Hawk trio ready to relish in underdog role at state meet

SULLY — Greenlee Smock is a two-time state medalist. She was 10th as a freshman at the Iowa State Cross Country Championships and finished 11th last year.

But she heads into her third straight state meet ranked just 22nd in Class 1A.

Smock has perhaps been under ranked all season long and is out to prove her worth on Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

“She needs prove it to herself and not worry about the rankings or who is in the box next to her,” Lynnville-Sully cross country coach Darin Arkema said. “Because she’s medaled the last two years, to go there and not want or expect anything less than that would be fairly unreasonable. She has her sights on top 15 again.”

Smock is back at state for a third time. Junior James Gruver also returns to state after competing for the first time last fall. They’ll both be joined by Hawk newcomer Zach Morningstar.

The last time three individuals from L-S made it to state in the same season was 2013. That’s the year Arkema sent an entire girls team to state.

And according to Arkema, things snowballed at the school after Smock qualified her freshman year.

“It’s been a snowball effect,” Arkema said. “Zach got to see James do it last year and set a goal to get there this year. James set a goal when Greenlee made it and he just missed his freshmen year. It’s been close to a decade since we’ve had this many. It’s awesome.”

Both Smock and Gruver fell in the latest rankings after their state qualifiers last week.

Smock moved from 11th to 20th and Gruver is now ranked 30th after making his debut at No. 20 in last week’s rankings.

Like many coaches around the state, Arkema is not sure what goes into the rankings and how they come to their decisions. He also knows they mean nothing and everyone will step to the start line just the same on Saturday.

“They need to use the rankings drop as motivation and put themselves in the underdog role. I don’t care where they are ranked,” Arkema said. “There will be girls and boys who are not ranked in the top 15 who finish in the top 15 and you will not see 1-15 finish in that order.”

Smock is trying to earn her third straight state medal. She will be in Box 22 for the start of the Class 1A girls’ 5K race, which begins at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

In the box with Smock are a few familiar faces, including Montezuma’s Alivia Cline and Ellen Cook and a few others she ran against at last week’s state qualifier.

Arkema has seen the talents of Smock since seventh grade. He knows how she can finish a race. But for Smock to move up from her rankings and grab another top-15 finish, Arkema feels like she will need to start a bit faster.

“We’ve talked about what’s worked well and what hasn’t worked well the past two years,” Arkema said. “I know how she can finish a race. I won’t put my money on the table for anyone else. She has never shown me that someone else will out-kick her in the final 200 meters. If she puts herself in a better position before the final kick, she will be where she wants to be.

“Our workouts have involved starting our runs at a faster pace, trying to show her that she can go at that faster pace.”

Smock knows what the rankings say but tries not to pay attention to them too much. She also knows she has beaten some of the runners ranked ahead of her in races this fall.

And for Smock, she enjoys the chase when it comes to race strategy.

“I know I am capable of much more than what the rankings say. I want to medal again,” Smock said. “I have gotten better at getting out faster, but I do still rely on being able to catch people at the end. “For me, getting out a little slower and passing runners as I go, it gives me more motivation. I would rather see people ahead of me and go chase them down.”

Gruver was 61st in his first state meet last year. He has a much higher goal set for himself this time around.

The Hawk junior is ranked 30th but was 20th last week. He is hoping for a top-15 finish and that first state medal.

“I was not happy with how I ran last year. Getting there last year motivated me this offseason to do better,” Gruver said. “I wanted this year to be better and hopefully I can place this year.”

Gruver was fourth at his state qualifier last week. English Valleys senior Bryson Grove, who is ranked 24th, was third in the race.

The two South Iowa Cedar League rivals will be in the same starting box when the 1A boys’ 5K race begins at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. He’ll also be joined in Box 11 by his teammate Morningstar and fellow SICL runners Ryan Hopwood of BGM and English Valleys’ Gage Heyne.

“It will be good to see some familiar faces in there with us,” Gruver said. “It’s good to be with Bryson Grove again. I have been with him in almost every meet and he’s good to pace with.”

Arkema expects Gruver to take a big step up from his 61st-place finish last year. He has been blowing through recent workouts.

“He has been a few seconds faster in all of our interval workouts. If he can put all of that together for one race, he will blow away the time we’re setting for a goal out of the water,” Arkema said. “The sky’s the limit for him. He could really be a darkhorse. We think he can get into the top 20 or 30. That’s attainable.”

Morningstar, on the other hand, is in a completely different situation than his teammates.

He advanced to the state meet for the first time after grabbing the 10th and final spot at the state qualifying meet.

Morningstar is excited for the experience but also feels like it’s almost not real yet.

“Last Thursday, when I finished the race and I was trying to get my breath back, they told me I had made it,” Morningstar said. “It’s still not a reality yet. I didn’t believe I made it until they announced my name at the awards ceremony.”

Morningstar put in a lot of time this summer for this moment. He’s seeking to run his best race in Fort Dodge and if he does that, where he finishes overall won’t matter to him.

“I know I put in the work and whatever I get will be what I get,” Morningstar said. “I don’t get nervous. I just want to run the best I possibly can. I don’t think I will get a very high finish, but if I run my best, it will be OK.”

Arkema likes that mentality from Morningstar. Running your best race at the state meet is always a good plan, too.

“To think he’s going to somehow pull off a miracle is not realistic,” Arkema said. “He needs to focus on having his best race like he ran at the state qualifier. But can he do a little bit more a week later? I think a small goal for him is 18:12. That’s what James ran at state last year.

“His best time is 18:29 but 18:12 will likely put him in the top half of the field.”

Arkema said Morningstar is the perfect example of what happens when you put in the work. He hopes teammates and others inside the L-S building will follow his lead throughout the rest of the athletic seasons.

“What Zach did this year is a huge thing for this team. It shows them that he gets to reap the awards of hard work,” Arkema said. “He’s not blessed with natural ability. But a good amount of hard work can get you there. I’m really pleased for him and he has another year to go, too. He can get that taste and hopefully it will motivate him to keep working.”

Smock and the rest of the girls’ 1A field will likely be chasing Calamus-Wheatland freshman Noelle Steines, who is ranked No. 1 and the clear favorite. Steines finished her 5K at the state qualifier in 18:48.6.

The rest of the top five in the rankings includes Turkey Valley senior Jalyssa Blazek, Kee senior Haley Meyer, South Winneshiek’s Billie Wagner and Logan-Magnolia senior Courtney Sporrer.

Blazek is a three-time medalist who has finished third the past two seasons.

Meyer is the defending champion, a three-time medalist and the runner-up in 2019.

Wagner is a two-time medalist who finished second last fall. Courtney Sporrer is a two-time medalist who finished in the top six in each of the last two seasons.

The boys’ field is wide open after many of last year’s state medalists were lost to graduation.

The only returning medalists are Earlham senior Jayden Dickson, Valley Lutheran senior Isaac Natvig and Central Springs senior Bryce McDonough.

Dickson, who is ranked second, finished sixth in the 2020 state meet. Natvig and McDonough are ranked 4-5 and were 13-14 in last year’s race.

Top-ranked Riley Witt, a senior from Saint Ansgar, was 23rd in last year’s state meet. ACGC senior Tevin Suhr is ranked third.