Columbus has 50 years of cross-country

COLUMBUS JUNCTION - The year was 1970 and it saw the Beatles breaking up and going their separate ways. Meanwhile, specifics of a program were nailed down and coming together.

That program was a cross-country team for Columbus, which first competed in the 1971 season. In this, the 50th season, the Wildcats put the candle on the cake by becoming the eighth Columbus team to qualify for the state meet.

The program has only had four coaches in those 50 years. It was started in 1971-72 by Dick Peterson, who eventually stepped down as football coach and devoted all of his attention to building a successful cross-country program. Peterson handed the reins to Mike Jay after the 1991 season. Laurie Doyle coached the 1994-95 seasons. Jay returned as head coach in 1996 and remained until stepping down in 2011. Coach Steve Riley assumed the helm in 2012, having coached the junior high for the three previous years.

'I love coaching cross-country and track at Columbus,” Riley said. 'We have great potential in these sports here, and the kids and their families are outstanding.”

Cross-country is a sport that rewards dedication, but it is not the most talent that succeeds. It is the ones who have consistency and do the work. Riley did the work when he went to high school in Anamosa and as a senior was part of the first cross-country team to make state from the school. He also ran track.

'My early experience with these sports shaped me,” Riley said. 'I had great high school coaches.”

He then ran for two years as a walk-on at the University of Iowa.

'The best thing about running cross-country was the camaraderie that I shared with my teammates,” Riley said. 'It can be a grueling sport, but if you are in it together, it makes it more tolerable. And there is nothing like seeing your hard work pay off.”

There isn't instant gratification. One's endurance must be built up with cardio and muscles. It might take a year or two to have success in cross-country.

'As a coach, I have learned some of the same lessons as when I was a competitive runner,” Riley said. 'Success might not come right away, but if you persist and learn from your ‘failures,' it will come eventually.”

Riley's eventual role as the head of the Wildcat program took a circuitous route. He spent 23 years in the newspaper business (sports, news, editing, reporting), then taught at WACO for a year before that job was to be eliminated.

'I needed to find a new job and found one here and have never turned back,” Riley said. 'I have been a teacher a total of 15 years and I love my job as a teacher and coach.”

This year is the first team to go to state under Riley, but Josh Keller went as an individual in 2014-15.

'It is important to have the kind of success we've had in our 50th year,” Riley said. 'We want to honor the people who have come before us.”

Success for Columbus in the early years was tough because it was the first ‘small' school in the area to have cross-country and competed with the likes of Burlington and Fort Madison. The tough competition helped hone talents. Twenty Wildcats have went on to college careers in the sport, including two to Iowa. Sam Chaney is one of those and he is the record holder on the Wildcats home course. He ran a 15 minutes, 20.38 seconds race at Cedarcrest Golf Course Oct. 5, 2009.

Columbus has celebrated the following conference championships: boys team 1985, Jerry Duncan 1986, Brandon Bohling 1987, Bohling 1988, Derrick Ball and boys team 2002, boys team 2003, boys team 2004, boys team 2005, Casey Robertson 2006, Robertson (also district champion) 2007, Sam Chaney (also district champion) 2008, Chaney (district) 2009, boys team 2011.

Getting the program off the ground in the 1970s required the same attributes this century. It has taken persistence, patience, and the willingness to grow and learn for Riley to get the program to this point.

'I got some good advice early,” Riley said. 'A successful coach told me, ‘coach the team you have, not the team you wish you had.'”

Riley has focused on making cross-country more than a sport for Wildcats. He has immersed himself into all aspects to create a great, meaningful experience for athletes.

'We have a family-like environment, and that's very important,” Riley said. 'Not all kids will qualify for the state meet, so you have to make it worthwhile to everybody.”

Team members Mason Hills-Carrier and Tim Hills-Carrier are brothers. Their aunt, Melissa Hills, was the last girl state qualifier for Columbus in 1996. Their sister, Taylor Hills Mincer, narrowly missed qualifying for state in cross-country and track.

Riley has had to recruit kids to go out for the team. Isaac Acosta was referred to him by junior high football coach and co-head track coach Scott Dennler and Riley convinced him cross-country was the sport for him.

'He was our top runner from his very first race,” Riley said. 'He had success early and that was the key.”

Alex Rivas went out for cross-country in seventh grade, but quit after that season. He asked Riley to rejoin the team in his junior year. The only hangup was that he couldn't practice in August when the team did until the first day of school. He had a job as a roofer all summer until school started.

'I agreed, and I am so happy I did,” Riley said. 'He has been one of our best runners for two years.”

Now Riley and the Wildcats hope the team can establish itself as one of the best Class 1A programs in the state.

'We hope we have made people proud, becoming the eighth state-qualifying team in school history,” Riley said.

Columbus boys state finishes, the year, the athlete and his time (if available) are listed below:

1973 6. Mark Jay, two miles in 11:00

1974 13. Team - 8. Mark Jay (10:33); 58. Daune Weber (11:16); 75. Cary Rutt (11:28); 76. Dan Kelley (11:30); 91. Mike Jay (11:50).

1975 10. Team - 7. Dan Kelley (10:21, breaking Mark Jay's old mark of 10:32). Other finishers are not known.

1978 8. team - 4. Tom Owens (10:13), 18. Lorenzo Marin (10:50), 47. Jesse Martinez, 52. Richard Axtell, 54. Frank Evans

1979 7. Tom Owens

1985 11. Team - 27. Rick McBride (11:03.1), 46. Bret DeWitt (11:19.8), 54. Donnie Clark (11:24.3), 59. Jerry Duncan (11:28.2), 87. Joe Elder 87th (12:07.1).

1988 7. Brandon Bohling (fastest time in his career 15:52). 2001 53. Derick Ball (no time available)

2003 6. Team - 16. Richard Rocha (16:51), 17. Mitch Staats (16:52), 45. Joe Jay (17:31), 49. Jonathan Chaney (17:35), 76. Tyler Travis (18:05).

2004 7. Team - 18. Mitchell Staats (17:21), 47. Richard Rocha (18:02), 50. Tyler Travis (18:07), 75. Joe Jay (18:24). 79. Kory Krenz (18:31), 81. Adam Chaney (18:32), 89. Casey Humbert (18:39).

2005 9. Team - 23. Casey Robertson (17:40), 52. Joe Jay (18:17), 70. Kory Krenz (18:37), 74. Tyler Travis (18:40), 59. Adam Chaney (18:24).

2006 9. Casey Robertson (16:44), 27. Sam Chaney (17:25).

2007 2. Casey Robertson (15:51). The runner-up finish is the highest individual placing for Wildcats.

2008 DNF Sam Chaney (ranked No. 2 going into state, but at 600 meters to go, he fell, mustered the strength to get back to his feet, fell again, several Columbus supporters stop Chaney, scream for help, ambulance arrives to take him to the hospital)

2009 11. Jake Keller (16:44).

2014 48. Josh Keller (17:56.9).

2015 14. Josh Keller (16:48.7)

2020 Team