Cross Country
Girls
Raegan Garrison- IKM-Manning
Garrison wrapped up a strong career, leading the Wolves for the past two seasons. She was a strong runner on flat or hilly courses, setting a great example for younger runners for the Wolves. She nearly paced the Wolves in every meet this season, finishing in the top 10 on a regular basis, taking 4th at the WIC. She narrowly missed qualifying for the State Meet, taking 11th at the State Qualifying Meet.
Emily Albertsen- IKM-Manning
Albertsen had an outstanding season, finishing a strong career. She routinely finished in the top 15, oftentimes finishing in the top 10, even taking 4th at Boyer Valley and 9th at the WIC. She always left it out on the course, never leaving an ounce of energy unused.
Bre Patterson- South Central Calhoun
The senior was strong for the Titans in her final season running for them. She gave them another strong runner to go with Iris Melody and led the team when Melody wasn’t able to run. Patterson was at her best in tough meets, taking 20th at the TLC and finished 13th at Pocahontas Area.
Kaci Wiederien- Kuemper
Wiederien gave the Knights a top level runner this season, leading them all season, though she battled some injuries issues. She finished in the top 30 on a regular basis, getting better every race. She took 17th at Denison Schleswig. Wiederien will lead a young Knights team again next season.
Libbie Veit- East Sac
Veit competed as the lone runner for the Raiders most of the season, having to practice with the boys or run on her own. She had a strong year, running a season best 22:24.67. Veit had several top finishes, taking 20th at Pocahontas Area, 24th at South Central Calhoun and 23rd at Alta-Aurelia.
Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year
Iris Melody- South Central Calhoun
Melody had a strong junior season, qualifying for the State Cross Country meet for the second time in her career. She tied her season best at the State Meet, improving by twenty places from her previous appearance at State. Melody was limited in practice this season and missed some time as she struggled with an injury but was still the fastest and most consistent runner in the area. She ran a 20:09.1 at the State Meet, finishing in 29th place. She qualified for State by taking 4th at the Qualifying meet with a 20:42.30 and was the only girl to qualify in the area.
Boys
Dayton Wiederien- Kuemper
Wiederien was the top runner for Kuemper this season and one of the best runners in the area. He finished in the top 10 in most meets this season, taking 8th against a strong field at the Hawkeye 10 Conference Meet. He was 4th at Denison Schleswig on a hilly course, running a 17:06.63 and was 5th at Harlan, running a 16:45.37. Wiederien will be one of the elite runners in the area next season.
Fletch Badding- Kuemper
Badding gave the Knights a second runner that would finish in the top 15 on a regular basis with several top 10 finishes. He added great depth to the top of their running order. Badding was 18th at the meet in Harlan, taking 9th at the Denison Schleswig meet, running a 17:29.03. He set a personal best at the State Qualifying meet in Ames, against a very strong field.
Landon Sporrer- East Sac
Sporrer was the top runner on a strong Raiders team that routinely had three guys in the top 10 or top 15. He qualified for the State Meet, taking 10th in 17:08.57 at the meet at Unity Christian. Sporrer ran well at State, getting out to a fast first mile before settling into the pace he wanted to run for mile two. The junior will look to build off the season. His best time this season was 17:03.02.
Riley Aragon- East Sac
Aragon gave the Raiders another elite level runner, finishing in the top 10 and top 5 on a regular basis. He had a season best time of 17:10.36, helping him push the best runners in the area. Aragon qualified for State, taking 13th at Unity Christian in 17:20.35. He worked his way through the pack at State, moving up about 20 spots over the final mile and a half. He ended the day running a 17:46.7. Aragon is excited for next season.
Owen Engel- East Sac
Engel added a third strong runner to the Raiders as the area’s top boys team. Like Landon Sporrer and Riley Aragon, he finished in the top 10 most races and an off night for him was taking top 15. He had and Aragon tended to switch places on who would finish second on the team. His best run of the season was at Pocahontas Area, taking 4th place, running a 17:10.36.
Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year
Redge Potts- South Central Calhoun
Potts was the area’s best and most consistent runner, winning most of the meets he ran in while battling injuries. He qualified for the State Meet, taking 3rd at the State Qualifying meet in Red Oak. He ran a 17:27.85 that day. He won three straight meets he ran in, including the Titans home meet, running a 16:51.74 and the meet in Pocahontas Area in 16:23.51. Potts started well at the State Meet before having to deal with a pair of issues, taking 31st in 17:06.0.
Cross Country Coach of the Year
Robert Cast- IKM-Manning
Cast continues to put together terrific cross country teams for IKM-Manning, showing great balance between the boys and girls teams this season. Both teams had tremendous team success while having individuals have great seasons as well. The boys were near the rankings all season long with a deep team, led by Isaac Blankman, Camden Morris, Nathanael Conner, Kasche Huehn and Abe Polzien. They finished 4th in a loaded WIC meet and were 3rd at a late meet in Missouri Valley. The girls were just as strong, led by Reagan Garrison, Emily Albertsen and Taylor Beckendorf. They shared two of their runners with the volleyball team, doing a great job of allowing them to compete in dual events on the same day several times this season. The girls narrowly missed qualifying as a team for the State Meet, taking 3rd at the qualifying meet. Three of their runners finished in the top 20 that day. The boys return a good portion of the team, graduating two seniors. The girls graduate three seniors but have a nice core coming back.
Girls Swimmer of the Year
Alexis Borkowski- Carroll
Borkowski was the most consistent swimmer for an extremely young team this season. The Tigers swam this season with five swimmers or less at most meets, with four freshman and a sophomore doing the majority of the work. Borkowski lowered her times in her events in nearly every meet. She had the fastest times for Carroll in the 500 Free, swimming a 6:39.88 entering the State Qualifying meet, the 100 breast in 1:20.46. She had the second best time in the 100 free, 200 IM and 100 back.
