Starmont’s Lauren Krogman runs to the one-mile marker during the Class 1A state qualifying high school cross country meet Thursday at North Linn High School in Troy Mills. Krogman won the race. (Jim Slosialek/The Gazette)
The Gazette uses Instaread to provide audio versions of our articles. Some words may be mispronounced.
Troy Mills — Of course, there was joy and disappointment. This kind of high-stakes competition always exists.
An unexpected delay occurred due to weather. And in the case of the Springville Boys, there was history.
But if you want a hero for Thursday’s Class 1A state qualifying cross country meet, look no further than Maquoketa Valley’s Bianca Ronnebaum.
Ronnebaum, a senior in his first year in the sport, has shown an extraordinary level of dedication and sacrifice.
She woke up Thursday morning at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. The day before, she had participated in a review and test for a dairy cow evaluation and management program.
Bianca Ronnebaum, Maquoketa Valley
However, she was also very involved in sports teams, so…
“As soon as we learned what this scenario was, we made some plans,” Ronnebaum said.
Ronnebaum’s FFA advisor drove her to the Indianapolis airport. Ronnebaum flew to Chicago and then to Cedar Rapids.
So she got in her car and drove an hour to the North Linn Community Schools campus, arriving at the same time as the Maquoketa Valley bus.
The Wildcats finished with 49 points and won the team title ahead of South Winneshiek (51 points) and Cascade (56 points).
“It’s a huge upset,” said Audra Burbridge of Maquoketa Valley, who finished third. “It was either go quickly or go home.”
Two teams will advance to the state tournament next Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Ronnebaum was Maquoketa Valley’s fifth runner and placed 30th. It may not be a great story, but if she hadn’t come back, the Wildcats would have finished third and failed to qualify.
“I just wanted to be with the team for this,” she said.
Oh, and if FFA had ranked high enough, Ronnebaum was arranging to drive back to Indianapolis on Friday.
Starmont’s Lauren Krogman won the women’s individual event in 19 minutes, 23 seconds. Cascade’s Harry Kelchen took second place and Burbridge took third place.
“I went too fast in the first mile and my legs paid for it,” Krogman said. “In the last mile, I told myself I was going to keep going until I could see the trees and then I could slow down.”
she lied.
“I got to the trees and said, ‘No, I have to speed up.’ I like the track at the end of the race.”
At the event, lightning caused a delay of more than an hour between the women’s and men’s races.
Matthew Scholl of Maquoketa Valley sprinted to the finish line to win the boys race. (Jim Slosialek/The Gazette)
“I prepared as best as I could,” said Matthew Scholl (Maquoketa Valley), the boys’ individual champion, whose efforts translated into a time of 16 minutes, 38 seconds, beating his opponent by 15 seconds. “(During the delay) we went into the gym and laid down. Then we came back and got ready again.”
Springville (73 points) and Columbus Community (81 points) qualified as teams. The Orioles are the first team to make it to state.
Jack Stamp, who led the Orioles to an eighth-place finish, said, “The fact that we’re able to do this is a testament to all the hard work we’ve put in.” “We did this for all the players who were previously in the program but couldn’t announce.
“This team loves to have fun. We joke around a lot during practice and keep a pretty free-spirited atmosphere.”
North Linn’s Levi Benesch took third place.
Class 1A state cross country qualifiers at Troy Mills: Girls results
Team (top 2 qualify)
1. Maquoketa Valley 49, 2. South Winneshiek 51, 3. Cascades 56, 4. East Buchanan 127, 5. Columbus Community 136, 6. Elkader Central 151, 7. Waterloo Christian 174, 8. Clayton Ridge 192
Qualifiers from each state
1. Lauren Krogman (Starmont), 19:23; 2. Harry Kerchen (Cascade), 19:31; 3. Audra Burbridge (Mac Valley), 19:36; 4. Abi Waskow ( Dunkerton), 5. Iris Garza (Columbus News) 20:23; 6. Addison Merritt (Springville), 20:25; 7. Taryn Burbridge (Mac Valley), 20:27; 8. Aaliyah Cozy (Columbus News), 20:39. 9. Eva Franzen (South Win), 20:49; 10. Whitney Brady (East Buchanan), 20:55.
Class 1A state cross country qualifiers at Troy Mills: Boys results
Team (top 2 qualify)
1. Springville 73, 2. Columbus Community 81, 3. Maquoketa Valley 101, 4. Elkader Central 122, 5. South Winneshiek 122, 6. Cascades 165, 7. Waterloo Columbus 166, 8. Lansing Key 193, 9. Clayton Ridge 203, 10. Valley Lutheran 248, 11. Waterloo Christian 261, 12. Edgewood Colesburg 318, 13. East Buchanan 366.
Qualifiers from each state
1. Matthew Scholl (Mac Valley), 16:38; 2. Jace Martern (Watt Columbus), 16:53; 3. Levi Benesh (North Linn), 16:57. 4. Ty Muniz (Columbus Comm), 17:02; 5. Justin Wagner (Key), 17:16; 6. Hugh Conway (South Win), 17:22; 7. Henry Peterson (Dunkerton) ), 17:32. 8. Jack Stamp (Springville), 17:38; 9. Gavin Horst (Elk Central), 17:47; 10. Kenyon Baker (Mac Valley), 17:50.
Jack Stamp’s eighth-place finish advanced Springville to state for the first time in school history. (Jim Slosialek/The Gazette)
Comment: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
