Ainsworth XC Girls Runners-Up at State
Boys' Team Places Third
by Jared Hansmeyer
October 25, 2007
The Lady Bulldogs Cross Country Team finished up the season in a grand fashion as they ran themselves into a second place finish in the Class D field Friday at the NSAA State Cross Country Championships held at the Kearney Country Club. The boys’ team just missed out on adding a second piece of state hardware to the trophy case, as they finished third. In all, four Ainsworth runners medaled by finishing in the top fifteen of their respective divisions.
This season, the ladies’ team had only three meets where they walked away with team champion or runner-up hardware. The girls’ team chose the biggest of the meets to add a trophy to their collection. After finishing four points behind Oakland/Craig for third place at the district meet the previous week, the Lady Bulldogs turned the tables on the Knights from Oakland/Craig and edged them out for second with a 71 to 74 count. Leading the way for Ainsworth was senior Hannah Johnson. Johnson was the lone individual medalist for the Bulldogs, as she finished thirteenth in a time of 16:46.
“Hannah had an excellent senior season. I’m very happy to see Hannah come away with an individual medal to go with all of her team medals that she has won throughout her career. Two state runner-up finishes as well as one state championship finish in four years is extremely impressive,” commented first year head coach Jared Hansmeyer. “I had to ask Hannah several times how this whole medal ceremony worked. I knew with her experience that she should know.”
Finishing behind Johnson was freshman Mattea Gallegos. Gallegos was impressive late in the race, going around a handful of runners in the last half mile. Gallegos finished in 22nd place with a time of 17:04. Following Gallegos was junior Katie Appleman. Appleman, who broke out of a late season slump just the week ago, used a strong kick down the final 200 meters of the race to propel her into 50th place with a time of 17:44. Behind Appleman was senior Natasha Bromwich. Bromwich finished her rookie campaign of cross country with another solid outing. Bromwich placed 53rd in a time of 17:50.
“Natasha was a nice surprise addition to the team this year. I don’t think even Natasha knew she would be out for cross country just hours leading up to the start of the season. She was one of the most consistent runners on this team all year. It’s amazing that Natasha appeared to be a veteran runner when this was her first experience being around the sport,” said Coach Hansmeyer.
Rounding out the Ainsworth runners were junior Shaunna Watts and sophomore Tessa Jacobsen. Watts gave another gutsy performance as she battled late season knee pain to finish 72nd in a time of 18:11. Jacobsen was the final Ainsworth runner as she finished 81st in a time of 18:25.
In the team scoring, the D-3 District at Bloomfield was well represented. Crofton, the champion from the district, also took home the state title, as they scored 56 points. Second and third was flip-flop of the district finish. Ainsworth prevailed this time over Oakland/Craig. In all, six of the top fifteen medalists came from the Bloomfield district.
“I am very happy for this girls’ team. These girls are a great testament to ‘never stop believing in yourself.’ A lot of teams that finish third in their own district wouldn’t have the will to bounce back and make a run at the other teams in the state like they did. I don’t think what they’ve done has actually sunk in yet. From talking with them the day before the meet, I knew that they had plans to be on the medal stands. These girls backed up their talk with their performance.”
The boys’ team made a valiant effort to add another trophy but came away ten points shy in the end. Senior Lane Carr led a trio of Bulldogs to the medal stands by finishing 9th in a 17:48. Carr fought overexertion symptoms in the medical tent at the finish line.
“Lane ran himself until he just about dropped. His performance was very representative of the effort that we received from everybody today. I’m happy that Lane came away with a medal. Lane is deserving of all the success he has had throughout his career. He works hard throughout the summer, and there is never an off-season with this guy. Lane will probably be on the roads getting ready for track sometime early next week, if not sooner,” commented Hansmeyer.
Behind Carr were seniors Adam Ford and Joey Schumacher. Ford finished up his senior campaign with an 11th place finish in 18:01. Schumacher showed the hidden talent of fast leg turnover as he passed people during the final stretch to finish 13th in a time of 18:08.
“Adam had a solid senior season. He was our number one runner for a good portion of early season and was always so solid week in and week out. He’s a guy that,as a coach, you take for granted because he’ll deliver that great performance and make it look so easy every meet.”
“I think you would be hard pressed to find another athlete that improved as much as Joey did from the beginning of the season until the end. Something clicked for Joey around the Broken Bow meet, and he just went crazy. If you would have told me that Joey would run 18:08 to be a state medalist, I’m not sure if I would have believed you. Joey is another fine example that there are no limits to a person who fully applies himself to something,” said coach Hansmeyer.
Kraig Freeman ran fourth for the Bulldogs. Freeman finished out his cross country career by finishing 68th in a time of 19:32. “Kraig did a nice job for us this year. I know Kraig probably considers himself a basketball player first and runner second, but we’ve appreciated his contributions to the team this year.”
Senior Kyle Klammer was next across the line for the Bulldogs. Klammer ran 20:05 to finish 90th. “Kyle had a fine senior season. I know Kyle feels that he could have run better, but I hope that he doesn’t let that detract from the great things that he has done over this season and in his career. I know that his performance wasn’t because of a lack of effort. We talked before the race about leaving everything out on the course, and there is not a person on either the girls’ or boys’ team who didn’t just do that.”
Junior Michael Sholes was the final Ainsworth finisher. Sholes finished 94th in a time of 20:13.
“As a coach, this has been a very rewarding season. I feel very blessed to have the quality of athletes that I had to work with this season. I need to thank Phil Hoyt and Tami Jacobsen for the quality of program that continues to churn out some of the neatest student/athletes that I’ve had the chance to be around. This senior class of Hannah, Natasha, Lane, Adam, Joey, Kraig, and Kyle is going to be awfully hard to replace. Hopefully, the underclassmen will follow the example set by these departing seniors. We will need these underclassmen to exhibit that type of dedication if we hope to continue the tradition of success that Ainsworth Cross Country has been accustomed to.”
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Girls Crofton- 54 Ainsworth- 71 Oakland-Craig- 74 Bayard- 91 Eustis-Farnam- 107 Lincoln Lutheran- 128 Morrill- 132 Kearney Catholic- 136 Aquinas Catholic- 139 Kimball- 141 Malcolm- 157 Twin River- 167 Freeman- 167 McCool Junction- 183 Bertrand/Loomis- 198 |
Boys Perkins County- 48 Dundy County/Stratton- 52 Ainsworth- 62 Yutan- 71 Kimball- 74 Malcolm- 97 Lindsay Holy Family- 124 Lincoln Lutheran- 125 Crofton- 151 Bertrand/Loomis- 165 Grand Island CC- 180 Wilcox/Hildreth- 190 East Butler- 197 Oakland/Craig- 224 Kearney Catholic- 228 |
