Four area runners compete in first state cross country meet

FORT DODGE — Prairie City-Monroe freshman Payton Schut had a hard time holding back her emotions when she finished her first 5K at the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.

Qualifying for the state meet in her first high school season was never thought to be realistic for Schut. Even after her coach Eric Karr told her that reaching the state’s top meet was possible, Schut still wasn’t sure.

The reality turned out to be true for Schut and three other area runners.

By the time all four were done running, they all were excited they got to enjoy the experience for the first time.

“It’s amazing. I am just really happy that I got to make my freshman year,” Schut said. “I didn’t realize this was possible. I didn’t care about where I finished. I was glad to be here and just wanted to enjoy it. My last race of the season was the state meet so that’s pretty awesome.”

Schut shared the 2A girls state meet race with Collins-Maxwell/Baxter junior Heather Jessen. PCM junior Chris Ellens and CMB freshman Ian Thomson also represented their schools in the 2A boys race.

All four were maneuvering their way around the state meet course for the first time in their high school careers.

The top finisher of the four was Thomson, who crossed in 63rd in the boys race with a time of 18 minutes, 1.4 seconds.

“I tried to treat this meet like just another race and not think about it too much. I just wanted to run my best,” Thomson said. “I knew it was going to be a pretty flat course, so I tried to run a PR.”

Ellens was five seconds back of Thomson in 72nd.

The Heart of Iowa Conference rivals congratulated each other on finishing their first state meet. Both will be back competing against each other next season.

“It was a fun experience. It’s different than any other meet,” said Ellens, who said the cold weather kept him tight throughout the race. “There’s tons of people yelling in your ear the whole time.

“This is motivation for me. Being here was fun. Now I want to get back here and do even better next year.”

Thomson had the same mindset, and now he knows what he truly is capable of.

“The goal now is to train even harder and get to the best place I can be by the time I am a senior,” Thomson said.

The overall boys winner was C.J. May of Aplington-Parkersburg. May crossed the line in 15:55, while Chase Smith of Garner-Hayfield-Ventura was second in 16:07.1. Dike-New Hartford’s John Crew was third in 16:18.4.

Davis County Zach Hougland, the runner who captured everyone’s hearts after he was disqualified as an individual at the state qualifier after helping an injured competitor to his feet and helping him finish the race, placed 50th overall.

Garner-Hayfield-Ventura won the boys team title with 59 points, while Unity Christian (79) and Monticello (86) were second and third, respectively.

Jessen was seven positions higher and 8.5 seconds faster than Schut in the girls 5K race.

Jessen was 71st overall with a time of 21:21.4, and Schut hit the line in 78th with a time of 21:29.9.

Jessen admitted the goal she set for herself in her first state meet was to just finish. She also said nerves got the best of her at first.

“There are just a lot of really good runners here. I was nervous,” Jessen said. “I didn’t do as well as I would ever had thought. But I really didn’t know what to expect.”

Schut was the 78th finisher in the 2A girls race. She hit the line in 21:29.9.

“I am proud of myself. Everyone here should be proud of themselves,” Schut said.

Monticello sophomore Paige Holub won her second straight state title. Her finishing time was 18:54.7. Cascade’s Becca McDermott was the runner-up in 19:10.8 and Karley Larson of Underwood was third in 19:15.8.

Cascade won the state title with 76 points. Monticello was next with 84 and the third-place team is South Winneshiek, who scored 90 points.