Crisp autumn air and a familiar course paved the way for a dominant showing by Southeast High School cross country on Thursday. Competing on their home turf at the Weir Baptist Camp course, the Lancer boys packed the top of the chute to capture the team championship, while the girls celebrated a third-place team finish in their first full-squad outing of the fall.
Despite entering the race on short rest, having competed just five days earlier, the Lancers showed zero fatigue on their way to a wave of personal records.
Senior Leadership and Front-Running Fuel Boys to Team Trophy
The Southeast boys took command of the race right from the starter’s gun. Junior Tucker Sutton led the charge for the Lancers, capturing a runner-up finish with a time of 17:53. That performance marked a 47-second improvement over his previous best on the Weir course.
Senior Hudson Locke followed right behind in third place, crossing the line in 18:04 to shave over a minute off his previous course record.
“I’ve wanted this for a long time,” Locke said. “Once the race started, and I saw our placements, I knew it was in the bag for us!”
Chris Archey added to the team’s dominant front pack, finishing fourth in 18:38. Archey registered the program’s biggest jump of the day, dropping 1:41 from his mark on the same course last year.
Sophomore James Maxton provided crucial team points with a breakout performance, clocking a career-best 19:58 to place seventh and earn his first varsity medal. Senior Henry Burns rounded out the team victory with a 23:02 finish, cutting 37 seconds off his previous home-course mark.
“It feels great to win the home meet my senior season,” Burns said. “There are a lot of memories from practices and races throughout my high school career at that course, so being able to PR and win as a team means a lot. The break in the temperatures definitely helped me run a course PR. All season I’ve been looking forward to cooler weather, and today felt really good.”
For head coach Julie Jones, the boys’ resilience after a demanding week of preparation made the win even more impressive.
“I had told them at the beginning of the week that they’d probably be more tired entering this race than any other so far because they had only raced five days ago, and we were finally able to get a solid week of conditioning under our belts,” Coach Jones said. “Obviously, that didn’t slow them down any. I’m so proud of how hard they all ran and so happy for our seniors, Henry and Hudson.”
Lancer Girls Field Full Squad, Earn Third Place
The Southeast girls turned in an equally rewarding performance, earning third place overall in their first competition of the season fielding a complete five-runner scoring team.
Senior Jackie Robinson spearheaded the attack, placing fifth overall with a time of 23:38—a 1:36 course PR. Senior teammate Journee Rimmer crossed the line immediately after in sixth place at 23:45, cutting 1:48 off her previous course best. Both Robinson and Rimmer established new overall season-best times on Thursday.
“I think the last week of practice has been good for me, and hearing Kendyl [Renn] yell for me made me very excited,” Rimmer said, referencing the recent 2024 graduate and former team leader who came out to cheer along the trail. “I think we did well. Everyone improved in some way. I can’t wait for the rest of the season to see how much more everyone improves.”
Southeast’s underclassmen provided the necessary depth to secure the team podium finish:
- Avery Locke (Freshman): Placed 24th in 27:34, setting a new career PR by 1:07.
- Abby Shoeman (Freshman): Placed 37th in 31:19, cutting 2:05 for a personal record.
- Molly Alartosky: Placed 38th in 31:21 in her varsity 5K debut.
Coach Jones praised the young runners’ growth and noted how critical fielding a full team will be as postseason competition approaches.
“She’s going to keep getting faster,” Jones said of Alartosky. “I don’t think she walked any of it, which is impressive for a first-time 5K with only two weeks of training. I’m incredibly thankful to her for coming out, giving us a full team for meets and Regionals. It gives each girl a little something extra to race for.”
Jones added that the rapid improvements from Locke and Shoeman will position the squad to “make some noise” when the regional meet arrives in late October.
Up Next: TRL League Meet
The Lancers will have another opportunity to run on their home layout when they host the Three Rivers League (TRL) Championships.
The meet is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Weir Baptist Camp course, with races beginning at 4:30 p.m.
