Raiders finish 10th in Fort Dodge meet

FORT DODGE — “We ran about as well as we could have hoped to today. Once again, we exceeded our expectations and finished considerably higher than our ranking coming in. After some of the adversity our team has fought through this year, to finish top 10 is outstanding.”

Those were the words of Williamsburg cross-country Coach Nick Nordheim after watching his girls complete yet another successful season with a 10th-place finish in the Class 2A state meet Saturday morning at Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge.

Led by sophomore Ashlyn Hoffman, the Raiders totaled 225 points to beat five other schools in the 15-team field. Des Moines Christian was state champion with a score of 101.

Hoffman ran the 5K course in 20 minutes, 43 seconds to place 56th out of 140 runners.

“Ashlyn has been gaining more and more confidence and today ran her best race in the biggest meet of the season,” said Nordheim. “I was really pleased with her effort.”

Freshman Edie Axmear and senior Zada Buchholtz were the next Williamsburg runners to cross the finish line, placing 64th and 65th, respectively, in 20:54 and 20:57.

Another freshman, Makenna Capper, wasn’t too far behind them, finishing 71st in 21:08.

“We've put a lot on Edie and Makenna this year as freshmen, and they’ve stepped up every single race,” Nordheim said. “They have been phenomenal all season and will only continue to get better. I'm so proud of the way they ran today.”

Reagan McMenomy, the team’s only senior besides Buchholtz, placed 92nd in 21:34.

“Zada and Reagan have had amazing careers for us,” said Coach Nordheim. “They've been in the program six years and are just tremendous young people and leaders.

“Zada always runs amazing in Fort Dodge,” said Nordheim, “and had to overcome a lot throughout the year to just be here.

“This was Reagan’s best moment as a Raider in her last meet. I'm so happy for both of them,” said Nordheim.

Sophomore Anya Rivera and junior Lillyona Abernathy rounded out the Raiders’ top seven, finishing 109th and 111th in 22:11 and 22:16.

“Anya and Lillyona were great in their first state meet,” Nordheim said. “They have very little experience and really came on strong for us during the year. Next year, as upperclassmen, they will have tons of confidence and become huge leaders for us.”

Busch, Hulseberg at state

Williamsburg also had two members of its boys’ team compete at state — sophomore Nile Busch and senior Wes Hulseberg.

Busch finished 60th out of 132 runners in 17:19, and Hulseberg placed 80th in 17:55.

“Nile has been a huge story all year,” Nordheim said. “He improved by 3-5 minutes each meet from last year and has become one of the top runners in the area.

“It's hard to put into words how impressive he has been compared to last year. He works so hard and deserves all of this,” Nordheim said.

“Wes has been such an amazing leader for us for a long time now. I know today didn't go exactly how he wanted, but what he's done for this program is incredible,” said Nordheim. “He's put so much into it and should be proud of all that work.”

This was the sixth straight year and 23rd time in the last 25 seasons that the Williamsburg girls have competed at state.