State final for Richman | News, Sports, Vacancies

This Saturday afternoon, Alyssa Richman will put on her Manson Northwest Webster cross-country uniform and compete for the last time.

Richman is one of 11 regional qualifiers in three classes for the state championships at Kennedy Park this Friday and Saturday.

A four-time state individual qualifier, Richman finished third for the Cougars last fall with a time of 18:53. She placed fourth in the competition, as well as seventh place as a sophomore and 33rd place as a ninth grader.

I’m very excited about going to the state,– said Richman. “This season has had some ups and downs, but I’ve had some good races and training up to this point.

“Being a senior, I know I have nothing to lose. The 2A track is very competitive this year, so I know someone will be pushing me every step of the way, which is a lot of fun. “I plan to leave it all on course—there’s no better place to end my high school career than Lakeside.”

Richman will race at 2 p.m. and the boys will run the course 45 minutes later. That group includes teammate Thatcher Oswald, East Sac County’s Riley Aragon and Landon Sporrer, South Central Calhoun’s Redge Potts and Greene County’s Noah Hinote.

Newell-Fonda’s Marenie Brabec and Danica Meyer, West Bend-Mallard’s Tyra Schupbach, South Central Calhoun’s Iris Melody and Bishop Garrigan’s Julia Swift are all racing in 1A at 10:30 a.m., with Algona’s Gavin Weber competing Friday in 3A at 11:15. I am

Schupbach, Hinote and Sporrer have qualified three times, and this is the second state meet for Aragon and Potts.

As a sophomore, Schupbach placed 15th in 19:44, 16 seconds off her time from her freshman season when she finished 18th. Sporrer, a junior, was 68th last year and 78th as a freshman, while Hinote was 87th last year and 101st two seasons ago.

Potts, the 13th overall pick, was 82nd for the Titans last year, while Aragon finished 120th for the Raiders.

Brabec and Meyer are the first Newell-Fonda qualifiers in program history, as Brabec was 13th at districts a year ago. Melody placed 29th in her first state race.

Swift, Weber and Oswald will make their state debuts. Freshman Swift is ranked 16th, junior Weber is 18th and Oswald, also a junior, is 22nd.

Kennedy Park, where the state meet has been held since 1993, has seen top runners compete. This year they include the likes of three-time defending state champion Noelle Stines of Tipton, Marissa Ferebee of Pella, Ethan Zuber of Ankeny, Emmett Swartzentruber of Mid-Prairie and Ferebee’s teammate Canaan Dunham.

Staines won three 1A titles at Calamus-Wheatland before transferring to 2A Tipton the day after state last year. Ferebee, a 3A champion, became the second Iowa resident to run under 17 minutes earlier this year, joining Gilbert graduate and current University of Arkansas runner Paityn Noe.

Zuber won gold in the 4A category, and Schwartzentruber became the champion in the 2A category.