Richardson, Handorf lead Bolts with all-state performances

FORT DODGE — Baxter senior Matt Richardson felt like he was running times fast enough to end up on the deck at the state cross country meet this season.

But it wasn’t until the final rankings of the season that he was put in the top 10 of Class 1A.

Sophomore Max Handorf predicted he would finish near his standout teammate at Lakeside Golf Course.

Both Bolts performed to their expectations on Saturday, and a pair of Baxter boys celebrated on the all-state deck for the first time in school history.

“We expected (Richardson) based on how he’d been running to be there,” Baxter head cross country coach Dennis Vaughn said. “(Handorf) came in unranked, and I had him in the 20s with an outside shot.

“Before the race, I saw a hunger in his eye that I have not seen before. He came here determined to make a statement.”

When the Class 1A boys’ state race ended inside Kennedy Park, Richardson ended up eighth and Handorf finished 12th at the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships.

Baxter’s first-ever state cross country medalist was Elie Tuhn. Richardson and Handorf join the party and become the first males in Bolts history to earn all-state honors.

“It feels great,” Richardson said. “It went exactly as I planned. You always want to be a little further up the standings. I just came in way more confident. That really helped. I have been in the 16s consistently.”

Richardson’s eighth-place time was clocked in 16 minutes, 29.2 seconds.

Handorf saved his very best race for the 2024 finale. His 12th-place tally produced a career-best time of 16:31.9. It was his career best by 20 seconds.

Richardson ran up front in the early portion of the race and stayed in the top 10 throughout. Handorf made sure his teammate didn’t get too far away.

“It feels so amazing. I wasn’t even ranked in the top 30,” Handorf said. “This year I just tried to stick with Knute Rogne from Lake Mills. He basically pulled me through the whole race.

“Going up the last hill I was right on Matt’s heals so I felt good. I knew we were almost done so it was awesome.”

The team didn’t finish as high as it wanted to, but the Bolts were extremely short-handed.

No. 3 runner Brecken Fisher suffered an injury during the state qualifying meet and was not available on Saturday.

Maddox Peters, the No. 4 runner, competed under the weather and No. 5 runner Dakota Parker battled through an injury, too.

The No. 16 Bolts finished 16th in the 16-team field. They scored 328 points.

“Even though we didn’t move up in the standings, it was a good year for the Bolts I’d say,” Richardson said.

Top-ranked Lake Mills won the meet with 88 points. Fifth-ranked Ankeny Christian Academy was the runner-up with 132 and the rest of the top five featured No. 2 Woodbine (144), No. 3 Ogden (152) and No. 4 Riverside (171).

Sixth-ranked Earlham (179) finished sixth, No. 8 Danville (197) was seventh and No. 7 Sioux Central (211) took eighth. Lynnville-Sully (302) came in ranked 13th and finished 14th.

“We were three points off Ankeny Christian at a meet earlier this year and they finished second today,” Vaughn said. “We wanted to try to run well, but it was mentally in our head that we didn’t have (Fisher), (Peters) wasn’t feeling well and some others have some minor injuries.”

Senior Makayla True joined the Baxter boys at the state meet and finished 101st in the 1A girls’ race.

Top-ranked Gavin Grunhovd of North Iowa won the boys’ 1A race in 15:57.5. He was 12th last season.

Seventh-ranked Gunner Wagner of Woodbine was the runner-up in 16:05.2. The 15th and final medalist finished the race in 16:35.9.

While Richardson and Handorf both were in the top 15, Parker (19:47.7) and Peters (19:47.8) ran side-by-side the entire way and finished 148th and 149th, respectively.

“It was a good experience, but I was sick so I couldn’t run to my full potential,” Peters said. “I really liked the course, and you’ll definitely see me here next year. It wasn’t a good overall today though.”

Senior Logan Rainsbarger is not a distance runner by trade but has been a part of the team the past few seasons.

Because the Bolts were without Fisher for the race, Rainsbarger (20:59.2) was a scoring runner in 155th. Parker Bonney (22:54) was the Bolts’ non-scoring runner in 157th.

“It was great coming into the season because I knew we had a lot of great runners, and I wouldn’t be counted on all that much,” Rainsbarger said. “But I had to be a scoring runner today. I had the confidence in our team that if we worked hard, we’d be able to get here. It was a great experience. It came at a cost with Brecken though.

“I wish I ran better myself, but I had a side stitch about a mile into the race. This was just a fun run for me. There was more pressure on me than I had hoped, but overall it was an amazing experience and I had a lot of fun today.”

Richardson and Handorf were 30th and 34th, respectively, last season, Richardson finished 55th as a sophomore.

“We’re really proud of Matt and Max for getting on the podium,” Vaughn said.

True was the lone qualifier for the Baxter girls. Her 101st-place finish came with a time of 22:20.3. It took a 19:40.4 to earn a spot on the all-state deck.

“It was amazing, and I’m grateful I got the opportunity to do this,” True said. “I worked hard all season for it. I wish I would have ran a little better, but I’m proud of what I was able to do this year. I have things to still work on for next year.”

Vaughn said True was very nervous before the race, which may have factored into where she finished.

“Makayla had a great season and just got better and better,” Vaughn said. “We’re proud of her. She dealt with a side stitch today and probably got out too fast.”

Top-ranked Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert won the 1A girls’ race in 17:59.3.

Second-ranked Nora Peterson of Alta-Aurelia was the runner-up in 18:28.5. No. 3 Chloe Glosser of Pekin finished third in 18:31.9. Peterson was fourth last year, while Glosser finished 17th.

Class 1A No. 1 Earlham won the 1A state championship with 91 points. Second-ranked Madrid was the runner-up with 109.

The Cardinals trailed Madrid by 29 points after the first three runners, but they rallied by outscoring the final two scoring runners by 47 points.

Fourth-ranked Treynor (172), No. 9 South Winneshiek (173) and No. 3 English Valleys (175) were separated by three points in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

No. 5 Lynnville-Sully (203) placed eighth, No. 8 Martensdale-St. Marys (223) was 10th and 16th-ranked Collins-Maxwell (310) finished 15th.

Notes: True plans to run for Grand View University next season. “I definitely want to train more and track season will help me,” True said. “I can’t wait to start improving then.” ... While not having Fisher hurt the Bolts at the state meet, they may not have qualified at all if he had not decided to run through the pain at the state qualifier.