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Glosser, Bainbridge make podium
Seniors show out in 1A races, Columbus boys top team
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FORT DODGE — They say when you fall, you’ve got to get right back up, and that’s exactly what Pekin senior Chloe Glosser did after taking a tumble at the end of the Class 1A state cross-country race on Saturday afternoon.
Glosser, who had never fallen during a cross-country race before, got tripped up with Starmont West Central’s Lauren Krogmann after getting down the final hill at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. She got back on her feet and did something else she’s never done before, dash to a Top-2 finish on Iowa’s biggest stage.
“I just got back up and said ‘finish strong’,” Glosser said. “I didn’t have any strength left to give, but God was working in me in that moment, and he gave me that next gear that I needed.”
Glosser had to pass Krogmann on the final stretch to earn her best finish ever in Fort Dodge. She crossed the tape in 18 minutes, 33.5 seconds, finishing only behind fellow senior and defending champion Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert.
“It makes me more confident, seeing that all the work I put in is paying off,” Glosser said. “It’s just such an amazing feeling, and I’m just so blessed to be able to run.”
Glosser was the only Union area runner to claim an All-State spot in the Class 1A race. WACO’s Josie Dykstra and Hillcrest Academy’s Siena Stanerson weren’t far behind, in 21st and 22nd.
It was the best finish at state for both Dykstra (19:54.7), a sophomore, and Stanerson (19:58.5), who was polishing off her senior campaign.
“Stanerson had a tremendous race, running an all-time personal best,” said Hillcrest Academy coach Martin Gingerich. “This race was a capstone performance for Siena’s high school cross-country career.”
Columbus’ Iris Garza slipped into the Top-30. The junior crossed the tape in 20:19.3 to take 29th as the only Columbus qualifier in the girls’ race.
Among the other individual qualifiers, Hillcrest junior Marie Yoder took 40th, while WACO freshman Macie Carter made her debut with a 59th-place finish.
Van Buren County was the only Union area team to qualify on the girls’ side, and the Warriors showed out with a seventh-place finish. VBC came in ranked No. 12, but jumped five spots with a total point total of 198, which was only 73 back of state champion South Winneshiek (125) in one of the most competitive team races all weekend.
Kayley Snowgren, a junior, led the way for VBC, finishing 57th overall, in 20:54.9. Senior Rylee Phillips was right behind her, taking 60th. Sophomore Rory Phillips finished 72nd. Freshman Adalyn Snowgren was 100th. Sophomore Gabby Titus took 110th, and junior Emma Coffin finished 137th.
The Warriors were the only Union area team to qualify in both team races. The boys took 12th place overall with 260 points, behind senior Lincoln Bainbridge, who impressed with his second podium finish ever, taking seventh place, in 16:36.6.
“I fell short last year,” Bainbridge says, recalling a disappointing race in his junior campaign. “I fell short, and it sucked. I had to get back up there.”
Bainbridge had previously gotten up into the Top-15 when he took fifth place as a sophomore, and he finished out his high school career by standing with the best of the best once again.
“Sophomore year, it was almost like a fluke, like I wasn’t meant to be up there,” Bainbridge said. “I came back and I showed that I belong to be up there.”
Senior Gavin Noll took 59th place overall to be the second Warrior across. Junior Landry Loeffler was 85th. Sophomore Leo Jirak took 109th. Reid Kite finished 120th. Freshman Jaren Troxel was 122nd, and sophomore Sawyer Spiker took 142nd.
“My freshman year we started out with like five or six guys, and I was the only one to go on the boys and girls side,” Bainbridge said. “It’s crazy to see us work from where we were, and now we’re at an all-time high.”
Columbus had the best finish of any area team that qualified. The Wildcats were ranked ninth coming into the meet and shot up to a sixth-place finish, scoring 227 points, which was one point higher than Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division rival Louisa-Muscatine.
As they did all year, the Wildcats used their superior depth to climb up the team rankings. Junior Ryan Villa led the way with a 50th-place finish, crossing in 17:34.1.
Junior Cade Storm took 56th for Columbus. Sophomore Victor Tovar was 64th. Freshman Kevin Villa finished 70th. Junior Drake Marin was 82nd. Sophomore Elias Gonzalez Bravo took 91st, and freshman Elias Duran was 101st.
The Pekin boys nearly put two in the Top-50, as senior Cole Millikin finished 33rd and junior Lane Fariss took 51st, to lead the team to a 14th-place finish, scoring 294 points.
“It’s really fun. I like coming up here as a team,” said Fariss. “Our attitude was like, ‘we just wanted to come up here and run.’”
Junior Mason Dahlstrom finished close behind Fariss, in 54th. Junior Brody Sobaski took 136th. Freshman Landon Fariss was 140th. Junior Clayton Harvey took 148th, and junior Hayden Miller was 150th.
The only individual qualifier for the boys was WACO senior Locken Henderson. He finished the race in 89th.
