Waukon girls cross country team takes on distance increase to 5K during 2015 season

The Waukon girls cross country team came into the fall of 2015 facing the challenge of competing at a longer distance this season than in season’s past, increasing from a four-kilometer (4K) distance in past seasons to a five-kilometer (5K) race this season due to a change made by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. With a goal of peaking at the right time of the season to try and extend their fall campaign to every team’s ultimate destination, the Lady Indians faced an additional challenge of competing in a State Qualifying Meet that featured what would turn out to be the top three teams in all of Class 2A, ultimately having their season ended at that State Qualifying Meet despite one of their best overall team efforts of the season.
“We competed in the toughest district in the state,” Waukon girls cross country coach Brett Egan said. “The top three teams at our district finished as the top three teams in the state (Cascade, Monticello and South Winneshiek). It’s going to take a commitment from all the girls to start to compete with teams who are the best in the state.”
Working all season with the goal in mind to put forth its best effort of the year at that ideal time, Coach Egan says his team’s effort at that State Qualifying Meet was one of its best overall efforts of this season. The next step toward that higher level of competition, he says, will be continuing to improve that average and pushing some of the team’s front-runners further up in the overall race pack.
“The goal going into the year was for the girls to run their best at the district meet,” Coach Egan said. “Although not all of the girls had their season best time, our top six had the best average for the year. I think the girls ran about as well as they could, collectively, at Monticello. Our fifth runner at the district meet, (sophomore) Laurel Keenan, finished ahead of the fifth runner for five teams that finished ahead of us in the team standings. Our biggest challenge is not having a couple girls in that top 15 who would make a substantial difference in the team standings.”
Closest to ever joining that lead pack this season was sophomore Gabby Marti, the Tribe’s leading runner throughout this season who continued to set a new school record for the new 5K cross country distance throughout this fall campaign. “With the inaugural year of running a 5K, Gabby Marti established the school record with a time of 21:57, which she ran at districts,” Coach Egan said. “She really ran a strong race to finish the season. She put in a lot of hard work that took her from being our third runner last year to our number one.”
The Marti name also emerged in the overall upperclassmen leadership for this season’s squad, as sister Alex Marti was the lone senior competing for the Indians this season. Fellow senior Emily Hammel wasn’t able to compete for the Indians but did serve as team manager this fall.
“Alex Marti served as a tremendous leader both on and off the course,” Coach Egan said. “She puts forth all of her effort every day, and she is the type of person you want others to follow. Emily served as a manager in her final season on the team. I am appreciative of her time spent with the team. I know these two will have a lot of success in their future endeavors.”
With just one senior in the Indians’ competition mix this season, a vast majority of this season’s varsity runners will be eligible to return for future seasons. The return of experience, however, isn’t necessarily always enough to guarantee success.
“With only one senior in the top seven, there is opportunity for a strong nucleus of runners to return next year to move the program forward,” Coach Egan explained. “In addition to participating in other sports, the girls will need a stronger commitment to running in the off-season. You can’t expect to compete well as a team in our area without summer miles. I am excited about the future of the program with the success that occurred throughout the year in the middle school program.”
That middle school success saw the youngest Indians finish within the top one or two team placewinnings in most all of their meets. That middle school season came to an ultimate climactic close when this year’s seventh grade squad, headlined by the youngest Indians’ four leading frontrunners, won the Class 2A State Championship at the Washburn Classic season grand finale, fueling Coach Egan’s optimism for the future.