Clear Lake battles conditions to place 15th as a team in Class 3A

(Above) Clear Lake’s Ryan Faught and Justin Wright compete at the State Cross Country Meet Saturday.  Faught finished in 38th place, while Wright was 75th.  -Photos courtesy of Don Pedelty

The Clear Lake cross country team battled cold and windy conditions, as well as a tough Class 3A field at the State Cross Country Meet. The Lions, a Class 2A qualifier last year, finished 15th as a team in 3A.

Coach Nick DiMarco said despite finishing further back in the placements than his team had hoped, the final meet was testament to the large strides the program continued to take in 2017.  It was the third straight year the Lions qualified as a team for State.

“The kids kept talking about how fast the pack started.  They said the 2A start last year was not nearly as fast,” said DiMarco.

Following last year’s State Meet the Lions were already excited for the 2017 event.   Prior to 2015, the Lions had not sent a team to the State cross country meet since 1988. They would have been considered a favorite to compete for a State title, as they lost just one senior from the 2016 team which placed eighth in 2A. However, reclassification pushed the Lions up a class by virtue of just a handful of students.

“This summer the boys were talking about wanting to finish in the top five in the 2A State Meet. When they found out about the change they just sharpened their focus and vowed to be the best they could be in any class,” said Coach DiMarco.  “This team has had the most team success of any Clear Lake team in the time that I have been around— and we have had several good teams in that time.  They really focused on making each other better and committing the time and miles needed to be

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successful.”

Senior Sam Pedelty, led the way for the Lions at State, placing 30th in 17:00.4.  Coach DiMarco noted Pedlety improved his time by 32 seconds over last year.  In addition to his outstanding performance at State, he was also the North Central Conference champion this season.

Junior Eric Faught was next for the Lions. He finished in 38th place in a time of 17:05.8.

“Eric ran an incredible last mile, passing a large number of runners,” said Coach DiMarco.

Ike Branstad also used the State Meet to cap a great senior season.  Branstad set a personal best 33 seconds faster than last year, according to his coach.  At State, he placed 55th in 17:25.9.

Justin Wright was experiencing State for the first time.  The freshman put together one of his best races to finish in 75th place in a time of 17:48.2.

Senior Karter Anderson crossed the State finish line in 92nd place to complete Clear Lake’s scoring.  He was clocked in 18:27.7.

Also competing at State was Lewis Callaway, a junior, and senior Dylan Schuchard.  Callaway came in 95th in 18:33.1 and Schuchard was 99th in 18:49.0.

“Lewis Callaway, Karter Anderson and Justin Wright all ran one of their best races of the year and Dylan was 30 seconds faster than last year,” said Coach DiMarco.   “It will be very difficult to replace these seniors. They have played a big roll in elevating our program and their leadership has provided a solid foundation for next year.”

Gilbert won the Class 3A team title with 75 points, finishing with two sophomore runners in the top 10 and five runners in the top 25.  Dallas Center-Grimes was second with 113 points, edging third place Deborah which had 115.  The first six teams were the only ones to finish under 200 points.   Clear Lake was 15th in the 15-team field with 290 points.

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