Fry latest GCHS runner to claim ROY
Krista Linenberger has been around the high school cross country scene long enough to know that success can ebb and flow as smoothly or roughly as the talent that comes through in four-year cycles.
She waited 22 seasons to see her Buffaloes’ boys’ team win a Class 6A state championship in 2024, and then went back to work to reload her team for the 2025 fall campaign.
After losing two-time WAC Runner of the Year Hayden Nemechek and another of her top three runners in Taran Castro, Linenberger said she knew the 2025 team would have to be one to develop throughout the two-month fall schedule.
She wasn’t sure through the fall slate how that was working as for various reasons, the Buffs didn’t have their full complement of their top seven runners until the Oct. 16 Western Athletic Conference championship at Willow Tree Golf Course in Liberal.
With her roster intact for the first time, the Buffs used the 1-3-4-6-8 finish of Trevor Fry (17:10.52), Jacob Pammenter (17:33.21), Gabriel Martinez Acosta (17:35.968), Elmer Argueta (17:42.57) and Luis Martinez (18:06.24) to capture the team’s fifth consecutive WAC title with 22 points to easily outdistance runner-up Dodge City, which had 46 points.
For most of the season, it was piecing together the seven-runner roster from week to week for Linenberger.
“I knew we had holes to fill,” Linenberger said. “We had a good group of returners (5 of them from the championship team), but every year it comes down to how much time will they put in during the summer, what is their commitment and just getting things done to prepare for the fall schedule.”
Linenberger admitted this year’s team did not have the same depth from one through seven as it did a year ago.
“Some of our kids did well in training and others did not and fell short in what is needed,” Linenberger said. “Winning WAC was a step in the right direction. I think when it was over, the boys felt better and had more confidence.”
While winning WAC is certainly a feather in the cap for Linenberger and the program, the main focus is preparing for the Class 6A Regional (Oct. 25) in Dodge City at Mariah Hills Golf Course.
“We tell everyone that the real season is the final three weeks and the last two (regional and state) are the most important,” Linenberger said. “We continued to train the kids hard through the week of WAC. Now, we’ll back off some of that as we get ready for the biggest two weeks of the season.”
Senior Fry has been the leading runner all season after having a solid junior year in which he won the 6A regional and then led the Buffs at state with a ninth-place finish.
“He’s run well all season, but the biggest thing we need to do in the final two weeks is to have our Nos. 2-3-4 runners get closer to Trevor in their times. The 5-6-7 runners need to push a little harder and move up the list as well.”
Garden City’s Fry follows in the footsteps of other Buff runners
Trevor Fry certainly was no stranger to success as he prepared for his final season of high school country in the fall of 2025.
He had been running on the Buffaloes’ varsity team since his freshman season and watched Devin Chappel win the Western Athletic Conference Runner of the Year Award in 2022 and then ran with teammate Hayden Nemechek the next two years as Nemecheck grabbed the same honor in 2023 and 2024.
It was his turn to lead the Buffaloes’ herd, especially considering he was the team’s top runner at the 2024 Class 6A state meet in which the Buffs won their first team championship in program history.
When the WAC Championship arrived in Liberal at Willow Tree Golf Course, Fry was ready to continue the tradition, and indeed he accomplished that by winning the 5-kilometer meet with a time of 17:10.52 to win by nearly 17 seconds over Gerardo Gamez Mora of Dodge City (17:26.08).
“The biggest goal of the season is to win state,” Fry said in discussing his WAC honor. “But the WAC is one of those on the list that you want to win.”
Fry has been among the best 6A runners all fall and was ranked No. 2 in the state just before the WAC meet.
Now, he sets his sights on the 6A regional in Dodge City (Oct. 25) and then hopes to carry that on to the state meet on Nov. 1 in Lawrence (Rim Rock Farm).
“I’ve run Rim Rock six times before so I know the course and know how to run it,” Fry said. “It’s quite hilly and some severe hills really challenge you.”
Fry credits his long, hard summer training regimen for his success this year.
“I probably averaged about 55 miles a week,” Fry said. “Some days had shorter runs, some days were longer like the ones on Saturday (13 miles). My consistency has been really good so far and that comes from not skipping any days of practice.”
Looking back to his middle school days when he developed a love of running, Fry said he would have had a difficult time envisioning the success that he has enjoyed.
“You always have high goals, but you’re never quite sure that you will achieve them,” Fry said. “I’m fortunate to have a great group of teammates and have great coaches.”
Without two of his graduates classmates this season, Fry said he has had to work extra hard to motivate himself at times.
“It’s really challenging to push yourself every day,” Fry said. “But I’ve got a great group of teammates and we’ve been running together since middle school. I did some extra work in the weight room to get stronger.”
And what motivates a distance runner?
“I think you just want to find out how good you can be,” Fry said. “You’ve got three stages of a race and you just have to make sure you pace yourself from the beginning and have a strong finish.”
Fry said the team has a great opportunity to once again surprise teams from eastern Kansas, much as they did a year ago.
“I think we’ve got a great chance to finish in the top 3 if we get everybody running closer together,” Fry said. “It should be an exciting two weeks.”
Western Athletic Conference
Boys’ Cross Country 2025 Championship
Thursday, Oct. 16, at Willow Tree Golf Course/Liberal
Team Scores
1. Garden City, 22
2. Dodge City, 46
3. Great Bend, 75
4. Hays, 105
5. Liberal, 132.
Individual Standings
1st Team All-WAC (Top 7 Finishers)
1. Trevor Fry, Garden City, Sr., 17:10.52
2. Gerardo Gamez Mora, Dodge City, Jr., 17:26.08
3. Jacob Pammenter, Garden City, Sr., 17:33.21
4. Gabriel Martinez Acosta, Garden City, Sr., 17:35.96
5. Brogan Lashley, Great Bend, So., 17:37.07
6. Elmer Argueta, Garden City, So., 17:42.57
7. Rylan Johnson, Dodge City, Sr., 18:05.22
2nd Team All-WAC (8th through 14th)
8. Luis Martinez, Garden City, Sr., 18:06.24
9. Bladyn Werth, Hays, So., 18:10.61
10. Alexander Covarrubias, Dodge City, Sr., 18:13.45
11. Caleb Zamora, Liberal, Jr., 18:14.98
12. Isaac Aldana, Great Bend, So., 18:151.01
13. Domingo Lorenzo Ramos, Dodge City, So., 18:17.67
14. Gael Guerra Carmona, Dodge City, Fr., 18:17.81
WAC Boys’ Runner of the Year– Trevor Fry, Garden City, Sr.
WAC Boys’ Coach of the Year–Krista Linenberger, Garden City
