WHAT A START!
Dodger boys earn first XC win since 2015
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GOWRIE -- Cael Hansen and the Fort Dodge boys cross country squad showed immediate potential for 2026.
Hansen led the Dodgers to a victory at the Southeast Valley Invitational on Thursday night. The Fort Dodge senior was the meet runner-up in a time of 17:36.14, behind only ACGC's Preston Kent (17:24.50).
"Cael did an awesome job and I'm really proud and happy for him," said FDSH head coach Austin Read. "Coming out and getting a PR in the first meet of the season shows his effort and dedication.
"Not only am I proud of his performance, but the way he's stepped up as a leader."
Senior Jayce Point (18:07.06) and sophomore Jones Hensley (18:07.60) finished third and fourth to give the Dodgers a trio of runners in the Top-5.
Corban McHone (19:08.04) was 14th and Grant Maxson (19:33.23) was 27th for the final counting score. Myles Summers (21:07.85) and Landon Waynar (21:08.75) were 53rd and 54th, respectively, for Fort Dodge.
This is the first meet victory for the Dodgers since the team took the Humboldt Invitational in 2015.
"I really felt like every kid on the team competed strongly," Read said. "Before the meet, I said I don't care about time and place.
"We knew our top two guys would have solid times. All of them turned out for summer workouts. This was the 13th week of training for most of them."
St. Edmond
The Gaels had two runners in the Top-16, as they finished sixth with 152 points – just behind Manson Northwest Webster (124).
"We had a pretty good race on the boys side," said SEHS head coach Mike Szalat. "I saw a lot of competitiveness out of the guys. We have five freshmen making a move to high school. I'm excited to see where that goes."
Senior Erik Larson (19:00.64) was 12th and Gordon Seeden (19:20.39) placed 16th. Aidan Reel (19:59.34) finished 33rd, while Ethan Cibert (20:48.45) placed 47th and Andrew Barwin (21:02.39) was 51st.
Abram Ribbens (22:58.98) was 80th and Dylan Brokaw (25:05.42) crossed in 112th.
"We got out faster than I typically would like," Szalat said. "But I think that might be something we have to look at because we gained ground at 800 and I think we're in better shape than I thought.”
Southeast Valley
The Jaguars finished third in the team race with 103 points.
Senior Owen Nuss started his final season with a seventh-place showing. Nuss clocked a time of 18:33.09.
August Akins (19:20.39) was 17th, while Griffin Vote (19:30.47) took 25th. Landon Vote (19:33.25) and Kasen Loeler (19:34.03) rounded out the scoring for the Jaguars in 28th and 29th, respectively.
Manson NW
The Cougars had 124 points and placed fifth.
Manson Northwest Webster freshman Levi Ollinger (18:25.59) started out his career strong with a sixth-place performance.
Kyle Widlund (18:56.66) was 11th and Thomas Lundberg (19:55.29) placed 32nd.
Brown Poutre (20:25.80) took 38th and Logan Meyer (20:33.56) finished 40th.
South Central Calhoun
Declan Spencer (18:36.04) turned in the top performance for the Titans, placing eighth.
Greene County
The Rams earned runner-up honors, placing six runners in the Top-25.
Nick Black (19:14.42) was the top performer for Greene County, placing 15th.
The Rams put a pack of four in the Top-25. Hayden Miller (19:23.65), Tucker Ford (19:24.72), Brady Carstensen (19:25.68) and Eli Carstensen (19:30.31) were 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd.