Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys earn 4th place at state cross country meet

FORT DODGE — If there was postrace disappointment from the Cedar Rapids Kennedy tent, it was mild.

“Sometimes things don’t crumble the way you want,” senior Jacob Bruns said after the Cougars fell nine points — and one place — short of the Lakeside Golf Course clubhouse deck. “We were hoping for top three, but we ran like we were supposed to.”

Kennedy settled for fourth place in the Class 4A boys’ team race at the state cross country championships Friday morning at Lakeside Golf Course. An accomplishment, for sure.

“We were hoping to get up there (on the deck),” sophomore Adam Gray said after a sixth-place effort. “We didn’t get what we wanted, but we live and we learn. It’s about the process.”

West Des Moines Dowling won its third consecutive title, its ninth in 12 years. The Maroons tallied 72 points, a dozen fewer than runner-up Cedar Falls.

Then it was Ankeny (102) and Kennedy (111).

Ankeny junior Ethan Zuber pulled away from Cedar Falls sophomore Jaden Merrick in the final 600 meters and won the individual crown in 15 minutes, 7 seconds. Merrick was clocked in 15:13.

Gray finished in 15:39.

“I like this course a lot. I wish we could run here more,” he said. “I think I could have gone a little faster. That wind coming down the stretch ... oof, that wasn’t easy.”

After a mild week, the weather dropped off the cliff Friday morning. It was 40 degrees in north-central Iowa at race time with a wind chill of 30.

Bruns finished 13th for Kennedy, senior Henry McMahan was 18th.

Led by senior Aidan Decker (ninth) and freshman Keegan Decker (17th), Iowa City Liberty was sixth with 183 points.

Keegan Decker’s time (15:54) was third-fastest all-time at Lakeside for a freshman.

Girls: City High’s Ani Wedemeyer jumps 15 spots

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Johnston claimed the Class 4A girls’ title, its sixth in 10 years. Led by individual runner-up Olivia Verde, the Dragons compiled 107 points. West Des Moines Valley (122), Dallas Center-Grimes (126) and Pleasant Valley (131) rounded out the top four.

West Des Moines Valley senior Addison Dorenkamp won her second individual title (she also reigned in 2021), finishing in 17:41. Verde was next in 17:50, followed by Keelee Leitzen of Dubuque Hempstead (18:00) and Waterloo West’s Nakia Olivierre (18:01).

Ani Wedemeyer, a junior at Iowa City High, was the area’s top finisher, placing 12th in 18:21.

That’s 15 spots and more than a minute better than last year.

“If you told me at the beginning of the season I’d get 12th, I’d be really happy, but the way I was running, I would have liked top 10,” Wedemeyer said. “But I think I gave all I could, and you can’t be mad about that.

“This season, (cross country) turned from nervous dread to excitement. Our training was so different; we had more variation in what we do.”

Class 4A Iowa high school state cross country

At Fort Dodge (Lakeside Golf Course)

Girls Results

TEAMS

1. Johnston 107, 2. West Des Moines Valley 122, 3. Dallas Center-Grimes 126, 4. Pleasant Valley 131, 5. Dubuque Senior 182, 6. Dubuque Hempstead 185, 7. Ankeny 186, 8. Iowa City High 195, 9. Ankeny Centennial 197, 10. Waukee 204, 11. Ames 215, 12. Indianola 266, 13. Waukee Northwest 292, 14. Cedar Falls 347, 15. West Des Moines Dowling 349.

INDIVIDUALS

1. Addison Dorenkamp (WDM Valley), 17:41; 2. Olivia Verde (Johnston), 17:50; 3. Keelee Leitzen (Dbq Hempstead), 18:00; 4. Nakia Olivierre (Waterloo West), 18:01; 5. Drew Beason (Ankeny), 18:06; 6. Piper Messerly (DCG), 18:10; 7. Gracie Foster (Indianola), 18:17; 8. Claire Helmers (Ames), 18:17; 9. Anika Mohrhauser (Ank Cent), 18:18; 10. Leah Klapatauskas (Dbq Senior), 18:20; 11. Julia Gehl (Dbq Hempstead), 18:21; 12. Ani Wedemeyer (City High), 18:21; 13. Camryn Sattler (Clinton), 18:22; 14. Michelle McConkey (Waukee), 18:34; 15. Klaire Lietz (WDM Valley), 18:36; 16. Claire Hoyer (Dbq Senior), 18:41; 17. Lillian Sundet (Waukee NW), 18:47; 18. Emily Meyers (DCG), 18:47; 19. Maddy Stevens (DCG), 18:49; 20. Grace Beasley (Johnston), 18:50.

Boys Results

TEAMS

1. West Des Moines Dowling 72, 2. Cedar Falls 84, 3. Ankeny 102, 4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 111, 5. Waukee Northwest 171, 6. Iowa City Liberty 183, 7. Dallas Center-Grimes 183, 8. Pleasant Valley 227, 9. Johnston 239, 10. Urbandale 239, 11. West Des Moines Valley 242, 12. Dubuque Hempstead 247, 13. Norwalk 250, 14. Ankeny Centennial 292, 15. Waukee 324, 16. Iowa City West 375.

INDIVIDUALS

1. Ethan Zuber (Ankeny), 15:07; 2. Jaden Merrick (Cedar Falls), 15:13; 3. Natneal Kifle (Sioux City North), 15:25; 4. Jack Fiori (WDM Dowling), 15:33; 5. A.J. Schermerhorn (Ank Cent), 15:37; 6. Adam Gray (C.R. Kennedy), 15:39; 7. Owen Marett (Des Moines Roosevelt), 15:41; 8. Tommy Hensley (Urbandale), 15:43; 9. Aidan Decker (I.C. Liberty), 15:44; 10. Joseph Lawry (Waukee), 15:44; 11. Jake Bosch (Ankeny), 15:44; 12. Max DeRocher (WDM Dowling), 15:45; 13. Jacob Bruns (C.R. Kennedy), 15:46; 14. Noah Buhrow (Norwalk), 15:48; 15. Ike Smith (Ankeny), 15:49; 16. Ahmad Aldamak (Cedar Falls), 15:54; 17. Keegan Decker (I.C. Liberty), 15:54; 18. Henry McMahan (C.R. Kennedy), 15:46; 19. Luke Hartman (Cedar Falls), 15:58; 20. Mattew Bootman (WDM Dowling), 16:00.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com