Allen is state runner-up in 3A state cross country meet

Prairie View's Bree Allen is cheered by her teammates and supporters during the 3A State Cross Country meet on Saturday, Oct. 28. She was state runner-up. (Photos screen capture /Prairie View Buffalos Facebook page)

LAWRENCE – Prairie View women’s distance standout Bree Allen is the 2023 state runner-up champion after coming in second the Class 3A State Cross Country meet on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Rim Rock course north of Lawrence.

Race conditions in the afternoon went from bad to worse as rain gave way to more rain and sleet and air temperatures remained in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

The adverse weather conditions affected Allen, who completed the 5,000-meter course in 19:24.0. That was 40 seconds off the 18:44.3 personal-record pace she set when she competed in a high school event for elite runners from schools of all sizes over a six-state area September. She finished 10th in that race.

Allen gives fist-bumps to the fellow medalists as she receives her medal for the second-place finish.

Emily Hein of Trinity in Wichita won the meet with a time of 18:37.9, and Janae Fugitt of Cimarron placed third with a time of 19:27.8. Like Allen, both of those runners won their regional 3A meets a week prior to the state tournament.

Allen, a junior who was state champion last year and was state runner-up in her freshman year, was upset with her finish immediately after the race, according to her coach, Marcie Caldwell. “(She) felt like she had failed everyone.”

However, with the help of her teammates and supporters who attended the race, her mood rebounded by the time the medal ceremony began, Caldwell said.

Allen also picked up championship medals in three distance races at the State Track and Field meet in Wichita last May. She was first in the 3A races in 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter events.

The smile returns after a tough race.