Two new teams, one season. The last for some, the first for others. The season started in June and will end in October. The boys and girls cross country teams have started their journey to state, both only having a couple meets left in their season.

“So far this year, it’s been fun. I really like meeting new people, it’s been a good way for me to connect with people I wouldn’t normally,” Sophia Van Dale ‘23 said. “We get to know the younger grades and have fairly traumatic experiences with other people.” 

The boys’ first meets were Pleasant Valley on September 4 and the Cedar Rapids Invitational on September 9. At Pleasant Valley, Braeden Marker ‘23 came second in the JV with Sullivan Hall ‘22 coming 11, and Sam Schaefer ‘22 in 8. Parker Max ‘22, Noah Carey ‘23 and Ford Washburn ‘23 all came in the top 20 in Varsity with Washburn coming in 4. The varsity came in 4th overall. 

“I thought the team performed very well for the first couple of meets,” Patrick Sarsfield ‘22 said. “Not only did our varsity squad truly shine but I think that a lot of the hard work that our JV and fresh/soph guys put in over the summer really showed itself.”

At the Cedar Rapids Invitational, all seven runners on varsity had personal records winning the varsity overall. Washburn ‘23 won the varsity race with a time of 15:27. The JV also won overall. 

Next they went to the Eastern Iowa Invitational, and the JV earned second place with Schaefer ‘22 winning the race. The top ten runners went to the Roy Griak Invitational, where Washburn ‘23 finished in the top 20 and the varsity ended in 10th overall.

“The boys are great, our team is very strong. On varsity we have a great mindset and good work ethic,” Schaefer said. “The top 10 are excited about Griak, the out-of-state meet in Minneapolis on September 24.”

The girls’ first meet was at Hillcrest Academy on August 31. They next went to Pleasant Valley on September 9, and Luther on September 11. On September 16 they went to Pella, Iowa for the Heartland Classic and on September 23 the girls went to Dubuque for the Jim Boughton Invitational. At Hillcrest, Lucy Corbin ‘22 won the JV race and Ani Wedemeyer ‘25 won the varsity. At Pleasant Valley, Corbin ‘22 and Natalie Kuhlmann ‘23 placed in the top 15 in the JV. Varsity placed 5th overall with Ani Wedemeyer ‘25 in 22 with a time of 20:30. 

“I didn’t run in [Hillcrest] but it was fun, to watch everyone and see everyone compete. I thought I was going to see people slip on the mud, but I didn’t,” Liv Leman ‘25 said. “That was a repetitive race but at the same time I feel like it was kind of a nice one. The scenery is nice and there’s only one hill, it’s a good first meet.”

At the Luther All-American, Rowan Boulter ‘22 was the top runner for varsity coming in 13th place with a time of 20:00, followed by Iris Wedemeyer ‘23 who came in 16. Tatum Frazier ‘22 placed 6th in the JV followed by Sydney Wilkes ‘23, both earning a spot on varsity for the next race. At the Heartland Classic, City won the fresh/soph race. At Dubuque, Erin Anderson ‘23 won the JV with a time of 21:15, leading the team to win the JV race. Varsity placed fourth with front runner Ani Wedemeyer racing a personal record of 19:13.

“It seems different than it used to be, I think it’s because I’m a senior. I think at the first couple meets we did pretty well,” Kenna Prottsman ‘22 said. “Everyone has their personal goals and we’re all also working towards a team goal and placing. All the girls working together is really inspiring.”