Both Shawnee Mission East varsity cross country teams won the Sunflower League meet on Oct. 9, a first in school history.
The boys and girls squads claimed their titles at Rimrock Farm and now face a regional meet at Johnson County Community College, where a top-three team finish would send them to the state meet Oct. 31, The Harbinger, SM East's student newspaper, reported. Individual runners who place in the top three at regionals can also qualify on their own. Junior Miles Bruner did that last year, traveling to state with the girls team.
The girls program has recent postseason pedigree. The varsity squad placed second at state last year and third the year before, according to The Harbinger. Senior Charlotte Hardy and sophomore Lyla Speicher lead the girls team. The Harbinger described them as the first and third ranked runners in the state, respectively. Hardy said regionals and state are where runners get to use all the hard work and see what they can do with it.
The boys team has no seniors on its varsity roster. Three freshmen will run varsity at regionals. Juniors Logan Brettell and Bruner have stepped into leadership roles, organizing weekend long runs and building connections with younger teammates, according to The Harbinger.
Assistant coach Rikki Hacker, who has coached at SM East since 2018, said the boys squad stands out for its closeness.
"They're not racing each other, they're racing together and they're working together," Hacker said.
Head coach Mallory Dittemore and assistant coach Abra Scanlon round out the coaching staff. All three coaches dedicate the start of the school year to supporting both teams at practices and key meets, according to Brettell.
Junior Tully McCoy, a varsity runner, pointed to a culture shift driving the program's rise.
"It's not that it was like an issue with the runners, it's just kind of a change in culture," McCoy said.
The team also got matching warm-up gear for the first time this year through a fundraiser organized by Speicher's mother. Speicher told The Harbinger the team had felt "dumpy" in previous seasons without matching warm-ups.
This year marks the first time SM East has had a bye week between the league meet and regionals. The teams previously ran the Rimrock Farm course at a Sept. 26 meet, which Hacker said gives them an advantage if they make it back for state.
