English Valleys’ Heyne finishes in top 10 at State

Gage Heyne’s road to Ft. Dodge and the State cross-country Championships was anything but normal. Early season health issues and a midseason heart procedure is just not the way most athletes end up at the starting line of the final race of the year.

It is especially remarkable when that same athlete finishes in the top 10, only 30 seconds separating him and the winner.

Heyne did overcome the odds, did what needed to be done to prepare, and finished in a personal best 16:25.6 for the 5K championship race on Friday. That was good enough for ninth place.

“Gage surpassed all my expectations this year after the way his season started, said English Valleys’ Coach Luke Caster. “Having a heart procedure done halfway through the season and missing out on the first half of the season was tough. I was so glad that he came out of all those setbacks determined to compete and, wow, he competed so well.”

When competing against the best the state has to offer the margins are thin. After a 3.1 mile all out run, only one minute separated the first-place effort of Woodbine Community’s Landon Bendgen, who ran a 15:55.3, and the twentieth-place finisher.

One hundred fifty-three runners crossed the finish line.

“Gage is such a smart runner and knows what he needs to do to get his body where it needs to be,” said Caster. “He understands how to strategize his races well. He has many seasoned runners helping and encouraging him, like his dad, Steve, and running club members, and he soaks up all their wisdom.

“His State race was simply amazing with everything he had to overcome. I couldn’t be happier for him,” said Caster.

Behind Bendgen was Grundy Center’s Emerson Vokes (16:02.5), Wapsi Valley’s Aidan Shannon (16:09.3), ACGC’s Andrew Mahaffey (16:10.1) and Lincoln Bainbridge (16:13.0) of Van Buren County, the top five.

The next five were Justin Rygh of Lake Mills (16:14.9), Matthew Schaul of Maquoketa Valley (16:16.8), Clay Warson of Madrid (16:25.1), Heyne, and Brady McWhirter of Pekin (16:26.5) in tenth place.

Heyne is just a junior this season, so he has another year to give it another shot.

“I’m excited for his senior season,” Caster said.

Achenbachs make State debut as freshmen

Addison and Aubrey Achenbach completed an outstanding freshman campaign with a trip to Ft. Dodge and the State cross-country Championships. Addison ran her personal best time of 20:57.6, which put her in 59th. Aubrey also had a personal best and finished 76th in 21:13.3, just 16 seconds behind Addison.

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“Addison and Aubrey ran well this weekend, and I was very proud of their performances. They have a big upside and getting the experience this year will only help them for the next few years,” said Coach Caster. “They are hard workers, and I know that they will push themselves to get better next year.”

Leading the field of 158 runners was Calamus-Wheatland’s Noell Steines in a time of 18:22.0.

Correction

The Oct. 25 edition of the Hometown Current incorrectly stated that Luke Eichhorn of Belle Plaine qualified for the State cross-country meet. Eichhorn, who is a junior, finished 11th in the South Hardin Regional Qualifier Oct. 19, but only the top 10 qualified for State. Eichhorn’s time was less than one second out of qualifying position.