Cadet cross country runners shine at State Meet

FT. DODGE - Unseasonably cool weather at the State Cross Country Meet on Saturday, Oct. 28, in Fort Dodge did not bother the Crestwood athletes as all three Cadets posted impressive times.

Senior Kinze Shea recorded a career best time of 19:07.5 seconds to placed ninth in the Class 2A Girls’ race. Teammate junior Laney Peter finished 32nd in a solid time of 20:16.9. Hillary Trainor of Sumner-Fredericksburg nabbed first in 18:09.5

In the Class 2A Boys’ race, junior Nathan Ahern finished 16th in a personal record time of 16:40.3. Emmet Swartzentruber of Mid-Prairie Wellman was first in 15:51.0.

Crestwood Head Coach Karen Steffen was very proud of the way all three Cadets ran hard at the State Meet.

“All three athletes handled the cold weather well and ran a great race,” Steffen said. “Laney competed well, placing in the top fourth of all the runners in the race. She had her best season yet in high school cross country. She has shown tremendous improvement in her training and it has paid-off all season. We are super proud of her efforts to put herself in the position to see her own personal success and as well as help her team.

“Kinze ran a very smart race, finishing ninth with her best time ever. In a race loaded with outstanding competition, she got out strong at the start and put herself in a position where she could be in contention for placing. She was patient as she slowly moved up in the pack and picked off a few runners one by one. 

“Kinze has worked hard to get where she is at right now, even battling through a hip injury that has bothered her all season. She has aspirations to run in college, so this was  a nice way to end her high school career in cross country.

“Nathan ran a gutsy race! He didn’t overdo the start and positioned himself well, while maneuvering through the pack. At the one-mile mark, he was in 35th place and slowly moved up to 30th at the two-mile mark.

“With one-half mile to go, I believe he was still in 27th place. It then became a sprint to the finish. He passed nine others to run his personal best ever and finish in 16th place. Nathan, too, is a very hard-working team member. He leads the boys in their workouts each day, challenging them to all become better athletes,” Steffen said.