Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond boys cross country returning letterwinners are (left to right) Anthony Valles, Jonah Carlson and Erik Larson.

Led by returning medalist Anthony Valles, the St. Edmond boys cross country team will look to complete a new group that will help get the Gaels back to the state meet.

Valles, a senior, placed sixth overall in Class 1A a season ago. He enters his final high school season as the No. 2 ranked runner in 1A, and is the second-highest returning state runner.

Joining Valles from a team that finished ninth last fall is classmate Jonah Carlson and junior Erik Larson. St. Edmond is replacing four key contributors including current Iowa Central runners Liam Shannon and Levi Odor-Westrum.

“It’s going to be tough to replace the guys we lost, especially Liam and Levi,” SEHS head coach Mike Szalat said. “I feel like this season is going to be a work in progress outside of Anthony, Erik and Jonah.”

Juniors Dylan Brokaw, Andrew Horrell, Aidan Reel and Abram Ribbens are joined by sophomores Ethan Cibert and Owen Rutherford, and freshmen Andrew Barwin and Gordon Seeden to complete the roster.

“All of the rest of the guys outside of our Top-3 are going to be interchangeable,” Szalat said. “I feel like our lineup could — and probably will — look different meet-to-meet from three-on just because kids could have a good week and move up.”

Carlson placed 114th at state and Larson was 128th overall. St. Edmond had six Top-10 finishes last year, including runner-up trophies at the North Central Conference championships, a 1A state-qualifying meet and the Southeast Valley Invitational.

Valles was the NCC runner-up as a junior, as Carlson placed 26th and Larson was one position behind him.

“Anthony ran over 400 miles this summer and is going to be our stick,” Szalat said. “Erik put in over 500, breaking a record for the summer that was set by Cody Solverson back in 2001. He is in his best shape to begin a season yet, and Jonah had a strong close to last year, so we are working to get him back to that level.

“We are going to rely on those three guys a lot, and we know they are capable of really giving us a solid team score. But we’re going to need other kids to step up. Aidan, Ethan and Abram all put in a lot of miles running together and have looked like varsity guys in the preseason.”

The schedule this fall includes meets hosted by Southeast Valley, Webster City, Ridge View, Humboldt, Algona and the Fort Dodge Invitational. The NCC championships are slated for Oct. 14 in Algona while the 1A state qualifier will take place Oct. 23.

The 1A portion of the state cross country championships are set for Nov. 1 at Lakeside Golf Course and Kennedy Park.

Szalat will be assisted by CJ Tracy.

2025 ST. EDMOND BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Roster

Seniors — Jonah Carlson, Anthony Valles.

Juniors — Dylan Brokaw, Andrew Horrell, Erik Larson, Aidan Reel, Abram Ribbens.

Sophomores — Ethan Cibert, Owen Rutherford.

Freshmen — Andrew Barwin, Gordon Seeden.

Schedule

Aug. 28 — at Southeast Valley.

Sept. 2 — at Webster City; 13 — at Ridge View (CYO); 22 — at Humboldt; 29 — at Algona.

Oct. 9 — at Fort Dodge; 14 — at North Central Conference championships in Algona; 23 — at state-qualifying meet.