Oskaloosa’s Lane Smith Earns First Team All-State Honors with Historic Ninth-Place Finish

FORT DODGE, Iowa — Oskaloosa High School cross country runner Lane Smith made school history Saturday, October 31st, finishing ninth at the Class 3A Boys State Cross Country Championships and earning First Team All-State honors.

Smith completed the five-kilometer course at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in an official time of 16 minutes, 8.8 seconds, the fastest time ever recorded by an Oskaloosa boys runner at the state meet.

According to Oskaloosa head cross country coach Mike Comfort, Smith broke the previous school record of 16:21, set by Skylar DeJong at the 2013 state championships.

Smith’s ninth-place finish was also the highest by an Oskaloosa boys runner since 2013, when Skylar DeJong finished eighth and Spencer DeJong placed ninth.

The performance earned Smith First Team All-State recognition, making him the first Oskaloosa boys runner to receive All-State honors since Spencer DeJong finished tenth in 2014.

A Second Consecutive Trip to State

Saturday’s performance marked Smith’s second straight appearance at the state cross country championships.

He qualified for this year’s state meet after finishing fourth at the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet in Washington on October 21st, where he recorded a time of 16:13.

At Fort Dodge, Smith improved on that qualifying time while competing against the state’s top Class 3A runners.

Gilbert’s Logan Bleich won the individual state championship in 15:12.2, with teammate Jacob Tallman finishing second.

Smith’s ninth-place finish places him among the top ten Class 3A runners in Iowa this season.

His performance also adds a new chapter to Oskaloosa’s cross-country history, breaking a school record that had stood for 13 years and bringing First Team All-State honors.