Bears place 5th at state

FORT DODGE — From not qualifying as a team in 2023 to finishing fifth at state in 2024.

That’s not too shabby.

The English Valleys girls’ cross-country team placed fifth in the Class 1A girls’ field at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course Saturday.

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“These girls had their goals at the beginning of the year, and they pushed each other all year long to get to this point,” English Valleys head coach Luke Caster said.

The Bears’ team score of 175 was three points shy of making the podium, as the battle for third place was tight.

Third- to sixth-place in the team battle were separated by only nine points.

Earlham took the team title with a score of 91. Madrid was second. South Iowa Cedar League competitor Lynnville-Sully, which beat the Bears at the conference meet, placed eight as a team.

“We would have loved to be on that podium,” Caster said. “This was a good year to get some state experience. Hopefully we will be back next year with a vengeance.”

The individual winner in the race was St. Albert’s Lili Denton, who set a new 1A state girls’ record with her time of 17:59.

Freshman Anna Luers was the top finisher for the Bears, placing 48th with a time of 20:38.

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The rest of the Bears’ top five finished between 70th and 83rd, running as a pack for the first half of the face.

Addison Achenbach was the first finisher for the Bears, with a time of 21:12.

The Bears’ top five were all underclassmen and will be back next season to push for a podium finish for the team.

1A Girls’ Results

At Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge

TEAMS

1. Earlham 91, 2. Madrid 109, 3. Treynor 172, 4. South Winneshiek 173, 5. English Valleys 175, 6. Sioux Central 181, 7. Alta-Aurelia 192, 8. Lynnville-Sully 203, 9. Panorama 223, 10. Martensdale-St. Marys 223, 11. Guthrie Center ACGC 232, 12. Maquoketa Valley 241,13. Logan-Magnolia 244, 14. Wapsie Valley 301, 15. Collins-Maxwell 310, 16. Danville 319

INDIVIDUALS

Top 15 (All-State): 1. Lili Denton (Council Bluffs St. Albert), 17:59; 2. Nora Peterson (Alta-Aurelia), 18:28; 3. Chloe Glosser (Pekin), 18:31; 4. Katelyn Brandhorst (Madrid), 19:01; 5. Madelyn Grothus (Madrid), 19:09; 6. Kadence Huck (Nashua-Plainfield), 19:11; 7. Lauren Krogmann (Starmont), 19:13; 8. Marie Yoder (Hillcrest Academy), 19:16; 9. Karson Oberender (Martensdale-SM), 19:20; 10. Hallie Kelchen (Cascade), 19:23; 11. Tyra Schupbach (West Bend-Mallard), 19:26; 12. Audra Burbridge (Maquoketa Valley), 19:27; 13. Hannah Brandhorst (Madrid), 19:28; 14. Kylie Rochholz (Panorama), 19:32; 15. Lauren Hillesland (North Iowa), 19:40

English Valleys (175): 48. Anna Luers, 20:38; 70. Addison Achenbach, 21:12; 76. Aubrey Achenbach, 21:24; 78. Kailor Lown, 21:28; 83, Kaylynn Caster, 21:39; 119. Kaylee Frazier, 22:53; 154. Emily Sieren, 29:25