Central cross country season starts with fast times
Jaydin Dettman was one of three Warrior girls who placed in the top 10 at the Ed-Co Invitational. She was sixth, while Hannah Asche was fourth and Delaney Scherf 10th. (Photos by Bev Hamann)
Gavin Holst led the Central boys with a ninth place time at Ed-Co.
Delaney Scherf ran to a 10th place finish in the Aug. 23 meet.
Freshmen Collin Jaster and Caden Fette finished a respective 41st and 74th at the Ed-Co Invitational.
Hannah Asche was the top runner for the Warriors, placing fourth.
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
Last week marked the first time since 2019, due to weather, that the Central cross country was able to compete at the Edgewood-Colesburg Invitational.
The return to the Woods Edge Golf Course for the first meet of the year was a successful one. Out of the 12 returners who ran last year, eight ran faster first meet times. And although it was on a different course this time, coach Martha Bauder declared it was “an excellent start to the season.”
That start is owed to the returning experience of the runners and the over 1,000 hours they logged over the summer as a collective unit.
The dedication paid dividends, as the girls finished with three runners in the top 10 and placed fourth as a team with a score of 88.
The top runner was Hannah Asche, who ran a course personal record of 21:35. Fellow teammates Jaydin Dettman and Delaney Scherf crossed the line sixth and 10th, respectively. All three girls were medalists.
Other notables included Eva Embretson, who finished 37th but did so in a course and career personal record time of 26:14, while Reese Berns led the group of young sophomores with a 42nd place finish and freshman Layla Embretson came in 54th.
With an influx of runners, the boys were also able to compete for a team score, finishing 10th out of 11 teams.
“We were glad to have enough for a team score and to get the newcomers’ first 5K race in the books. Now, they can start working toward shaving off time in the meets to come,” Bauder said.
One thing that hasn’t changed from last season is the Warriors’ top runner, Gavin Holst, who finished ninth and ran a career personal record.
“He’s starting his season at a great spot,” Bauder said.
The rest of the team is loaded with young runners looking to gain experience throughout the season. Freshman Collin Jaster was the next highest finisher in 41st, followed by sophomore Vaughn Zittergruen in 68th and freshman Caden Fette in 74th. Lone senior Tate Berns finished 107th, running a 26:48, which is a time he didn’t reach until the sixth race last season.
According to Bauder, the young runners “all ran excellent first 5K times.”
The Warriors will look to capitalize on the early season times with two meets this week. The first was at Oelwein on Aug. 30, and the second will be at Tri City Golf Course, Luana, on Sept. 1.
