The Class 1A portion of the State Cross Country meet wrapped up Saturday late afternoon with a mixture of sunshine, clouds and wind. The girls started at 3:30 with Grace Slater of Audubon and Emma Schroeder of East Sac both getting off to good starts out of their respective grids. The two girls ran near the top 20 most of the race with a very quick pace. Slater was able to fight through being boxed in a couple times. She said her experience from having run at state before helped her understand how to deal with it better than previous years. She found a couple girls she had run with at meets throughout the season and was able to set a pace close to what she wanted to run. She was happy with her race but was hoping to finish in the top 15 and make it on the podium. She finished 19th this season in 20:42.6 and says that will push her to get plenty of miles in during the off-season. Emma Schroeder qualified for State in her first season of running cross country and the junior said she was very nervous when she woke up on Saturday morning but was very excited to be going to Fort Dodge. Once she walked the course she felt it helped calm her nerves as she realized the wind wouldn’t be as much of an issue. Schroeder got off to a very good start and knew she needed to get out in front of the other runners in her grid so she wouldn’t get boxed in. The pace was faster than she expected and she was able to run that pace through the early part of the race. She used the wind when it was at her back to help push her she was very pleased with how she handled the early part of the race but in the back half she felt she tired out a little do the pace and a few girls passed her. Schroeder was able to close strong as she had a good kick and passed a girl just before the finish line to take 35th place in 21:45. Schroeder says being at State this season will push her to put more miles in during the off-season.
Quentin Dreyer of IKM-Manning wrapped up a great career making it back to the State Cross Country meet as a senior. He finished 24th in 17:29.3. Dreyer noticed how windy it was during his walk through so he used other runners to draft off of and found a few guys he had run against this season. He was able to pass several people during the uphill portion and had a really strong close to the race passing several other runners. Dreyer felt he got off to a good start which allowed him to run the pace he wanted to. The first mile and half was a little quick and he adjusted and slowed down to allow himself to finish strong. He gave everything he had down the slope to the finish line and said it seems longer than it is but knew this may be his last cross country race so he gave it all he had left.
Times and places
Grace Slater 19th in 20:42.6
Emma Schroeder 35th in 21:14.5
Quentin Dreyer 24th in 17:29.3
