SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Trinity Catholic High School cross country team has high expectations, as the Celtics prepare for the class 2A state meet on Saturday in Wamego.
Trinity Catholic finished second in 2023 behind Central Heights, but are eager to claim their first state title since 2012 and their fourth overall in program history. The other two titles came in 2000 and 2002, so if the even numbers mean anything, this is the year for the Celtics.
"Last year we were a young team, mostly sophomores and a few juniors," Trinity Catholic head coach Jarod Wannamaker said. "They ran really well last year, so I knew exactly what we had for this year. They want it, they are doing the work, they're looking into things. They're trying to make each other better and it's all about the team. People don't understand that about cross country sometimes, it's an individual sport, but when it comes to the team aspect, that's where this team thrives. They're all happy about how they each did, but they're always wanting to know how the team did."
Trinity Catholic has claimed back-to-back Heart of America league titles, plus back-to-back regional titles.
The Celtics have already competed this year against the defending state champs, Central Heights.
"They did a pretty good job against us, but I think we're kind of a different team than we were about four weeks ago," Wannamaker said. "I'm really excited to see how our guys do against them this weekend."
Wannamaker is excited about where his team is at at this point in the season.
"Overall we've got a really good and talented team that works well together," Wannamaker said. "We've had to overcome some illness and injuries, but I think we're handling it pretty well and I think we've got some kids who have done a really good job of giving themselves a goal and working towards them."
One of those goals was a record that was recently broken.
"It was a 24-year old school record broken by our junior, Jacob Lindstrom," Wannamaker said. "He ran a 15:54.7 at the Sterling Invitational. He has won the last three races we have ran, he won the Sterling Invitational, he won the HOA league and then just won the regional meet."
Jacob isn't the only Lindstrom on the team, as he is joined by his twin brother, John.
"They definitely push each other out there," Wannamaker said. "They're also their biggest fan, when one is down, the other is helping him up. They are both great athletes, but even better kids."
It's not often that you get one set of twins, let alone two on the same team.
"We also have the Pennycuff twins who are right now around our six and seven runners, but those two push each other and it's the same dynamic there," Wannamaker said. "It's really fun watching Sam and Ambrose just pick each other up when it's not there."
The Lindstrom twins have been atop of the Trinity Catholic runners the past two years.
"John was our No. 1 runner last year for most of the year," Wannamaker said. "Jacob would be on his heels, and he battled some hip issues and stuff like that, but it's kind of flipped this year. Jacob was a little upset with how his track season had gone, so I think he's really worked hard this season and has really come into his own these last three weeks especially. He's always had it in him to do it, but watching him at the Sterling meet and it clicked, then he's just been a different runner. I told him he had that dog in him and he never looked back and that's how he's been racing the last three weeks."
When the Celtics run on Saturday at the Wamego Country Club, it'll be a course they're familiar with.
"We love Wamego, it's a good course, it's a tough course," Wannamaker said. "Up until this year, that's where most of our guys had gotten their PR's. We know how to run it, we enjoy the challenge that it brings, and I'm hoping that will help us get across the finish line and help us win our fourth state championship. Regardless of how we finish on Saturday, I'm very pleased with how our guys have competed this year."
Another runner for the Celtics that has came on strong this year is junior Cameron Kiser. Kiser finished seventh in the 2A regional last week.
"He is a competitor," Wannamaker said. "I always tease him about when he was a freshman he talked about how he was doing this for basketball. I've always told people that you can be talented at running and I can coach that, but if you're competitive, I can really coach that, and I can make you better. That's where Cam is, he's one of those guys that if I tell him what we need, he will find that next level and give us that. He's got the third fastest time in school history, which he did at Sterling, he was right behind Jacob and then John was just a couple of spots behind him. Cam is definitely a competitor, a gamer, he wants to win and that's what drives him."
The 10 Celtics that will make the trip to Wamego are Malachiey Alvarez (12), Dylan Bornholdt (10), Cameron Kiser (11), Jacob Lindstrom (11), John Lindstrom (11), Sam Madden (10), Ambrose Pennycuff (11), Sam Pennycuff (11), Max Ryan (12) and Jonathan Springer (9).
"Our top seven that will run are Jacob Lindstrom, John Lindstrom, Cam Kiser, Max Ryan, Malachiey Alvarez, Sam Pennycuff and Ambrose Pennycuff," Wannamaker said. "The other three will serve as alternates."
Trinity Catholic will head to Manhattan on Friday afternoon after a team Mass. They will then make the trip 15 miles east to Wamego on Saturday morning.
You can find all of the boys qualifiers for the 2A state meet here, plus the results from the meet on Saturday can be found here.