CROSS COUNTRY: Winkelmann, his teammates encouraged through state trip

Pride of Iowa Conference cross country champion Gabe Winkelmann, a freshman running for Nodaway Valley, saw his season conclude last Saturday where every cross country runner in the state hopes to end their season: at the state cross country meet in Fort Dodge.

Winkelmann placed 86th at the state meet, hosted at Kennedy Park, in a time of 17:51 after turning in a ninth-place finish at the state qualifying meet in Guthrie Center Thursday, Oct. 24. Winkelmann

Winkelmann was very happy to be at state, but he said he was a little under the weather as he evaluated his performance.

“I tried to get out pretty strong with everyone else, but it didn’t work out so well,” he said. “My legs kind of died about a mile in. It was really cold today and I was sick. It wasn’t a good race for me today.”

In talking about his first high school cross country season and how he would assess the team, Winkelmann has high hopes that the rest of the group has it in them to join him on the course next season at state.

“The team did well this year — better than expected. We won the conference meet but didn’t push each other to get better and try to make it to state. Hopefully we will do that next year,” he said.

Wolverine head coach Brooke Wilson explained she sees that same potential in the group that Winkelmann sees.

“I just hope we’re here as a team next year. I’m glad they all got to come here and see the course and all of that. It’s exciting to be back from when Brayten was here,” Wilson said, referring to her son, Brayten, who was a part of past NV teams that ran at state. “Now at least we know waht we need to do and what we need to work on.”

Winkelmann had the support of community members and teammates at the state meet last week. When asked, Winkelmann said a major person of inspiration for him was Doug Berg, a former runner who is now at Simpson College. Winkelmann is also the nephew of Megan (Winkelmann) Ivusic, who won state titles in Class 1A in 2002 and Class 2A in 2023 for the Wolverines.

One of Winkelmann’s supporter this year was sophomore teammate Luke Kading. Kading missed reaching state by one place in the individual finishers at the state qualifying meet. Kading was 11th in 18:36 while the 10th place runner was Brennan Boden from Tri-Center in 18:11.

“For a freshman, Gabe did very well,” Kading said. “He met the expectations we had for him. It’s just too bad I couldn’t join him, but I think we’re going to do a lot better next year. We can use it as motivation. We should be in a pretty good position next year and the year after that.”

Class 1A team champion Lake Mills won the team title with a score of 88 points and three top-10 finishers. Fifth-ranked Ankeny Christian took second with 132 and Woodbine, ranked second, placed third with 144. Third-ranked Ogden (152) was fourth and fourth-ranked Oakland Riverside placed fifth (171).

Top-ranked runner Gavin Grunhovd of North Iowa (Buffalo Center) won the state title, winning in a time of 15:57. Grunhovd was ranked No. 1 in the first preseason rankings and the last rankings of the season. Gunner Wagner from Woodbine was the runner-up in a time of 16:05. Wagner came into the state meet ranked as the No. 7 ranked 1A boys runner. Matthew Schaul from Maquoketa Valley placed third in a time of 16:06. Schaul came into the state as the third-ranked boy’s runner in 1A.

The two teams that qualified out of the state qualifying meet at AC/GC that the Wolverines ran at placed 10th and 11th. ACGC placed 10th at state with 224 points. The Chargers won the state qualifying meet with 51 points. Runner-up at the state qualifying meet, Tri-Center placed 11th at the state meet with 232 points after scoring 63 at the state qualifying meet.

Parker Heistrekamp from Council Bluffs St. Albert won the state qualifying meet in 17:14. At state, Heistrekamp placed 39th at state in 17:19.

The top-4 finishers at the state meet were seniors. Of the 157 runners that finished the race at state, there were 16 runners at the meet who were freshmen. The first freshman to finish was Haven Weers from Tri-Center in 23rd place in 16:53. Winkelmann was sixth out of the 16 freshmen finishing the race.

“We missed out on Fynn (Thompson) because he had heart surgery, but he got through it. He’ll be back next year. We learned to push when it matters and not give up,” Winkleman said. “I was trying to be the fastest freshman in Nodaway Valley history, but it didn’t work out. I’ll just push myself harder next year and work harder over the summer.”

Wilson has an idea of what recipe is needed for more success next season for the team.

“I think (the season) went well despite sickness. We didn’t have any serious injuries, which was important to me, so that’s great,” she said. “We just need to work on speed and do more speed work. I think they’ll get there. It was a fun season. I was pleased with the outcome.”

In 2025, the Wolverines will return all six runners from this year. Haden Colton, Luke Kading and Paul Kading will be juniors. They will be joined by sophomores Dominic Breheny, Cherubim Mercado and Gabe Winkelmann. Also back will be Fynn Thompson who missed time this year.

“We need to work on pacing. They’re great kids,” Wilson said. “They just need to respect the sport and know that it has to be all the time, not just part of the time. Once they get the respect for it, and know it can’t be just once in a while, they’re going to be awesome.”

Class 1A Boys State Cross Country Meet

Saturday, November 2

At Fort Dodge Iowa

Top-10 Finishers (All-State Honors):

1. Gavin Grunhovd (North Iowa) 15:57, 2. Gunner Wagner (Woodbine) 16:05, 3. Matthew Schaul (Maquoketa Valley) 16:06, 4. Gage Heyne (English Valleys) 16:08, 5. Hayden Thompson (Lake Mills) 16:12, 6. Anthony Valles (FD St. Edmond) 16:14, 7. Ben Byers (Sibley-Ocheyedan) 16:26, 8. Matt Richardson (Baxter) 16:29, 9. Kohlby Newsom (Winfield-Mt. Union) 16:29, 10. Knute Rogne (Lake Mills) 16:31.

POI Finishers:

85. Teegan Dorenkamp (MTSM) 17:51, 86. Gabe Winkelmann (Nodaway Valley) 17:51, 100. Isaiah Wheeldon (MTSM) 18:09.

Total Runners: 159

Runners Finishing The Race: 157

Class 1A Team Finishes:

1. Lake Mills 88, 2. Ankeny Christian Academy 132, 3. Woodbine 144, 4. Ogden 152, 5. Riverside 171, 6. Earlham 179, 7. Danville 197, 8. Sioux Central 211, 9. Ford Dodge St. Edmond 221, 10. AC/GC 224, 11. Tri-Center 232, 12. Columbus Junction 277, 13. Van Buren 286, 14. Lynnville-Sully 302, 15. Springville 308, 16. Baxter 328.

Individual Team Results:

LAKE MILLS (88): 2. Hayden Thompson 16:12, 5. Knute Rogne 16:31, 10. Kade Van Roekel 16:35, 24. Stephen Brandenburg 17:21, 47. Lane Rygh 17:48, 57. Royce Peterson 18:04, 74. Joseph Charlson 18:43.

ANKENY CHRISTIAN (132): 12. Alex Davis 16:46, 26. Cayden Fry 17:23, 28. Zachary Gardner 17:25, 30. Charlie McLaughlin 17:25, 36. Thomas Hurst 17:35, 61. 105. Luke Reitsma 18:16,

92. Drew Blakeslee 19:13.

WOODBINE (144): 1. Gunner Wagner 16:05, 21. Aiden Summerfield 17:13, 22. Evan Estrada 17:15, 41. Adam Barry 17:40, 59. Owen Wingert 18:14, 86. Xander Johnson 19:03, 96. Brody Cogdill 19:21.