Baudler finishes as state runner-up

FORT DODGE – A second-place finish for Nodaway Valley’s Joshua Baudler was bittersweet for the Wolverine junior who knew that NV was also defending its three-time Class 1A boys State Cross Country Meet title.

Baudler climbed 15 spots from his appearance a year ago in Fort Dodge as his runner-up finish was just three seconds off the pace of Sean McDermott of Madrid.

“Obviously, I wanted to get individual, but I wanted to get the team championship,” said Baudler. “He (McDermott) got away right when he shouldn’t have. Other than that the race I wanted to run was perfect.”

After running side-by-side for most of the race, Baudler said that McDermott pushed away on the final turn before the straightaway to the finish.

It was as many predicted a Madrid team that had been looming all season that took the Class 1A boys title as Nodaway Valley finished in eighth.

The 34-second improvement for Baudler from last year’s race means the junior now holds the best finish in Nodaway Valley history at the State Cross Country Meet, besting third place finishes of Brycen Wallace (2017) and Shane Breheny (2016).

“Josh is Josh. He’s a battler. He’s a competitor,” said coach Darrell Burmeister. “We just had too many things not go our way today. I know this hurt five years ago. ... I hope they take that feeling today. ... We will be fine.”

“I thought we had a deck team. ... I thought our workouts this week were great. Hats off to Madrid,” said Burmeister.

Baudler wasn’t the only all-state finisher for the Wolverines as Reagan Weinheimer crossed the line in 13th place during the Class 1A girls race.

The medal finish is her second time of the deck and puts her in the company of just three other Wolverine runners to make the all-state team twice.

“My goals were to get on the deck and beat what my time was freshman year,” said Weinheimer. “I’m pretty proud, but its OK. I have goals for next year.”

Weinheimer finished in fifth as a freshman and 39th in 2017 after battling an injury.

Burmeister added he thinks Weinheimer is in elite company as a two-time all-state cross country runner as well as a 4x100 state qualifier in track and field and school record holder.

Sophia Broers admitted she had some added motivation for her second appearance in Fort Dodge and the sophomore took more than 51 seconds off her time from her race a year ago.

“My coach kept changing my goal, I was trying to get in the top 30 cause he had said the top 50,” said Broers. “I just wanted to prove him wrong and everyone wrong since they moved me off the rankings.”

Ben Breheny’s 54th-place finish was five spots better than last year and a little more than a second faster than his race last season. Tyler Breheny was 56th for the Wolverines.

Carter and Mason Menefee finished the race in 106th and 125th, respectively, while Toby Bower was 129th.

Joel Blazek is the boys lone senior who finished in 117th in his last high school cross country race.

McKinna Hogan makes Lenox history

Lenox’s McKinna Hogan made history Saturday as she became the first girls runner for the Tigers to participate in the State Cross Country Meet since 1994.

Hogan finished in the top half of all participants, taking 67th in her sophomore season.

“Definitely a lot of nerves. Really I just wanted to PR,” said Hogan. “It was a good season. A fun way to end it.”

Her coach, Tom Smith, was impressed with Hogan’s improvement not only from her freshman year, but down the stretch of this season as well.

“It was really cool. She had a really good year last year, but improved by a lot this year,” said Smith. “During the course of the year to districts, she jumped up a lot.”

Valencia top 30 in first appearance

Gabrielle Valencia of East Union put together a top 30 finish in her first trip to the State Cross Country Meet and brought a plethora of fan support with her, which she said helped throughout the race.

“It was really intimidating, but it was a special moment to come up here,” said Valencia. “It was easier to get my mind off of how much I was doing and more the support I had behind me.”

Valencia said the 29th-place finish isn’t the placement she is used to, but was able to put it in perspective given the stage of the event.

The end of the season brought in some adversity as Valencia and other Pride of Iowa schools were left with little to no competition due to rain cancelling meets.

But Valencia and her coach tried to keep the energy of the season going.

“It became one of her goals to qualify and this season she really worked toward it,” said coach Rich Bryson. “We really focused on pacing and intensity.”

Mount Ayr boys close with solid performances

Chase Smith took advantage of his first State Cross Country Meet as a senior, finishing in 41st place after qualifying eight days ago in Guthrie Center.

His junior teammate Isaac Timmerman completed his first trip to Fort Dodge with a 48th-place finish, capping a season of steady growth for the two Raiders who also dealt with meets being cancelled down the final weeks of the year.

Lucas wins

Bedford’s Emma Lucas dusted the girls Class 1A field Saturday, winning the State Cross Country Meet by more than 40 seconds over Tri-Center’s Peyton Pogge.

The finish comes eight days after Lucas took second place at the State Qualifying Meet, 45 seconds behind Pogge.

Results

Class 1A boys team rankings – 1. Madrid 63; 2. Calamus-Wheatland 111; 3. South Hamilton, Jewel 121; 4. Sibley-Ocheyedan 124; 5. Newman Catholic 165; 6. Earlham 172; 7. Maquoketa Valley 176; 8. Nodaway Valley 192; 9. St. Albert 227; 10. South Winneshiek 234; 11. BCLUW 240; 12. Pekin 258; 13. Woodward Academy 277; 14. Denver 305; 15. Trinity Christian 315.

Class 1A boys individual finishes – 1. Sean McDermott, Madrid, 16:16.4; 2. Joshua Baudler, Nodaway Valley, 16:19.8; 3. Will Roder, Gehlen Catholic, 16:32; 4. Noah Nelsen, AC/GC, 16:37.6; 5. Louden Foster, West Central Valley, 16:42.1; 41. Chase Smith, Mount Ayr, 17:29.9; 48. Isaac Timmerman, Mount Ayr, 17:38.4; 54. Ben Breheny, Nodaway Valley, 17:43.3; 56. Tyler Breheny, Nodaway Vallley, 17:44.2; 106. Carter Menefee, Nodaway Valley, 18:47; 117. Joel Blazek, Nodaway Valley, 19:04.8; 125. Mason Menefee, Nodaway Valley, 19:19.7; 129. Toby Bower, Nodaway Valley, 19:30.

Class 1A girls team rankings – 1. Logan-Magnolia 66; 2. Regina, Iowa City 128; 3. Hudson 142; 4. Kee, Lansing 145; 5. Denver 153; 6. Starmont 175; 7. Pekin 178; 8. Earlham 213; 9. Marquette Catholic 241; 10. North Linn, Troy Mill 247; 11. East Marshall, Legran 258; 12. Tri-Center, Neola 259; 13. Ridge View 268; 14. St. Edmond, Fort Dodge 273; 15. AC/GC 291.

Class 1A girls individual finishes – 1. Emma Lucas, Bedford, 18:41; 2. Peyton Pogge, Tri-Center, 19:24.5; 3. Taylor Sporrer, Logan-Magnolia, 19:34; 4. Courtney Sporrer, Logan-Magnolia, 19:36.5; 5. Annalee Bartels, Regina, Iowa City 19:49.4; 13. Reagan Weinheimer, Nodaway Valley, 20:21.4; 27. Sophia Broers, Nodaway Valley, 21:01.1; 29. Gabrielle Valenica, East Union, 21:06.1; 30. Abbi Goering, Interstate 35, 21:06.1; 67. McKinna Hogan, Lenox, 22:11.