Linn-Mar on the verge of big things in cross country

MARION -- Things have changed dramatically during Carolyn Newhouse's four years in the Linn-Mar High School cross country program.

The teams have gotten bigger. And better.

"I remember when I was a freshman, if you ran 16:40, you'd have made varsity," said Newhouse, a senior. "Now you have to run 16:20, maybe 16-flat."

Linn-Mar is on the verge of becoming a cross country giant. And not just in numbers -- 105 in all (more than 60 boys while the girls' roster is in the 40s).

"When I started here (14 years ago), a running culture doesn't exist," said Todd Goodell, the only Metro cross country coach that leads both the boys' and girls' teams. "We had to create an environment in which kids wanted to be around."

Goodell takes both squads to Lakeside Golf Course near Fort Dodge on Saturday for the state meet; the girls run in the 4A race at 11 a.m., the boys at 11:30. Both are capable of big things.

Led by sophomore Josh Evans -- an individual title hopeful -- the boys are in a pack of more than five teams that are chasing West Des Moines Dowling, the favorite.

The girls?

"Best-case scenario is a championship," Goodell said. "We would have to put up a number of around 50-60 points. To do that, we'll need a couple girls in the single digits."

Cedar Rapids Xavier won a couple of 3A girls' state titles (in 2003 and 2006), but the last Metro school to do it in the big class? That was Cedar Rapids Jefferson in 1980.

"(A championship) is not a probability, but I think it is a possibility," said Newhouse, who is weighing college options from Marquette University, Central College and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. "We'll need four runners in the top 20."

Newhouse is more than capable. She was sixth last year. Another senior, Brooklynn Kascel, could do it too. Both are dealing with health issues, though -- Newhouse with her foot, Kascel is coming off a fever that hit her a few days before the regional meet.

At regionals, Linn-Mar had four girls in the top 10. Newhouse was third, Rachel Perry fourth, Morgan Uridil sixth and Maddie Saville ninth. The Lions defeated perennial power Iowa City West by 12 points.

West edged the boys, 56-58.

Linn-Mar's development can be directly attributed to its middle-school program, which was started five years ago.

"I was in seventh grade when it started," Newhouse said. "My dad (Michael) is a runner and tried to get me to run in fifth and sixth grade, but I never wanted to.

"I went out in seventh grade and I've really grown to like it."

The Iowa Association of Track Coaches holds a middle-school meet each October at Saydel. Linn-Mar's seventh- and eighth-grade girls and seventh-grade boys won Class 4A championships this year while the eighth-grade boys were second.

"Things are looking promising for a number of years down the road now," Goodell said.