Fall Sports • Game Report

GPHS XC competes at Quinter and Trego

September 24, 2026

by Elizabeth Weiner

The Golden Plains cross country team celebrates a successful day at WaKeeney on September 17 where the girls placed third overall. Team members include (l-r) Estrella Aguilar, Jaxon Juenemann, Vincent Taylor, Juan Garcia, Brielle Karnes, Brandon Karnes, Kailee Wessel, Addy Wessel, Adilyn Meier, MaKenlea Focke, Wendy Garcia, Madison Focke, Genesis Rios, Elizabeth Weiner. (photo by Ellen Weiner)

Bulldogs Place at Trego Invitational

The Golden Plains cross country team ran at the Trego Invitational on September 18. The Lady Bulldogs placed third as a team.

Junior Elizabeth Weiner placed sixth, running a 22:03.57. Adilyn Meier came directly after her, placing seventh and finishing in 22:13.16. Senior Wendy Garcia was next for the Bulldogs, running a 27:12.56, followed by Searee Bruggeman at 27:50.31, MaKenlea Focke 29:03.31, Estrella Aguilar 29:39.32, Kailee Wessel 30:07.57, and Madison Focke 30:34.17. The ladies had two JV runners. Brielle Karnes ran a 32:36.27 and Genesis Rios 39:17.09.

Vincent Taylor, Jaxon Juenemann, and Brandon Karnes ran JV while Juan Garcia ran varsity for the first time this year. Garcia ran a 21:15.01, placing him twenty-seventh. On the JV side, Taylor placed ninth at 27:24.81, which was a personal best. Juenemann completed the race in 31:02.01, followed by Karnes at 31:50.64. “I was really excited to run varsity at Trego,” said Garcia. “It was a tough day to run, but I’m proud of how we all did.” The Bulldogs will run again at Oberlin on September 29.

The Golden Plains girls cross country team placed second at the Quinter Invitational on September 10. Every team member improved their time from the first meet. Team members include Juan Garcia, Vincent Taylor, Genesis Rios, Estrella Augilar, Wendy Garcia, Helen Geifer-Guide, Kailee Wessel, MaKenlea Focke, Brandon Karnes, Searee Bruggemann, Madison Focke, Addy Wessel-Manager, Brielle Karnes, Adilyn Meier, and Elizabeth Weiner. (Photo by Ellen Weiner)

Bulldogs Set Season PR’s at Quinter

The Golden Plains Cross Country team ran at Quinter on September 11. Nearly all runners improved their times from their first meet at Ellis the previous week.

The Varsity Lady Bulldogs placed second as a team, led by Junior Adilyn Meier, who took 5th place with a season PR of 21:41.46. Directly behind her, Elizabeth Weiner placed 6th and also ran a season PR of 21:54.09. Wendy Garcia was next for the Lady Bulldogs, placing 18th and running a season PR of 26:40.20, followed by Searee Bruggeman running a 27:17.25, MaKenlea Focke running a 28:00.07, Madison Focke running a 28:32.72, and Kailee Wessel running a 29:46.78. “The Quinter race felt like a huge improvement from Ellis,” said MaKenlea Focke. “I didn’t doubt myself as much and was proud of how our team performed overall.”

On the JV girls' side, sophomore Estrella Aguilar started the ladies off in 7th, running a season PR of 28:33.23. The next GP runner was Brielle Karnes, who completed her first race this year, running a 31:34.88, followed by Genesis Rios who ran a 39:34.77, also a season PR.

The Bulldogs had 4 boys in JV, Juan Garcia led the team, getting second place with a season PR of 20:39.34. Jaxon Juenemann came next, running a 25:44.36, which was an eight-minute PR for him. Next was Vincent Taylor with a time of 27:31.20-also a season PR. Brandon Karnes was next, running his first race of the season at 31:34.06. “The race was really good,” said Jaxon Juenemann. “I improved my time by eight minutes. The cooler weather helped me run better.” The Bulldogs will run again on September 17 in WaKeeney.

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