure adrenaline at one point. This was our last race, and we’ve run in much worse,” Walter said, referring to the chilly temperatures. 
“It was sad. I started crying before the race. Basketball may be promising. We’ll see how it plays out but I’m pretty excited for it.”
Senior Aubrey Allen was 10 spots behind Walter for 42nd place after finishing the course in 23:09 — 2 seconds ahead of her 2024 time but placing her 17 spots behind last year’s finish.
“I enjoyed running in the cold. Hopefully this gives us the motivation to go to state in track and do better there,” Allen said.
Sophomore Kallei Robb brought up the rear for Crest runners with a 78th-place finish in 26:13.
With Robb being the only returning varsity runner next season, Coach Cummings believes she may experience a rebuild.
Cummings credited Allen, Walter and Schmidt for creating a strong foundation and example for next year’s runners, including many siblings of Saturday’s competitors.
