BY BRETT MARSHALL Lyles Lashley has been around high school coaching long enough to know that he’s fortunate when he has enough athletes – and quality ones at that – to field a competitive team. He’s made it an annual success in recent years after taking over the Great Bend Panther cross country program. Lashley has made it is annual fall goal to bring his Lady Panthers into the highest level of Class 5A competition. It starts in the second week of October each fall when the Western Athletic Conference conducts its annual championship on a rotating site basis of the five competing schools. This year, with its chief challenger Dodge City hosting the race, Lashley pieced together another winning effort for the girls’ conference championship. Great Bend scored 38 points to edge Dodge City (43 points). The WAC triumph was the sixth consecutive for Lashley’s squad. Great Bend now has captured 22 titles in the 40-year history of the event. They own more wins than the other four schools combined. “We had quite a battle with Dodge City,” Lashley said. “We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of depth. We had one girl decide not to go out for volleyball, and we were able to get her to run.” Lashley’s squad was led by sophomore sensation Decorah Schroeter, who won the individual title over the 4-kilometer Mariah Hills Golf Course layout (14:55.34) ahead of Dodge City’s Olivia Springer (15:35.51). “Decorah has been very competitive and dedicated to cross country, and her efforts reflect the hard work she puts in during the summer and before the fall meets begin,” Lashley said. In the WAC meet, the lone senior, Bella Long placed third (16:04.50) followed by fourth place Sydney Stein (16:06.11) and ninth place Samantha Negaard (16:41.96). Rounding out the squad was 21st-place Sydney James (17:54.49), McKenzie Gwin (17:57.51) and Alyssa Prendergast (18:39.22). “Most years, I’m just happy to see the girls come out,” Lashley said. “Cross country is such an individual sport, but we try to emphasize the team component when we are at the meets.” Lashley said the 2026 fall campaign saw Stein and Gwin battle injuries and didn’t compete until late in the season. “We had other girls step in and step up for us,” Lashley said. At the WAC championship, the girls run a 4-kilometer race instead of the usual 5-k distance, and Lashley said he prefers the shorter distance. “It’s more comparable to a two-mile race,” Lashley said of the 4-kilometers. “Most of the girls we get are 800 (meter) runners in track and so they enjoy the shorter distance and see their faster times. It’s a race that feels more relaxed.” Lashley praised his team for a commitment to run through the summer to build a solid base prior to the fall season. “You've got to put in some long-distance work during the summer,” Lashley said. “We’re fortunate to have a big sophomore group. They encourage each other and our upperclass girls to a good job with leadership.” Lashley takes each season on its own merit, thus he doesn’t look ahead until the summer arrives. “If I had a message for the girls, I would just say, ‘I pray they all come out.’ That’s the most important thing,” Lashley said. He doesn’t take it for granted that all the girls will return the following season. “I’ve got three girls, upperclassmen, who are walking the halls, and all ran under 20-minutes (5-kilometers) a couple of years ago,” Lashley said. “There’s no guarantee they will be back.” The WAC recognizes the top seven finishers as first-team All-Conference selections. WAC Runner of the Year Schroeter joins Long and Stein from Great Bend along with Dodge City's Springer, Anna Clevenger and Janelle Barragan and Liberal's Courtney Carroll.