Oskaloosa Middle School Cross Country Runners Set 13 Personal Records at State Championships

ANKENY, Iowa – The Oskaloosa Middle School cross country team wrapped up its season with a strong showing at the 33rd annual Washburn Classic Statewide Middle School Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 17 at Ankeny Centennial High School.

All 13 Oskaloosa runners set personal-best times in the two-mile race. Eighth-grader Chessa San also made school history by running the fastest time ever by an Oskaloosa female runner at the state meet.

The Indians competed in the Class 3A division, with the girls finishing seventh among 13 teams and the boys placing 13th out of 21 teams.

The meet took place on a sunny day with temperatures in the 50s, which made for good running conditions.

Chessa San Makes Oskaloosa History

San led the Oskaloosa girls by finishing fourth overall, completing the two-mile course in 12 minutes, 51.7 seconds.

Oskaloosa Middle School cross country coach Betsy Luck said San’s performance set a new school record for an Oskaloosa female runner at the state meet.

San’s time was also a big improvement over her earlier races this season.

Fellow eighth-grader Alaina Burgey finished 30th with a time of 13:53.9, while eighth-grader Lauryn Koehler placed 37th in 14:02.9.

Both Burgey and Koehler beat their previous best times by over 30 seconds.

Seventh-grader Lydia Netland finished 47th with a time of 14:18.2, while fellow seventh-grader Brielle Boender completed the race in 15:08.5, placing 63rd overall.

Luck said all five Oskaloosa girls finished in the top 50 for their grade levels.

The Indians finished seventh in the girls team standings with 181 points.

Solon won the girls Class 3A team championship with 60 points, followed by Pella with 75 and Williamsburg with 91.

Benton finished fourth with 98 points, North Polk placed fifth with 145, and ADM took sixth with 173.

Kinnick Reisetter Leads Oskaloosa Boys

The Oskaloosa boys also had strong individual results, with eighth-grader Kinnick Reisetter leading the team.

Reisetter finished 37th overall with a time of 12:22.3.

Eighth-grader Ryan Comfort followed in 43rd place, completing the course in 12:27.4, while fellow eighth-grader Douglas Lappin finished 48th in 12:32.7.

Seventh-grader Jenner Sisul placed 91st with a time of 13:22.3, and eighth-grader Jackson McHawes finished 93rd in 13:27.9 to complete Oskaloosa’s five scoring runners.

Seventh-grader Silas Chilcote placed 98th in 13:36.6, followed by eighth-grader Julien VanWyk in 107th with a time of 13:54.1.

Seventh-grader Levi Barclay finished 199th in 15:18.7 and made the biggest personal improvement among Oskaloosa’s runners.

Barclay completed the race 1 minute and 48 seconds faster than his previous best for two miles. 13th in the boys team standings with 312 points.

Decorah won the boys Class 3A championship with 51 points, followed by North Polk with 123 and Xavier with 160.

Every Oskaloosa Runner Sets a Personal Record

The team standings showed how Oskaloosa compared to other schools, but the individual improvements were another way to see the Indians’ progress.

All 13 runners who represented Oskaloosa recorded their fastest two-mile times of the season.

Altogether, the athletes improved their previous best times by a total of 6 minutes and 35 seconds.

That works out to an On average, each runner improved by about 30 seconds.d their previous best times by just four seconds, while others made much larger gains, highlighted by Barclay’s improvement of nearly two minutes.

These results came just four days after Oskaloosa competed in the Little Hawkeye Conference meet at Edmundson Park, where both the boys and girls teams finished sixth.

At that meet, which took place in warm and humid weather, San led the girls with a time of 14:13.3, and Reisetter led the boys with 13:06.3.

At Saturday’s state competition, San improved her time from the conference meet by over a minute, and Reisetter ran 44 seconds faster.

Additional Competition Pays Off

The state championships gave Oskaloosa runners a chance to extend their cross country season beyond the conference meet.

Coach Luck praised the athletes for staying committed to their training and choosing to compete in another race.

Their decision paid off, as every runner set a personal record and several made big improvements.