Columbus sails to state

FORT DODGE - Rodney Dangerfield was a comedian who was known for not getting any respect. If he ever ran cross-country, he would have ran for the Columbus Wildcats.

They were underestimated all year long. Despite being listed as a team to watch for most of the season and defeating the eighth-ranked squad at the district meet, the Columbus High School boys cross-country team was ranked 16th out of 16 teams going into the state meet. The Wildcats improved on that with some gutsy racing Saturday on Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in the Class 1A state meet.

Columbus proved the team concept of the sport when a tiebreaker was broken in the Wildcats favor. The top five runners of the seven on the course are the scoring ones, but Saturday the sixth runner was also counted.

A tie for 14th place with Siouxland Christian went in favor of Columbus because Tim Hills-Carrier finished in 19 minutes, 54.4 seconds in 128th place.

The beauty of team racing is that 128th place made a difference for the Wildcats. Siouxland Christian's No. 6 runner was 147th thus giving Columbus the tiebreaker.

'We were only two points away from 13th,” Columbus coach Steve Riley said. 'We did great. I'm really happy about it.”

Riley wasn't concerned with his runner's times because the place they finished was more important. The times were not going to be the best because of the vicious wind that blew Saturday.

'I felt the first half of the race was running against the wind so I did not want my team to run too hard there,” Riley said. 'I want them passing people in the second half of the race and I think it worked well for us.”

Going into the meet, Riley had hoped that his team would excel and set some personal records among themselves. With the conditions that were prevalent on the course, he thought those goals for his team blew way with the windy conditions of the day. However, the team's seventh runner, Van Bawi, recorded his fastest time ever run, despite the conditions.

'I can say everybody gave a really good effort,” Riley said. 'None of them have been in this atmosphere before. This has been amazing. Even though there's only one class here the place is packed and that gives a special meaning to the race.”

Columbus top finisher was Isaac Acosta, who placed 36th, earning 24 team points with his time of 17 minutes, 51.1 seconds.

'Isaac ran very well with great strategy, conserved himself initially, and then pushed at the second half,” Riley said. 'I think he even ran a good time. He was strong at the end.”

'I don't know what was wrong with me, but I felt great,” Acosta said. 'I wanted to slow down, but I didn't. No matter how much I wanted to, I didn't slow down. It was worth it because in the homestretch I passed a group of people.”

He was able to do that despite suffering pain from a cramp in his foot.

'I was exhausted. I've never felt this tired before,” Acosta said. 'I am so glad my teammates were able to come. I mean I am so glad I made it individually, but the experience would have been nothing without my team.”

The Wildcats set a goal of qualifying for state before the season even began, before they even knew there would be a season. They may have thought Coach was crazy to think they could go to state, but the more they talked about it, the more they realized it was a possibility.

'I tried to get them to believe,” Riley said. 'As the year went on, they saw it was more doable because we kept having success.”

Alex Rivas is the only senior and he ran 19:43 to earn 82 points.

Rivas ran his seventh-grade year, but stopped, then came out last year with the goal to make state. That he did and took it all in. 'It's pretty intense. The runners are really fast. The course was nice. It was pretty flat. I thought it was kind of fast, actually. I felt pretty good. I am proud of everybody and the team.”

Rivas said the team is stronger because everyone gets along well and they are friendly, but it is also motivated by its leader in Acosta. 'Isaac is a great leader. He's always the first one. He's always motivating everybody. He pushes us to be better every day.”

Acosta has plans for a return trip.

'We want to be back next year with all four classes and see what it's like.”

The Wildcats fulfilled their every expectation.

'This was a great day, we had a great trip here, good time overnight and just a great weekend for all of us,” Riley said. 'Kids join the sport for different reasons and I just hope that we can offer something for everybody that comes out. This should help get our numbers up for the team and be nothing but positive for our school and our community and all these kids.”