Cross country rookie Emma Arnold of Cedar Rapids Xavier makes it to state in her first season

MANCHESTER — Emma Arnold was looking for something to fill her fall.

She wasn’t merely looking to participate. She wanted to compete, and to excel.

“I really wanted a mental challenge,” said Arnold, a senior at Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Hello, cross country.

An experienced athlete but a cross country rookie, Arnold extended her season by placing fourth at the Class 3A state-qualifying meet Wednesday afternoon at Hart Ridge Golf Course.

“It’s been a pretty amazing first year,” said the UNI track and field commit, primarily as a hurdler. “I wanted to do it for fun with my friends, but that mental challenge ... ”

The top three teams and the top 15 individuals advance to the state meet, next Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge.

Wednesday’s champions were no surprise. Solon’s Kayla Young and Marion’s Jedidiah Osgood set course records and won convincingly.

Young pulled away from Clear Creek Amana’s Haidyn Barker about a mile into the race and won by 36 seconds, in 18:32.

“We ran together for a while at Regina,” Young said. “I wanted to go out and compete.”

The defending 3A state champion, Solon had all five scorers in the top 15 and tallied 40 points. Clear Creek Amana (76) and Clear Lake (83) were the other qualifiers.

“We might have tapered a little for this meet, I don’t know,” Young said. “Coach (Emy Williams) tells me what to do, and I do it.”

Sydney Dee and Gracie Federspiel were sixth and seventh.

Arnold ran with Dubuque Wahlert’s Lucy Murphy for much of the race, then pulled away late for her fourth-place effort of 19:42.

“We’ve run together a lot this year,” Arnold said. “We were telling each other, ‘We’ve got this.’”

Osgood (15:33) and Cooper Cook (16:37) went 1-2 to stake Marion’s boys to a title. Osgood cruised throughout.

“I was trying to decide whether or not I was going to really go for it at the beginning of the race,” he said. “I decided I didn’t want to tax my legs too much. I did enough today.”

He wants to do more next week.

“I don’t plan to take second,” he said.

The 2021 3A state runner-up, Marion scored 52 points Wednesday. Solon (79) and CCA (91) also advanced.

“I’m super happy with my time and our team placement,” Cook said. “I was able to get away from the pack, pulled away and sustained it.”

Brock Hilsman of CCA was third; Vinton-Shellsburg’s Eli Page and Elijah Blix were 4-5.

Girls Results

Teams (top 3 qualify) — 1. Solon 40, 2. Clear Creek Amana 76, 3. Clear Lake 83, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 107, 5. Decorah 126, 6. Marion 162, 7. C.R. Xavier 164, 8. Waverly-Shell Rock 165, 9. Charles City 260, 10. West Delaware 277, 11. Vinton-Shellsburg 322.

Individual state qualifiers — 1. Kayla Young (Solon), 18:32 (course record); 2. Haidyn Barker (CCA), 19:08; 3. Addison Doughan (CL), 19:09; 4. Emma Arnold (CRX), 19:42; 5. Lucy Murphy (DbqW), 19:52; 6. Lydia Maas (Hampton-Dumont/CAL), 18:54; 7. Sydney Dee (Solon), 20:00; 8. Gracie Federspiel (Solon), 20:06; 9. Lilah Takes (DbqW), 20:10; 10. Sara Kinzenbaw (CCA), 20:10; 11. Lilian Graham (DbqW), 20:11; 12. Mary Fiala (Solon), 20:11; 13. Emily McLaughlin (CL), 20:12; 14. Kira Barker (CCA), 20:19; 15. Sydney Bochmann (WSR), 20:21.

Boys Results

Teams (top 3 qualify) — 1. Marion 52, 2. Solon 79, 3. Clear Creek Amana 91, 4. Vinton-Shellsburg 132, 5. Decorah 142, 6. Waverly-Shell Rock 167, 7. Charles City 169, 8. Clear Lake 170, 9. Dubuque Wahlert 198, 10. West Delaware 251, 11. C.R. Xavier 274, 12. Independence 383, 13. Hampton-Dumont/CAL 408.

Individual state qualifiers — 1. Jedidiah Osgood (Marion), 15:33 (course record); 2. Cooper Cook (Marion), 16:37; 3. Brock Hilsman (CCA), 16:39; 4. Eli Page (V-S), 16:39; 5. Elijah Blix (V-S), 16:44; 6. Michael Yeomans (Solon), 16:46; 7. Jack Crane (CL), 16:48; 8. Caleb Hoins (WSR), 16:52; 9. Xander Graeser (ChC), 16:52; 10. Nick Williams (ChC), 17:01; 11. Brick Kabela (Solon), 17:09; 12. Kyle Powers (DbqW), 17:10; 13. Isaac Sorensen (CCA), 17:11; 14. Jayden Brookins (DbqW), 17:12; 15. Jordan Fischer (Marion), 17:12.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com