Tigers punch ticket to state cross country meet
Emmanuel Grass and Hayden Heitbrink placed first and second and the Red Oak boys punched its ticket to this week’s Iowa State Cross Country Meet at Thursday’s Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Pella Christian.
The Tigers placed third as a team, one point back of runner-up PCM-Monroe. Pella Christian was the team champion with a score of 52. The state team bid is Red Oak’s first since 2014.
Grass topped the field with a time of 16:34 to win the district championship. He was followed 13 seconds later by teammate and runner-up Heitbrink. Osiel Pedersen placed sixth in 17:10 to gives the Tigers three place winners among the top 10.
“The boys team came out with a goal and they achieved it,” said Red Oak coach Sueann French. “Having three guys in the top 10 was huge. A district hampion was so exciting to see and Emmanuel deserves every bit of that title. He works so hard in and out of season. We are not done. We hope to finish well at state. We have a few sick kids so once we get over that I think we will be 100 percent for next week.”
Casey Johnson added a 22nd time of 18:07 and Bryce Williams was 30th in 18:47 to complete the Tigers’ scoring.
The Red Oak girls, with just four runners, didn’t post a team score but got a pair of personal records from Cate Horn and Leya Walker. Horn ran a 24:13 for 48th and Walker ran 25:33 for 64th. Gabby Smith added a 71st place finish and Gillian Heim was 73rd.
“Super proud of our entire team tonight,” French said. “The girls started off with most setting a personal record to end their amazing season. We’ve seen great growth in the girls.”
The state cross country meet runs Friday and Saturday at Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge. The Red Oak boys race on Friday in the 2A race at 11:15 a.m.
Class 2A State Qualifying Cross Country Meet at Pella Christian
Girls Team Scores
1. Pella Christian, 59. 2. PCM-Monroe, 61. 3. Albia, 83. 4. Grand View Christian, 106. 5. Shenandoah, 112. 6. I-35, 138. 7. Davis County, 166. 8. Clarinda, 179.
Red Oak Girls Place Winners
48. Cate Horn, 24:13. 64. Leya Walker, 25:33. 71. Gabby Smith, 26:45. 73. Gillian Heim, 27:28.
Boys Team Results
1. Pella Christian, 52. 2. PCM-Monroe, 60. 3. Red Oak, 61. 4. Shenandoah, 102. 5. Albia, 150. 6. Grand View Christian, 152. 7. Davis County, 173. 8. Clarinda, 213. 9. Underwood, 277. 10. Cardinal Eldon, 287. 11. Eddyville-Blakesburg, 312. 12. I-35, 314. 13. West Central Valley, 362. 14. Centerville, 424.
Boys Team Results
1. Emmanuel Grass, 16:34. 2. Hayden Heitbrink, 16:47. 6. Osiel Pedersen, 17:10. 22. Casey Johnson, 18:07. 30. Bryce Williams, 18:47. 44. Manuel DeLeon, 19:49. 68. Cale Hall, 21:29.