ACGC Boys' Cross Country Team Wins State Title!

As this fall's cross country season evolved it became apparent that the ACGC boys' cross country team consisted of a group of runners who had the potential to accomplish some great things. And Saturday they accomplished the ultimate in winning the class 1A state title at the state meet held in Fort Dodge.

The Chargers totaled 75 points, while runner up Maquoketa Valley was second with 112 points, and Earlham finished third with 134 points. The team title is the first in any sport since Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center began whole grade sharing in the fall of 2016.

Mr. Reliable, senior Trevin Suhr, led his teammates with a fourth place finish in 16:38.86 over the five kilometer course. Two runners from Earlham and one from Valley Lutheran finished ahead of Suhr.

Three runners from the Chargers' "pack" finished twelfth, fourteenth, and fifteenth respectively. Andrew Mahaffey led the pack with a twelfth place finish in 17:19.49, while Justin Reinhart was fourteenth with a time of 17:23.05, and Kaden Thompson was fifteenth with a time of 17:23.33. Bo Arrasmith also figured in the ACGC score when he completed the course in 18:01.13, good for thirtieth place.

Also running for ACGC was Miles Kading (41st; 18:15.42) and Lance Bunde (46th; 18:21.74). A total of one hundred and fifty six runners completed the course.

"Going into the meet we knew we had a good chance of winning and we capitalized on our opportunity," a justifiably proud Colin Shawgo said of his team's gold medal performance.

"The boys got out well and then improved their positions throughout the race to truly dominate the 1A field. Trevin Suhr's fourth place finish makes him the third male Charger to be an all state cross country runner. From there our pack was able to bring it home for us.

"These boys took the pressure that was laid on their shoulders as the favorites to win and thrived with it. They proved without a doubt that they were the best team in class 1A this year."

A youthful ACGC girls' team also qualified for the state meet and finished fifteenth out of sixteen teams with 267 points. South Winneshiek took the team title with 104 points and Logan-Magnolia, which won the state qualifying meet in which ACGC participated, took home the silver with 121 points.

Freshman Ava Campbell led the ACGC contingent with a twenty seventh place finish in a time of 21:07.46, while sophomore Hayden Coffman took forty ninth place with a time of 21:39.27. Also figuring in the Chargers' team score was Adalyn Benson (82nd; 22:32.43), Paige Van Meeter (128th; 24:22.95), and Kiersten Knobbe (132nd; 24.43.13). Katelyn Schafer was right behind Knobbe in 133rd place with a time of 24:45.18. Jayla Hoover started the race but did not finish.

One hundred and fifty girls competed at the event.

"Our hope was that the girls would be able to crack the top ten, but unfortunately we missed out on tenth by thirty points which is a relatively small amount at a state meet. Every girl was disappointed with the team placing. As a program we have high expectations, so it is good for them to want to compete at a high level.

"As a coach I am very excited about the future of this team. They graduate zero of the top seven runners, and have the experience of running in a state meet. It is my firm belief that if they train hard during the off season and stay healthy, this team will be fighting for a top three finish next year and a state championship the year after."