Central sending two runners to state
Hannah Asche (right) placed seventh and Jaydin Dettman ninth at the Oct. 20 state qualifying meet in Cascade, to punch their tickets to state cross country. (Photos by Bev Hamann)
Gavin Holst led the Central boys with a hard fought 17th place finish, in a course best time of 18:42.
Delaney Scherf finished 17th at the Oct. 20 state qualifying meet.
Carter Kruger crossed the finish line 85th at Cascade.
Taylor Moser raced to 19th place at the state qualifying meet.
Michael White posted a career best time at Cascade.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
Central cross country coach Martha Bauder summed up the state qualifying meet at Cascade in one word: “bittersweet.”
The reason is because of the mixed results for the girls team, which failed to qualify for the state meet after finishing tied for second place with Cascade Western Dubuque. The Warriors were ultimately eliminated through a tiebreaker system of going to the higher placing sixth place runner for each team. In this case, the Warriors’ sixth runner finished 32nd, while Cascade’s was 27th.
“With so many seniors on our team and the incredible amount of work the team put in this season, it was a heartbreaking scene for them, their coaches and their families,” Bauder said.
On the other hand, though, the cross country program continued its success of sending individual runners to state, as Hannah Asche and Jaydin Dettman both qualified.
Bauder said she was thrilled as both girls finished in the top 10 of an outstanding group of athletes, which included five runners who are currently rated in the top 30 from across the state in class 1A.
Asche finished the race seventh, tying her course best time of 21:47. The trip to state will be Asche’s third appearance, something she first achieved in 2019, when she finished 36th. Last season, Asche placed 46th. Teammate Dettman returns to state for the second time, coming off a ninth place finish at the state qualifier after running a course best 21:51. Dettman will look to improve on last year’s 81st place finish at state.
The rest of the Warrior girls included Delaney Scherf in 17th, Taylor Moser 19th, Hayley Frieden 31st, Coral Rork 32nd and Eva Embretson 37th.
On the boys side, the team competed hard, finishing 10th of 13 complete teams. State hopeful Gavin Holst led Central with a hard fought 17th place finish, in a course best time of 18:42. Unfortunately, Holst’s time was not fast enough to qualify for state, bringing an end to the boys season.
The remaining athletes actually ran the course at Cascade for the first time, but they “battled the hills admirably,” Bauder said.
Michael White posted a career best time after finding out the day before the race that he would be running as a replacement on the varsity team for the state qualifying meet. Collin Jaster finished 39th, while Vaughn Zittergruen came in 71st. Caden Fette finished 80th, Carter Kruger 85th, Bryce Heller 87th and Tate Berns 88th.
“With our team being so young this year…we are already looking forward to huge improvements after this year of experience. Berns will be missed for sure with his outstanding leadership qualities, but we’re sure the younger runners have learned from him and will carry on next year,” Bauder said.
Asche and Dettman will compete in the Class 1A state meet this Friday, Oct. 28, at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
