FORT DODGE, Iowa – Once Friday morning’s frost had warmed over the short grass of Lakeside Golf Course, the weekend promised to stay fast.

The 2024 Iowa High School Cross Country Championships presented by Iowa Farm Bureau ran its two-day meet with near-perfect five-kilometer conditions, with Class 3A and Class 4A crowding Kennedy Park on Friday, Nov. 1, followed by Class 1A and Class 2A on a breezier Saturday, Nov. 2.

Boys’ races opened with records Friday, creating buzz around the grounds that lasted through the eight heats. Western Dubuque junior Quentin Nauman became just the second runner to go under 15 minutes in the 5K at the IHSAA state meet, leaning in for a 14:59.6 and the Class 3A individual title. Gilbert blew open what was expected to be a close team contest by setting a four-class record with just 33 points. The Tigers defended their 3A team title led by the No. 4, 5, and 6 individuals with Jacob Tallman, Logan Bleich, and Carson Squiers.

“They’ve just been focused all year,” Gilbert coach Aaron Thomas said. “Just a quiet confidence with this group. I think they knew they were capable of this, but it’s one thing to say it and another to go out and do it. It’s fun to see them go out and put it together.”

Class 4A followed with 2023 individual champion Ethan Zuber from Ankeny racing to another title in 15:01.2. Zuber sped away from Cedar Falls junior Jaden Merrick and Iowa City Liberty sophomore Keegan Decker late, leaving the only intrigue for the team scoring behind him.

“I knew the race was going to come down to very similar as it did last year,” Zuber said. “I’ve been thinking about it all year. This last week was just a lot of mentally preparing for how we knew it was going to play out and being ready to respond.”

Class 4A had gone 15 years without a repeat individual champion, and now has had back-to-back elite runners, with Dowling Catholic’s Jackson Heidesch claiming the 2021 and 2022 titles, and Zuber taking the last two.

On the team side in 4A, Cedar Falls snapped Dowling Catholic’s run of three consecutive championships in an exciting finish that separated the top two teams 73-91.

Class 1A opened a gray but warmer Saturday of racing, as nearly 160 boys from more than 50 schools took the line alongside the lone 2024 wheelchair competitor in Bedford’s Eli Johnson.

Johnson left Lakeside Golf Course with trophy honors for the third straight year while North Iowa senior Gavin Grunhovd paced the rest of the 1A field.

“It was a really nice day to run,” Grunhovd. “I went out trying to see what everyone else was going to do, but it felt like they were just waiting for me to make a move or do something big.”

Grunhovd became North Iowa’s first ever cross country champ, edging out a pack of seniors behind him before nearby Lake Mills took over the finish chute. The Bulldogs repeated as team champions of 1A, putting three runners in the overall top 15 and totaling 88 points in the 16-team field.

Oelwein won its first ever cross country team title in Class 2A to wrap the weekend’s racing. Nine 2A teams scored between 100 and 200 points on Saturday, but the Huskies had three runners inside the overall top 25 to clinch top honors.

Junior Emerson Vokes outkicked the pack to win the Iowa Farm Bureau championship cap to become Grundy Center’s first boys’ individual champion in 15:37.5.

 

The IHSAA extends its thanks to Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge Parks & Recreation, and Fort Dodge Senior High School for their support and work at the 2024 Cross Country Championships!

CatchDSM

 

2024 BOYS’ LEADERBOARD

 

Timing by Wayzata Results

CLASS 3A

INDIVIDUAL
# Name School Time
1 Quentin Nauman Western Dubuque 14:59.6
2 Canaan Dunham Pella 15:16.9
3 Caleb Ten Pas Des Moines Christian 15:27.0
4 Jacob Tallman Gilbert 15:30.4
5 Logan Bleich Gilbert 15:34.3

 

TEAM
# School Points
1 Gilbert 33
2 Des Moines Christian 78
3 Pella 92

CLASS 4A

INDIVIDUAL
# Name School Time
1 Ethan Zuber Ankeny 15:01.2
2 Jaden Merrick Cedar Falls 15:08.0
3 Keegan Decker Iowa City Liberty 15:10.1
4 Slader Buckheister C.R. Kennedy 15:29.6
5 Owen Marett D.M. Roosevelt 15:32.0

 

TEAM
# School Points
1 Cedar Falls 73
2 Dowling Catholic 91
3 Prairie 122

CLASS 1A

INDIVIDUAL
# Name School Time
1 Gavin Grunhovd North Iowa 15:57.5
2 Gunner Wagner Woodbine 16:05.2
3 Matthew Schaul Maquoketa Valley 16:06.2
4 Gage Heyne English Valleys 16:08.9
5 Hayden Thompson Lake Mills 16:12.0

 

TEAM
# School Points
1 Lake Mills 88
2 Ankeny Christian 132
3 Woodbine 144

 

WHEELCHAIR

INDIVIDUAL
# Name School Time
1 Eli Johnson Bedford 21:42.7

 

CLASS 2A

INDIVIDUAL
# Name School Time
1 Emerson Vokes Grundy Center 15:37.5
2 Alex Torres Vinton-Shellsburg 15:55.3
3 Brandon Hughes Spirit Lake 15:55.4
4 Emmett Swartzentruber Mid-Prairie 15:56.4
5 Kyle Wagoner Clarinda 16:09.2

 

TEAM
# School Points
1 Oelwein 113
2 Mid-Prairie 128
3 Unity Christian 152

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