Goering, Gillis and McDole state bound

Goering qualifies for I-35

MOUNT AYR – Interstate 35 is sending one to state this weekend in Fort Dodge with Abbi Goering placing in the top-15 at the Class 1A state qualifier in Mount Ayr Thursday night.

Goering was eighth in the field, running a time of 20:52.23. Teammate Lauren Bussanmas was just outside the qualifiers in 23rd with a time of 7:07.6.

With Goering being a sophomore and returning to the state meet in Fort Dodge, her future as I-35’s leader and a continuous qualifier looks bright.

“I think it’s going to give her a look as to what’s going to happen in the next couple of years,” said I-35 head coach Alex Pickard. “This is her second year of going to state, which is phenomenal and a hard thing to do, especially in the 1A class. I think she’ll strive even more and once we gain more muscle in her, I think it’ll help her.”

The Roadrunner girls as a unit did not register a team score. The boys, placed 10th with a score of 294.

The highest finish for the Roadrunner boys was Wyatt Fitzgerald in 27th with a time of 18:48.75. Mason Maiers was the next fastest for I-35 at 18:58.90 in 33rd.

“I think she (Goering) ran phenomenal and overall I think the team ran phenomenal,” said Pickard. “We had a lot of PRs and they looked strong and as healthy as ever.”

Goering will toe the line with the rest of Class 1A at 2 p.m. Saturday in Fort Dodge at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. Class 1A’s awards ceremony is at 3 p.m.

In 2018, Goering was 30th in the field with a time of 21:06.1, tying East Union’s Gabrielle Valencia (Valencia was 11th at Mount Ayr’s qualifier with a time of 21:17.42).

CD sends two boys

PANORA – The Central Decatur boys cross country team is sending two boys to state with strong finishes in Panora Thursday.

CD’s William Gillis and Tyson McDole placed in the top-15 running times of 17:27 and 17:58, respectively.

The times were third and 12th fastest, respectively, guaranteeing the two a spot at state with the finish.

Central Decatur head Coach Reece Tedford believed it was possible to send the whole team to state, which would have required CD to place in the top-3. The Cardinal boys were seventh with 161 points.

“The boys team went into the meet feeling like they had a chance to get top-3 and qualify as a team. With earlier season wins over Red Oak who finished fourth and an 85 second spread in that race we had reason to believe that,” said Tedford. “With a lot of things not going well after our top two it was disheartening to miss that goal, but the team’s seventh place finish is still the highest team finish at a district meet and this was the best boys team the school has had with four guys breaking 18 minutes at some point this year.”

The CD girls did not have a state qualifier at Panora Thursday, placing 12th as a team with 294 points.

Kaydee Swartz was the top finisher for Central Decatur, running a time of 23:43 for 34th. Harrisen Bevan was the next across in 45th at 24:26.

“The girls knew we would have to run really well with the competition at this district. Kaydee Swartz ran another strong race and has had a great year. She performed very strong all year and overall had a much better season than last year. Her time was a minute faster than she ran on this same course at districts last season,” said Tedford. “Harrisen Bevan had a solid district race for a freshman and also has had a great season and her time was comparable to our No. 2 runner last season at this meet.”

A very young group which showed promise this season, Tedford feels good about the state of the program going forward.

“With four freshman and three sophomores on the boys team, they are extremely young and inexperienced, but have potential to grow and be a force in the future,” said Tedford. “The girls lose one senior off this year’s team and are also relatively young group.”

The boy’s race in Fort Dodge at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course for Class 2A is at 1:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony at 2:20 p.m.

Clarke’s season ends

PELLA – Clarke’s cross country season came to a close Thursday night in Pella.

The Clarke girls scored 343 points for an 11th place finish. The Clarke boys did not score.

Katie Donaldson was the leading runner for the Lady Indians, running a time of 22:22.91 for 33rd fastest. Destiny Ashby was the next across in 24:45.39 for 55th.

Rebecca Van Buren was 66th, running a time of 26:30.80.

For the boys, the Indians were led by Ethan Domina in 58th place. Domina ran a 19:40.53 and Richie Donaldson was 71st with a time of 20:44.20.