Raiders grab win in first run

A championship performance by the boys highlighted the first competition of the 2023 season for the Williamsburg cross country teams Saturday, Aug. 26, in the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational.

The Raider boys, No. 17 in the Iowa Track Coaches Association preseason Class 2A rankings, won the Orange Division with a score of 57, beating 3A No. 9 ADM (62), 3A No. 14 Fort Madison (70), 3A No. 13 Marion (81) and 2A Nov. 15 Monticello (142).

“Our guys had just about the best start to the season we could have asked for,” said Williamsburg coach Nick Nordheim. “They have really put in the time and it showed in our first race.”

Three Raiders finished in the top 10 of the 5K race, led by Wes Hulseberg and Calvin Seeman, who placed third and fourth, respectively, in 17:34 and 17:43.

“Wes and Calvin have put in a ton of miles this summer and they’re ready to have big senior seasons,” said Nordheim.

Sophomore teammate Nile Busch was less than a minute behind them, crossing the finish line 10th in 18:32.

“Nile Busch was just incredible,” Nordheim said. “It's hard to believe how much he has improved. He was almost 2 minutes faster than his all-time career best in just our first meet.”

Busch’s classmates, Finn Brummel and Tyler McMillan rounded out Williamsburg’s scoring runners at No. 18 and 22 in 18:56 and 19:13.

“We beat some really good teams, but it's still early and there’s a lot of work to do,” said Nordheim. “Watching what we just did though, you can't help but be excited about what's possible for these guys.”

Girls short-handed

The Raiders girls, 2A state runners-up a year ago and ranked second behind Mid-Prairie to start this season, ran short-handed at the meet and placed last among the six scoring teams with 119 points.

Sixth-ranked 2A Monticello won the meet with a score of 41. Class 3A No. 20 Marion (71) finished second.

Nordheim said he had a couple girls out of the lineup but noted, full strength or not, “we still need to be ready to compete harder than what we did today. We found out we have a long way to go.”

Freshman Edie Axmear shined in her first varsity 5K race, placing eighth in 21:56.

“Edie was fantastic,” praised Nordheim. “Leading the team and getting top 10 in this meet shows how tough she is. She's been focused and training hard and when you combine that with her talent, she's just starting an amazing career.”

Axmear was followed to the finish line by Zoe Hulseberg, 20th in 23:17; Graceyn Uhlmann, 31st in 24:28; Makenna Capper, 31st in 24:36; and Anya Rivera, 36th in 24:44.

“You generally don't want to have three freshmen in your top four runners,” Nordheim said referring to Uhlmann, Capper and Rivera, “but I thought they competed really hard and weren't scared to lead our pack. They are going to improve so much during the season.”

Nordheim also praised Hulseberg, a sophomore.

“Zoe is going to have a breakthrough season,” he predicted. “She really stepped up and looked great for this early in the year.”