Blount uses strong finish to place 15th in 1A State race

Oct. 29—FORT DODGE — In his fourth and final high school cross country state appearance, Prince of Peace senior Marcus Blount finally was able to get a medal, placing 15th in the Class 1A boys race on Friday morning.

"It definitely feels pretty awesome because it's something I've been striving towards for the past year. Finally making that podium in my last high school race feels great." Marcus Blount said.

Blount has had a finish in the forties, the twenties and the teens before but had never finished top 15 before. That was a different story on Friday.

"It's very exciting. We've been striving for this for the past four years. I was very elated when we saw him beat that kid." Prince of Peace cross country coach Owen Howard said.

The biggest key to Blounts success this year has been his ability to learn his racing style. He's made it less about going in with a game plan and more about just feeling the moment. Pacing was another key contributor to Blounts success.

"I started out and I was in the twenties but I knew if I kept a good pace and kept trying to run my race I could catch people." Blount said.

It was a great race from Blount but an even better finish. He had to fend off another runner to place 15th with a time of 16:50.35. Blount was just .05 seconds faster than the runner behind him.

"Right at the end I sprinted, gave it my all and was able to get him." Blount said.

This is what Blount and coach Howard have been striving for over the past four seasons and he was finally able to get the job done. Blount is the first Prince of Peace boy runner to medal at state since 2008.

"It's that perfect ending for him. He finally hit that goal and to see how excited him and his family were made it special." Howard said.