Strong runs for Cougars
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Paige Condon will never forget the time she spent on the Manson Northwest Webster cross country team.
"Manson Northwest Webster cross country taught me many life lessons and gave me lots of memories I will never forget,'' Condon said. "I'm going to miss my cross country family."
The Cougar senior made her third and final appearance at the state meet, turning in her best performance of her career.
In last year's junior campaign, she was 33rd. Condon placed 42nd as a sophomore.
On Saturday, she crossed the tape in 25th place (21:01).
"Going into my race my goal was to be in the Top-25, so I was very proud of myself for placing 25th,'' Condon said. "We went into the race knowing it was going to hurt and that it did.
"I had nothing left and that's how I wanted to go out."
Manson Northwest Webster's Lane Moline was at the state meet in Fort Dodge a year ago, with little to no fanfare because of COVID.
His junior campaign had a much different feel.
"The atmosphere this year was much different,'' Moline said. "There were a lot more spectators and friends and family this time around.
"It was nice being able to hear familiar voices when running through crowds."
Moline, who was a qualifier as a sophomore, showed big improvements, placing 48th for the Cougars.
"My sophomore year I got around 76th, so getting 48th was a huge improvement,'' Moline said. "I ran about 45 seconds faster than last year as well.
"I also got a new personal best of 17:47, which I was super excited about."
Junior Preslie Oswald has not missed a state meet yet, and the Cougar added her second Top-20 performance. Oswald finished 19th on Saturday in a time of 20:30.
As a sophomore, Oswald was 13th. She placed 26th as a freshman.
"I am so happy with my finish, but it wasn't the goal I set for myself,'' Oswald said. "I am beyond happy with all of my teammates' performances, and couldn't be more proud of them.
"I look forward to making goals for next year and coming back stronger and faster for my senior year."
Freshman Alyssa Richman started her high school state career with a 33rd-place showing (21:14).
"It feels great to have run at the highest level of competition,'' Richman said. "Placing 33rd was a huge accomplishment. My start could've been better; I got stuck in a pack, which made it hard to make moves at the beginning of the race.
"It was awesome finishing off my season at the state course, especially with my teammates Preslie and Paige, who also had amazing races. I can't wait to see what the season holds next year for Manson Northwest Webster."