Gavin gives it all

PELLA — Fairfield junior Gavin Van Veen doesn’t remember much from the finish line at Wednesday’s Class 3A cross-country state qualifier, but he does remember the most important thing — being told he’s going to Fort Dodge.

Van Veen put everything he had into the race, and it when it was all said-and-done, he crossed the line in 15th place, the very last qualifying spot available.

And then, Van Veen says, everything went dark.

“I blacked out, woke up and saw one of the parents,” Van Veen said. “I woke up and they said, 'You made it. You got 15th.'”

Helped out to open space away from the finish line, Van Veen received confirmation. His time of 17 minutes, 29.78 seconds was good enough by two seconds.

“With about 800 (meters) to go, and he was right around 18th or 19th place,” said Fairfield cross-country coach Jerrod Belzer. “I knew he had some work to do, but knowing Gavin and watching him run so much, I could see he still had some left in the tank.”

Van Veen made some moves in the final meters to to get as far as 13th place. He was edged at the line by two other runners, but held off the rest of the pack around him.

“The last thing I heard was 19th, so I started passing everybody,” Van Veen said. “In that last 200 meters, I got passed by two other guys and I thought I didn't make it.”

Trojan senior Kaidyn Mickels finished 23rd. Brady McWhirter was 31st. Nate Konczal took 52nd. Dayton Mauck was 65th. Riley Perkins finished 67th, and Dallen Rippey took 83rd.

The Fairfield girls couldn’t push any qualifiers through. The top Trojan in the girls race was freshman Paige Bisgard, who ran a personal best 21:28.94 for 26th place.

“She had a tremendous race,” said Belzer.

Van Veen will represent Fairfield on Friday, Oct. 29 in Fort Dodge.

BOYS TEAM SCORES

1. Pella 57; 2. Carlisle 85; 3. Newton 90; 4. Gilbert 128; 5. Grinnell 146; 6. Clear Creek-Amana 149; 7. Nevada 170; 8. Fairfield 186; 9. Oskaloosa 226; 10. Ballard 256; 11. Bondurant-Farrar 284; 12. Knoxville 286

Fairfield-- 15. Gavin Van Veen 17:29.78; 23. Kaidyn Mickels 17:43.35; 31. Brady McWhirter 18:04.30; 52. Nate Conczal 18:54.19; 65. Dayton Mauck 19:25.88; 67. Riley Perkins 19:29.79; 83. Dallen Rippey 20:58.10

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1. Ballard 61; 2. Gilbert 77; 3. Carlisle 79; 4. Clear Creek-Amana 95; 5. Pella 98; 6. Newton 163; 7. Grinnell 202; 8. Oskaloosa 221; 9. Bondurant-Farrar 230; 10. Fairfield 238; 11. Knoxville 304; 12. Nevada 351.

Fairfield -- 26. Paige Bisgard 21:28.94; 31. Kelsey Pacha 21:44.72; 45. Carley Seeley 22:36.59; 66. Malena Bloomquist 23:51.86; 70. Makenzie Kraemer 24:18.58; 74. Grace Forrest 24:40.75.