It’s the race that every high school cross country runner hopes to end their season with – State. On Saturday, Nov. 1, three Southeast High School cross country runners did exactly that.

Sophomore Tucker Sutton and senior Zayne Gabern returned to State for the second year in a row. In 2024, Gabern finished 42nd in 18:53, while Sutton was 44th in 18:55. Both runners, who can be found running side by side in most practices, improved both in position and time.

In his final race of his high school career, Gabern took 16th to grab a State medal and All-State Honors. He ran a 17:23 on the hilly golf course, considered by many as one of the top five toughest courses in Kansas.

“I would say that it meant everything, but I don’t think I can,” the three-time State qualifier said. “I only wish that I could continue improving and being the best I could be.” 

 Though he medaled and showed great improvement over his three races at State, Gabern believes the “key to being good is never being satisfied.”

“Zayne ran a strong race,” Coach Julie Jones said. “I couldn’t be prouder of how hard he has worked to get where he is, but even more, I am incredibly proud of how well he has stepped up as a leader to his teammates this year.”

It’s that leadership that Gabern hopes left a mark on his time with the program. “I hope I left a tradition of hard work and dedication to the sport. That’s all that really matters,” he said.

At this time last year, Sutton ran an 18:55 to finish 44th at State. Though he was disappointed that he didn’t finish top 20 for a medal this year, Sutton finished 26th in another fast time of 17:50.

“I realize two L’s make a W. I’ve not gotten a medal for two years now, so I’ll be there next year,” the sophomore said.

This year’s time would have placed him 15th last year, but as so many other runners before him have learned, times get faster every year.

“We had high hopes for him to medal, but it didn’t make what he did any less impressive. He’s a sophomore. He broke 18 on an intimidating course. The great thing about Tucker is his positive attitude. That, in my mind, is what will take him far in more things than just running,” Jones said. 

Kendyl Renn made her debut at State cross country, but her experience at State track allowed her to handle the pressure. The senior closed out her high school career with a 22:17 to finish 48th out of 107 runners. 

“Wamego is definitely one of the hardest courses I have ever ran,” Renn said. “It was a really fun and cool experience with all the people, and the fans really get into the races.”

Going into the race, Jones had two goals for Renn – finish in the top 50 and run somewhere in the 22 minutes. A mile into the race, Jones gave her a third goal, which was to beat an opponent that she had not beaten since the first race of the season.

“At some point, I saw she wasn’t too far off from a Uniontown girl, so I started hollering at her about the opportunity to go catch her. And she rose to the challenge, like she does every time. Kendyl would run through a brick wall if that’s what it took to reach her goal,” Jones said. 

The team graduates seven seniors this year. While they will return the core of the boys team, the presence of their senior leadership will be felt. 

“I cannot speak highly enough about every single one of them. I joke about how it’s too soon to talk about saying goodbye – and it still is – but I love how each one of them brings something different to the team. That’s what has made it, as Tucker said, a ‘fire’ season.”