West Fork freshman Makenna Dick and the North Butler boys cross country team both capped standout seasons with state meet appearances Saturday in Fort Dodge, including a historic first full-team qualification for the Bearcats in Class 1A.
In the girls varsity race, Dick turned in a time of 21:13 and finished 66th out of a field of 158 runners in her first state appearance.
In the boys varsity race, senior Brady Henning led the Bearcats with a personal-record time of 17:04, placing 24th overall. Henning says he hopes this year’s success shows younger Bearcats what’s possible.
“I’m hoping they can see that anything’s possible if you really put your mind to it”, says Henning. And through a bunch of hard work, you can get there.”
Junior Ezra Almelien finished in 17:33, while senior Trager Pecha crossed the line in 17:44 for North Butler. The Bearcats finished 15th overall as a team after entering the state meet ranked 16th in Class 1A.
North Butler Head Coach Kirk Clark says the historic team achievement reflects years of dedication and steady growth within the program.
“We’ve worked on this for years,” says Clark. “This is my 17th year as cross country coach. We’ve been so close so many times, and just to get it done—and just the bunch of boys that we brought down this year and as hard as they all work—that’s what’s so rewarding. It’s just, they get to run here no matter how good they are or whatever. They’re here. They’re enjoying it. They’re part of this team—first team in North Butler history to do this. This is just an awesome experience.”
Full results can be found here.
