The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn cross country season drew to a close October 20 as HMS competed with athletes from 18 other schools at a Class 1A Cross Country State Qualifying Meet. The meet was held at the Holstein Country Club.
Teams advancing to Fort Dodge for the 1A segment of the state meet Friday, October 28 were Sibley-Ocheyedan and Alta-Aurelia for the girls and Ogden and Sioux Central for the boys. The first 10 individual runners in each race also earned the trip to state.
“I truly couldn’t have asked for more out of our teams that competed in Holstein,” stated HMS cross country coach Kirsten Taylor. “A majority of our athletes ran either lifetime or season’s bests at the State Qualifying Meet. We set a goal with the boys’ team to finish as a team in the single digits – and we placed ninth. Our boys finished 14th last year at this meet. Improving our team score by five spots is quite telling that our boys were a stronger unit this season.”
The top individual finishers on the boys’ side were George Vargas placing 26th and Bryce Dodge finishing 40th. Rounding out boys team were Blaine Finster (58th), Damian Dodge (59th), Aiden Bush (63rd), and Ryan Grotluschen (64th).
“Our girls finished 10th as a team and put up some fast times as well,” noted Taylor. “Lexi Croatt led our girls and placed 31st, followed by Gracie Knobloch finishing 45th.” The rest of the Hawk place winners were Kamryn Ebel (57th), Juliana Pasillas (63rd) and Clara Funk (68th). “It was a perfect day for our kids to compete and they ran beyond my expectations,” Taylor remarked.
The coach also assessed the just completed campaign. “Reflecting back at the season a whole, we were still a young team having only two seniors on our squad,” said Taylor. “Bryce and Juliana are great young leaders in our school, and did a wonderful job steering our cross country teams to success as our seniors. We put up faster times than last season collectively, which is what any coach strives for. We had multiple athletes medal at meets, and had two finish all conference for the first time in their careers: Lexi Croatt and George Vargas. Our training was a bit different this season, and it proved to pay off. We are looking forward to some time off before we start getting after it again for track season.”
Boys Varsity Team Results: Ogden 57, Sioux Central 82, Riverside 88, Sibley-Ocheyedan 116, MMCRU 117, Hinton 182, Ridge View 196, Alta-Aurelia 204, HMS 228, Akron-Westfield 243, Trinity Christian 252, Gehlen Catholic 265, South O’Brien 313.
HMS Individual Results: George Vargas, 26th, 19:02.36; Bryce Dodge, 40th, 19:41.69; Blaine Finster, 58th, 21:12.57; Damian Dodge, 59th, 21:16.02; Aiden Bush, 63rd, 21:39.25; Ryan Grotluschen, 64th, 21:42.26.
Girls Varsity Team Results: Sibley-Ocheyedan 50, Alta-Aurelia 57, Ogden 112, Riverside 113, Sioux Central 136, Lawton-Bronson 149, Ridge View 149, Hinton 183, South O’Brien 221, HMS 239, Westwood 304.
HMS Individual Results: Lexi Croatt, 31st, 23:23.50; Gracie Knobloch, 45th, 25:02.28; Kamryn Ebel, 57th, 26:06.19; Juliana Pasillas, 63rd, 27:08.87; Clara Funk, 68th, 28:07.85.