Area runners end careers in Fort Dodge

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FORT DODGE — It wasn’t the ending to a high school career that Newton senior Colten McDermott expected.

Entering the season, McDermott had serious thoughts of pushing for a state title in Class 4A. But with illness hitting the senior at the most inopportune time of the season, McDermott will be left to wonder what might have been after Saturday’s State Cross Country Meet at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.

“I just didn’t feel good today,” McDermott said after finishing 21st with a time of 16 minutes, 20 seconds in the 5K race. It was his second appearance in Fort Dodge.

“I’m plugged up, can’t breathe very well, got a headache, pretty dizzy right now — things just haven’t been going well.”

Even despite running at less than 100 percent, McDermott held tough with the lead pack through about the first mile. After that, the illness started to take a toll on him.

“I was going to try to stick with the top pack as long as I could and just see if I could give it a shot at the end,” McDermott said. “I just couldn’t hang on long enough.”

Storm Lake’s Paul Yak led early but slipped back to 10th with a time of 16:08. Ottumwa’s Kevin Lewis also held the lead for a short time but ended up fourth with a time of 15:58.
It was Burlington’s Marshall Moyer who eventually took control and won the race with a blistering time of 15:48 in the sloppy, wet conditions.

While the meet didn’t end as planned, McDermott is looking toward the future.

“It’s tough, but hopefully when that senior meet comes later on in November, that can go better for me,” McDermott said.

PCM had a trio of boys in the Class 2A race, with sophomore Koelten Reed finishing tops for the Mustangs with a time of 17:13, good enough for 23rd. Reed said it was a strange feeling for the guys on the day, with no team in Fort Dodge for the first time since 2004.

“There is not as much supporting because we don’t have very many other team members here,” Reed said. “It doesn’t give us as much push so we can do better.”

Teammate Jake Potter, a junior, was 30th with a time of 17:24, while senior Kaleb Catron took 90th with a time of 18:34. Garret Ehlers of Odeboldt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove won the individual title with a time of 16:08.

“They did very well,” PCM coach Ashley Wrich said. “I set specific times for them that I wanted them to accomplish, and they accomplished those times. I was a little leery with Jake as far as he looked like he was kind of struggling there mid-race, but he came off and pulled out a pretty good time.”

It was the last race for a great career for Catron as a senior, running for the fourth consecutive year competing in Fort Dodge.

“Kaleb had another phenomenal race,” Wrich said. “He stepped it up, ran hard and had a really nice kick at the end, so that was encouraging to see.”

It also was a great ending to a career for Lynnville-Sully senior Mariah Terlouw. Terlouw, in her first time at the state meet, finished 49th in the Class 1A 4K girls race with a time of 16:31. Katy Moen of Wapsie Valley won the individual title by 25 seconds with a time of 14:52.

“It was amazing — I had a lot of fun,” Terlouw said. “I’ve been working really hard for this and here I am, my dream came true. I did it.”

Terlouw said it was a great experience for her as she looks at running in college.

“I was constantly in the middle of someone — there was always a pack,” Terlouw said. “There were people everywhere. Coming from small-town Sully, Iowa, we’re just not really used to that stuff. It was really fun.”

She was joined by teammate Andy Sneller, a junior, in the Class 1A boys race. Sneller finished 48th with a time of 18:01. There were a total of 110 runners in the final race of the day.

“It was a great race,” Sneller said. “I started out good, I didn’t finish quite how I wanted to, but I finished how I felt like I could. The pace was faster than anything I had ever seen before.”

Bill Spencer of Iowa Mennonite won the race with a time of 16:26, clearing the field by 17 seconds. Spencer, along with Sneller, are both juniors. Sneller hopes to see himself up there next season.

“Next year I just want to push it to the limits with everything I’ve got,” Sneller said. “This was just great to show me what it’s like, and next year I know what I got to do.”

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