Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge boys cross country returning letterwinners are (left to right) Owen Gruver, Jayce Point, Cael Hansen, Aidan Recker, Jaxson Lowrey-Jones and Corbin McHone. Not pictured: Elijah Lawrence.

Fort Dodge boys cross country coach Joe Jackson sees a lot of potential in this year’s group.

The Dodgers return seven letterwinners, led by senior Aidan Recker and junior Cael Hansen — both strong contenders to build from their successful 2024 campaigns.

Also returning for the Dodgers are seniors Owen Gruver, Jaxson Lowrey-Jones; juniors Jayce Point and Elijah Lawrence; and sophomore Corban McHone.

“We have a hard-working group,” Jackson said. “They’ve come in strong and have some (personal records) that we can knock down toward the end of the season.

“We’ll just keep getting stronger.”

Hansen enters with a career-best time of 17:40, while Recker is right behind at 17:43.

“Cael and Aidan really did well last fall and improved a lot,” Jackson said. “I think we can expect some big drops from them and get to around 17:30 and lower as the season goes on.

“We want to see a little less at the beginning, and we want them to take it easy the first part of the year. We want to be fast at the end of the season to keep them on a nice trajectory.”

Both Hansen and Recker have become leaders of the Dodger pack.

“Aidan has stepped up with his (fellow) seniors,” Jackson said. “Aidan and Jaxson have been helping with the stretches at the end. They want to see everyone do well.

“Cael is a little quieter, but leads by the way he works and shows the right way to do things.”

Point enters with a career PR of 18:05 and McHone’s is 19:13.

“Jayce is in super good shape,” Jackson said. “Corban put in a lot of miles over the summer and is working hard in practice. I think he can get down to 18 (minutes) pretty quick. Owen is right at 20 and has room for improvement.

“Myles (Summers, a sophomore) PR’d to a 19 something in a 5K, which is about two-and-half minutes faster (than his previous best). He is a lot quicker and is improving. Elijah has come on strong and with a 19:11 could be in the 18:30 range. Joos Langkjael (a sophomore foreign exchange student from Denmark) has a lot of potential as well.”

Freshman Jones Hensley was the top Fort Dodge Middle School runner a year ago.

Jackson will be assisted again by Austin Read.

“Austin is doing a great job,” Jackson said. “He’s putting together the hard workouts for the year and we are doing some different things, including running some hills.

“The kids like to be challenged.”

First action for the Dodgers will be on Thursday, when they travel to Gowrie to run in the Southeast Valley meet. They will host the Fort Dodge Invitational on Oct. 9.

2025 FORT DODGE BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Roster

Seniors — Aidan Recker, Jaxson Lowrey-Jones, Braden Kammerer, Owen Gruver, Drew Essman.

Juniors — Jayce Point, Brek Pingel, Elijah Lawrence, Cael Hansen..

Sophomores — Carter Swanson, Myles Summers, Corban McHone, Joos Langkjael, Isaiah Grim.

Freshmen — Elias Powers, Jones Hensley, Jonathan Casciato, Austin Carmody.

Schedule

Aug. 28 — at Southeast Valley; Sept. 2 — at Waverly; 11 — at Marshalltown; 16 — at Storm Lake; 23 — at Mason City; 29 — at Algona.

Oct. 9 — Fort Dodge Invitational; 15 — Alliance Conference Meet in Ottumwa.