Mertens goes out on top

FT. DODGE - Four years ago, Cody Mertens was convinced to try out for cross-country while getting himself prepared for track and field season in the spring. Four years, four cross-country seasons and four state meets later, and Mertens is a state champion.

The Panther senior dashed home on the final stretch to win the Class 3A race on Saturday afternoon, reaching the finish line for the final time, and pointing to his late grandfather in the heavens as he crossed the tape.

'It was amazing,” Mertens said. 'First thing that came to my head was all the people that supported me and told me I could do it, and then just pointing to the sky to my grandpa, and obviously God. It was just the most incredible feeling I could ever imagine.”

Mertens said he could hear his late grandfather, who passed away in a farming accident, every time he thought about slowing down.

'Every time I feel like giving up or settling and not going with the lead pack, I can hear him saying ‘You can do it, Cody, come on. Be tough.'”

Mertens had to be exactly that, tough, to pull out a win in an extremely competitive Class 3A field. Mertens came in ranked No. 2, behind eventual fifth-place finisher Tyler Rees, of Gilbert, but when he came down the final hill, it was third-ranked Nate Mueller of ADM who battled him side by side.

The difference, though, was that Mertens had plenty left in the tank. He ground his teeth and seperated himself from Mueller with each stride to cross the finish line in 16:03.1, winning the race by seven seconds. Trop-ranked Quinton Orr clipped Mueller at the finish line for second.

Mertens stayed in front of the lead pack, just off the top two runners, for most of the race, but made his move late, something head coach Mitch Anderson said was part of the plan the whole time.

'We just talked about being with everyone,” Anderson said. 'We don't necessarily need to be in the lead in the first curve, and actually Cody said that before we even had to tell him that. He knew what he needed to do. Just stay in the race, and then he's got that finishing speed where he can close with anyone in the state.”

Mertens' Saturday race was his last in a cross-country uniform. He has the track season coming up in the spring, but he doesn't plan on pursuing cross-country after high school.

'Last one ever,” Mertens says. 'And it feels good to hang up the spikes knowing I finally ran what I was capable of and left everything I had on the course.”

Teammate Dalton Moyle got to experience the state meet for the first time, finishing 87th, in 17:54.5.

'It was great,” Moyle said shortly after the race. 'I'm just glad I made it up here. The weather was great compared to last year. It's hot this year, it seems like, but it's a great day to run.”

Mertens was all alone in the boys' race last year, where he finished eighth. Mt. Pleasant had taken the team to state his first two years, and Coach Anderson says Moyle's presence was a big help.

'Dalton has just had a heck of a year the way he has improved and progressed,” Anderson said. 'I'm so proud of him. This was a reward for him, and also an advantage for Cody, just to have a buddy up here. The same guy that is doing 10-mile runs with him in the summertime up here keeping him loose the night before a state championship.”

Abby Ryon didn't quite run the race she wanted to in the 3A girls' race. Ryon finished 21st, in 19:55.6.

'I definitely wanted to start making a move after the first mile, and I was where I needed to be at the first mile,” Ryon said. 'But I just couldn't make the move. I couldn't get the burst of speed and get up there with the next group.”

Luckily for the Panther junior, she's got one more year and a stacked team coming back. The Panther girls will compete for a state spot as a team when the fall rolls back around.

'I'm super excited,” Ryon said. 'I'm ready to start training over the summer again, start getting the team together, and really start working hard to get everybody out here.”

The Danville-New London girls came out big in the Class 2A race. The 12th-ranked team in the class moved all the way up to the top five, finishing fifth overall with 155 points.

Lexi Brown and Addy Parrott both ran stellar times to put two D-NL runners in the top 10. Brown finished eighth, in 19:49.7, and Parrott was 10th, in 19:56.

Alyssa Pfadenhauer placed 20th, in 20:32.2. Carissa Mackey was 93rd, in 22:24.3. BreAnn Yaley finished 103rd, in 22:48.4. Lilly Garnsey finished 118th, in 23:21.2, and Lia Reighard was 125th, in 23:50.1.

The two D-NL freshman boys who qualified had a nice debut as well. Alexander Julian finished 47th, in 17:51.2, and Ty Carr was 65th, in 18:11.8.