Carrying the legacy, Buffs’ boys XC reigns again

Junior Nemechek paces Garden boys to third straight title

If there is anything that Krista Linenberger has learned in her more than two decades of coaching high school cross country, it is that leadership is first learned, then nurtured and then performed as athletes progress and mature from freshmen to seniors.

It is that type of development that Linenberger endeavors to develop for the Garden City Buffaloes cross country teams and it has certainly paid off handsomely in recent years.

Junior Hayden Nemechek led a strong contingent of Buffs’ runners at the Oct. 12 Western Athletic Conference championship at Lake Barton Golf Course near Great Bend to capture the school’s third consecutive team title.

Nemechek also became the second straight Buffs’ runner to win the individual championship and be awarded the Runner of the Year by the WAC coaches. Devin Chappel had won the award in 2022 on the Buffs’ home course of Buffalo Dunes. 

“I think part of our success has been the older boys continue to carry on what they learned when they were freshmen,” Linenberger said. “There’s a lot of pride, a lot of expectations. We try to be consistent in everything we do. We believe we have a history of success in how we do things and we want our young men and women to represent the school and community well.”

This year, the Buffs’ boys were even more dominant than in their previous two championships.

Nemechek was followed by teammate Kailyn Munoz in second place while Taran Castro and Trevor Fry placed fourth and seventh, to join Liberal’s Cesar Pavia and MJ Foster, and Hays HIgh’s Elijah McCullough on the first team all-WAC list.

That effort produced a winning team score of 30 points, with Dodge City finishing a distant second with 60 points, Liberal third at 64 while Great Bend (103) and Hays (104) rounded out the final standings.

The team crown was also the school’s fourth in five seasons, providing a mini-dynasty within the five-team conference over the last half-decade.

Winning WAC is just the first of three late-season meets that Linenberger calls the “Championship Season.” After that comes the Class 6A regional (Oct. 21) and then the state meet on Oct. 28, which again will be contested at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.

“It’s the first of three and for us, the least of the three,” Linenberger said. “I don’t want to discount the importance of winning the WAC, because it is. We get to earn points for the overall Champions Cup race that is held each school year and we’re happy to make our contribution to the points.”

The Champions Cup is a school-year-long competition among the five WAC schools in 22 varsity sports. Twelve points is awarded to the champion of each sport, 8 points for second, 6 for third and 4 for fourth place. Compiled, the 22 sports then awards the Champions Cup to the team with the most overall points.

“Before the Champions Cup was started (2009) I think it was just a matter of bragging rights,” Linenbverger said. “But now it seems like there is more for us to compete for.”

Linenberger, herself a former standout runner at GCHS, said being a successful runner in cross country requires a nearly year-round commitment.

“If you want to be competitive at a high level, you’re going to plan and practice year-round,” Linenberger said. “It takes a lot of toughness, and maybe mental is bigger than physical.”

Linenberger also stresses that a runner cannot hide from how they are competing in meets.

“You can’t make excuses,” she said. “It’s very clear and cut. You finish well and you run well. You finish poorly, you ran poorly. I think there are certain courses where certain runners do better. Flatter courses, more hilly courses favor certain kids.”

One thing in recent years that Linenberger and her staff has done is to adjust their regular season schedule and now incorporates two trips to the high altitude of Colorado to compete. One of those is at the Royal Gorge in Canon City and the other is in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy. Both are run at approximately 6,000 feet above sea level.

“I do think those benefit our kids,” she said. “The harder (courses) the better. You learn how to manage a difficult layout. We talk about race strategy by breaking up the race into thirds (5-kilometers, 3.1 miles). We’re trying to get them to understand that to be successful you must have a good start and maintain it throughout. You can’t get out slow and then expect to catch up to good runners.”

Buffs’ Nemechek finds strength, confidence in Jr. Season

For Hayden Nemechek, running cross country for Garden City has always been a focus on how the team performs. He has always felt individual accolades will come along with team success.

In 2023, Nemechek found both team and individual success and recently captured the Western Athletic Conference individual boys title in cross country at Lake Barton Golf Course. It was there where he was clocked in 16:19.51 while teammate Kailyn Munoz was just more than 10 seconds behind in 16:30.03.

As he crossed the finish line, Nemechek said he really didn’t feel any immediate reaction to his victory. 

“Then as soon as my mind processed it, I let out a big scream,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t anything I would have expected at the start of the season. But as the season progressed, I think the possibility became more of a reality that I could do this.”

Nemechek credited a more aggressive summer workout schedule and taking the cross-country season more serious were reasons for his improvement from his sophomore season.

“I think the fact we have a bunch of good runners really just pushed all of us,” Nemechek said. “I got a little bigger, a little stronger (grew 2 inches, gained 10 pounds). My core and legs just felt stronger.”

Nemechek was familiar with the Lake Barton layout, having run the season opener there in early September while also running the course as a freshman and sophomore.

“It had not been a course that I liked or had run very well,” Nemechek said. “At least until yesterday (Oct. 12). With the wind, the course was kind of dusty and you end up weaving back and forth on turns. But it’s a true cross-country course.”

Nemechek said he and Munoz separated themselves from the lead pack about halfway through (1.5 miles) and then hung on to the finish line.

“That fourth and fifth kilometer are the toughest because your body just hurts,” Nemechek said. “You must push through to the finish. When you hear people cheering for you, it helps mentally to finish strong.”

Western Athletic Conference
2023 Boys Cross Country Championship

Thursday, October 12
Lake Barton Golf Course, Great Bend

PLACE	TEAM	POINTS
1	Garden City	30
2	Dodge City	60
3	Liberal	64
4	Great Bend	103
5	Hays	104

All-Western Athletic Conference