Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond's Aaron Lursen works his way toward the finish line on Thursday. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Cross country runners got an early look at the state course on a chillier evening run at Lakeside on Thursday.

Dowling entered as the top team in Class 4A, along with Jackson Heidesch as the No. 1 runner. Both rankings came to frution as the Maroons claimed the team championship and Heidesch was the individual gold medalist.

The Maroons placed four runners in the Top-15, scoring 55 points. Norwalk (128) was the runner-up, followed by Johnston (133), Ankeny (154) and West Des Moines Valley (168).

St. Edmond and Manson Northwest Webster — the only 1A schools in the field — and Fort Dodge were also challenged by the best.

Gael senior Aaron Lursen was the top performer, placing 73rd in a time of 17:01.6.

“We talked before the meet, how places weren’t important…it was all about the times,” said SEHS head coach Mike Szalat. “I was estatic about the way we ran. Eight of our 10 guys tied or had PRs.

“As a coach, you can’t ask for more than that. The kids are buying into what we are doing.”

Other counting scores for St. Edmond were Sam Mericle (17:51.3), Thomas Cosgrove (18:40.0), Liam Shannon (18:40.8) and Anthony Valles (19:04.8). Also competing were Carter Rial (19:42.5) and Jonah Carlson (21.07.4).

“To put it into perspective, Aaron ran 17 seconds faster than he did at state (in 2021),” Szalat said. “Our No. 2 was 20 seconds faster and our No. 3 was six seconds faster. Our No. 4 was 18 seconds quicker.

“Thomas had a PR…it was a great meet for him. He’s been beating himself up about how it has been going at practices, but he deserves a tremendous amount of credit.”

Fort Dodge senior Ryan Madden (17:17.1) placed 92nd for the Dodgers. Michael Wagner (18:23.3), Micah Flaherty (18:32.6), Shawn Roberts (18:54.7), Tanner Teske (19:03.9), Joshua Madden (19:46.3) and Brady Major (19:52.6) also competed for the Dodgers.

“Just about all of our runners had personal bests or season bests,” said FDSH head coach Joe Jackson. “It was a super night and I was proud of how they ran, especially since it is Homecoming week.

“It was a tremendous performance from our group.”

Hosting a meet on the state course takes a tremendous amount of help and support. Jackson appreciated how everyone comes together to make this event go off without a hitch.

“It’s a great thing to host this meet. Everyone wants to run on the state course,” Jackson said. “I think we do a great job with our volunteers and making it a great place to come and visit.

“Fran (Long) does an exceptional job starting the races. We love hosting, especially with the support of Iowa Central and Dee Brown and his kids. The Fort Dodge schools, the city and Lakeside do a tremendous job. It was a great night to run.”

Fort Dodge hosts state cross country for the 30th time Oct. 28 and 29.