High School

Iowa High School State Cross Country Champions Crowned

Eight more state cross country titles handed out in Fort Dodge

Dana Becker

Cedar Falls Jaden Merrick finishes his race in the 4A high school boys cross Country at Lakeside Golf Course on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Cedar Falls Jaden Merrick finishes his race in the 4A high school boys cross Country at Lakeside Golf Course on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa high school state cross country season officially came to a close Saturday from Fort Dodge, Iowa and Lakeside Golf Course at Kennedy Park.

Class 4A and 1A runners hit the trail a day after the 2A and 3A qualifiers did the same.Β 

Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls put down the second-fastest time ever at the Iowa high school state cross country championships, winning the 4A title in 14:54.6. The only time faster came on Friday from Western Dubuque sensation Quentin Nauman.

Merrick had twice previously finished as the state runner-up.

Preston Johnson of Marshalltown was the runner-up, finishing less than two seconds behind Merrick, as Keegan Decker of Iowa City Liberty was third. Kuma Gutema from Sioux City North placed fourth and Jack Crossland of Johnston was fifth.

While Merrick is a senior, Johnson, Decker and Crossland are just juniors while Gutema is a sophomore.

Despite Merrick’s gold-medal performance, Cedar Falls came up two points short in the team race, as Indianola captured first iwth 102 points. Ankeny Centennial, ranked 12th entering, finished third overall.

Piper Messerly Scores Second Straight State Title

Dallas Center-Grimes junior Piper Messerly dominated the 4A girls race, as the junior captured her second state title in as many seasons. Messerly posted a time of 17:41, just about seven seconds ahead of runner-up Sundet Laney from Waukee Northwest.

While denied the individual title, Waukee Northwest did earn team gold, placing three runners inside of the Top 15. Pleasant Valley was second and Johnston third. It is the first team state cross country championship for the Wolves.

Behind Messerly and Laney was Tenley Heidgerken from Dallas Center-Grimes, as Joley Sullivan of Davenport Central and Maddie Millage of Pleasant Valley completed the Top 5.

Lili Denton Defends 1A Cross Country Crown

Council Bluffs St. Albert senior Lili Denton raced to another state cross country championship, earning the 1A title in a time of 17:56.

Denton defended her crown from a season ago, besting the field by nearly seven seconds.

Pekin’s Chloe Glosser was the runner-up as Lauren Krogmann from Starmont finished third.Β 

In the team race, South Winneshiek held off Sumner-Fredericksburg, as Hudson was third, Earlham fourth and Madrid fifth.

Riverside Oakland Runs to 1A Boys Team Crown

With all five counting runners placing inside the Top 20 among qualified teams, Riverside Oakland posted 54 points and won the 1A boys team title. Lake Mills was second and Ankeny Christian finished third.

Dawson Henderson, Owen Fenner, Eli Hudnall and Brody Henderson were all Top 15 overall finishers for the Bulldogs, led by Dawson Henderson in fifth.

Sophomore Huge Conway went 15:50 to claim the individual title for South Winneshiek, as Hayden Thompson of Lake Mills was second and teammate Knute Rogne finished third.

Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships

Boys Team Standings

Class 4A

  1. Indianola
  2. Cedar Falls
  3. Ankeny Centennial
  4. Cedar Rapids Prairie
  5. Johnston
  6. Dallas Center-Grimes
  7. Iowa City High
  8. Dubuque Senior
  9. Dowling Catholic
  10. Dubuque Hempstead
  11. Bettendorf
  12. Waukee Northwest
  13. Norwalk
  14. Iowa City Liberty
  15. Pleasant Valley

Class 1A

  1. Riverside Oakland
  2. Lake Mills
  3. Ankeny Christian
  4. Earlham
  5. Springville
  6. Columbus
  7. Louisa-Muscatine
  8. East Sac County
  9. South Winneshiek
  10. Lynnville-Sully
  11. Sioux Central
  12. Van Buren County
  13. Beckman Catholic
  14. Pekin
  15. North Butler
  16. Nodaway Valley

Girls Team Standings

Class 4A

  1. Waukee Northwest
  2. Pleasant Valley
  3. Johnston
  4. Dallas Center-Grimes
  5. Ankeny Centennial
  6. Cedar Falls
  7. Iowa City High
  8. Waukee
  9. Dubuque Senior
  10. Dowling Catholic
  11. Ames
  12. Valley
  13. Linn-Mar
  14. Cedar Rapids Prairie
  15. Norwalk

Class 1A

  1. South Winneshiek
  2. Sumner-Fredericksburg
  3. Hudson
  4. Earlham
  5. Madrid
  6. Martensdales-St. Marys
  7. Van Buren County
  8. English Valleys
  9. Collins-Maxwell
  10. Sioux Central
  11. Tri-Center
  12. Newell-Fonda
  13. Sibley-Ocheyedan
  14. Wapsie Valley
  15. Lynnville-Sully
  16. Alta-Aurelia

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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