The Hampton-Dumont-CAL and Iowa Falls-Alden varsity boys and girls cross country teams will travel to Ames on Wednesday for a Class 3A state-qualifying meet. Runners will compete on the Iowa State Cross Country Course.
The first three teams, plus the first 15 individual place winners will advance to the state meet at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge on Friday, Oct. 31.
In the girls varsity field of 92 runners, Iowa Falls-Alden’s Demi Beaubien enters with the seventh-best time at 19:42. Teammate Piper Smith is 25th at 21:30, and Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s MacKenzy Valley follows closely in 27th at 21:33.
The boys varsity field includes 152 runners. Iowa Falls-Alden’s Andrew Herrin holds the 19th-fastest time at 17:50, while Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s William Vosburg is listed 46th with a time of 19:05.
At last week’s North Central Conference meet, the Iowa Falls-Alden girls finished fourth, the Iowa Falls-Alden boys placed sixth, and the Hampton-Dumont-CAL boys took eighth.
Iowa Falls-Alden Head Coach Michael Rottink says the conference meet serves as a way for his runners to understand the level of competition and atmosphere they’ll face in the postseason.
“It really impresses in them that every single spot counts, which is really important going into districts because there we’re seeing all those 3A schools that we run against,” says Rottink. “And so this is a real good tune-up. It’s good to have a championship atmosphere here, knowing that it counts — that there’s a chance to bring home a plaque or bring home a conference medal. So it gets us in that end-of-the-year kind of championship mode, so it definitely is a good tune-up for us.”
The meet begins at 4 p.m.
Full interview with Head Coach Michael Rottink is below;
