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!
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 |
VIDEO RECAPS
