The Clear Lake will be well represented at the State Cross Country Meet this Saturday in Fort Dodge.
For the first time since 1987 the Lion girls team qualified for State by virtue of their third place finish at the Class 3A State Qualifier Meet held Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Manchester. Jack Crane, who finished seventh overall in the boys qualifier, will also compete at State.
The 11th ranked Clear Lake girls were matched up with number five Solon, number 10 Clear Creek-Amana, number 17 Wahlert Catholic and number 20 Decorah among the rest of the teams in the field at Manchester.
“Going into this meet we felt comfortable with how we positioned ourselves for a favorable qualifying site with solid performances at Wartburg and the West Delaware regular season meet. We knew we would still need to perform well to keep Wahlert behind us, but we felt comfortable being a top three team and also knew we had a shot at Clear Creek Amana,” said Coach Tyler Havens.
Solon finished first in the team standings with a score of 40. Clear Creek-Amana was runner-up with 76, followed by Clear Lake with 83.
The Lions did a good job positioning themselves the first mile to be successful in the second half of the race.
“We moved up really well the second and third mile. At the three-mile we were the second place team, but unfortunately we had some girls get passed in the last 200 meters that slipped us back to third,” said Havens.
Addison Doughan led the Lions with a third place finish in 19:09.88. Emily McLaughlin crossed the finish line in 13th place in 20:12.06. Both girls are juniors. Junior Anna Feuerbach and sophomore Rebekah Steinbron were 19th and 20th in 20:34.83 and 20:37.53. Senior Jadyn Heesch provided the final placement for the Lions’ score, coming in 32nd in 21:14.82. Also running for the Lions was Lauren Englin (34th, 21:23.86) and Alexis Hauge (35th, 21:25.58).
“To get back to the State Championships for the first time in 35 years and to do it as the smallest school in Class 3A is a big testament to the volume and quality of work these girls have put in last winter, the spring track & field season, and this summer leading up to the official start of our season in August. Just two seasons ago the Lions finished dead last at the 3A State Qualifying Meet so it was really rewarding for Jadyn and the rest of our seniors to see their hardships in that 2020 season turn into something to be proud of.”
Havens said the Lions’ ambitions don’t end at just qualifying for State.
“We don’t want to be a complacent team that is just happy to be there. It will be our goal to improve upon our ranking and end our season as a top 10 team in Class 3A.”
Boys race
The Clear Lake boys team ended their season finishing as the eighth place team in a loaded district. Jack Crane, Marcus Skidmore, Owen Smith, and Caleb Jones all earned personal records on the fast West Delaware course.
“Jack had the best performance I have ever seen from him, coming into the meet ranked 19th and finishing seventh to earn a spot on the starting line at the State Championships,” said Coach Havens. “Jack was right around 15th place at the mile, which I thought was aggressive, but he continued to move up through the field and had a great finish.”
The coach noted Crane’s time of 16:48.08 makes him the second fastest boy he has ever coached behind Justin Wright, who ran a personal best time of 16:38. Crane’s time currently ranks ninth all time at Clear Lake.
Leo Tolentino was the second Lion runner to finish. The senior covered the course in 17:43.46 to place 33rd. Seniors Andrew Mixdorf and Marcus Skidmore were 41st and 43rd in 18:05.95 and 18:13.15. Jaden Wright was 46th in 18:14.16. Also competing was sophomore Owen Smith (50th, 18:22.56) and junior Caleb Jones (61st, 18:43.82).
“Moving up from 2A to 3A this year proved to be a tough transition for our team and we arguably had one of the toughest district sites when comparing the competition. We are grateful to our five seniors for the impact they have left on our program and we look forward to supporting Jack as he represents our team at State,” added Havens.
Girls scoring
Solon 40, Clear Creek-Amana 76, Clear Lake 83, Wahlert Dubuque 107, Decorah 126, Marion 162, Xavier Cedar Rapids 164, Waverly-Shell Rock 165, Charles City 260, West Delaware Manchester 277, Vinton-Shellsburg 322. DNP: Hampton-Dumont-CAL, Independence
Boys scoring
Marion 52, Solon 79, Clear Creek-Amana 91, Vinton-Shellsburg 132, Decorah 142, Waverly-Shell Rock 167, Charles City 169, Clear Lake 170, Wahlert Dubuque 198, West Delaware Manchester 251, Xavier Cedar Rapids 274, Independence 383, Hampton-Dumont-CAL 408
