Gilbert cross country teams have successful run through 2022 season
The 2022 cross country season was a huge success at Gilbert.
The Tiger girls placed at state for the second year in a row and the boys returned to state for the first time since 2019 and earned a top-10 finish in Class 3A.
The Gilbert boys had an impressive season to end their short two-year drought at state.
The Tigers ended the regular season ranked sixth in 3A. They won the South Hardin and Eagle Grove Invitationals, took second at the Humboldt qualifying meet and placed seventh at state with 186 points.
"I was pleased with how our season went," Gilbert head boys cross country coach Aaron Thomas said. "Our young runners showed a lot of improvement as the year went along. We felt going into the year we had potential to be a top-five team in Class 3A and we were in position to do that at the state meet. We finished just outside the top five, but there wasn't a ton of separation between the teams from third through eighth, so it came down to who had the best performance in Fort Dodge."
William Wadsley turned in a remarkable senior season as the lead runner for the Gilbert boys.
Wadsley was the individual champion at the South Hardin and Eagle Grove meets. He made All-Raccoon River Conference and went on to place fifth in 3A at state with his best 5-kilometer time of the season at 15 minutes, 52.45 seconds.
More:Good offseason has Gilbert's William Wadsley in position to make state in cross country
Preston Stensland, Zain Mueller and Carson Squiers were all-conference runners and individual state qualifiers for the Gilbert boys. Stensland's best time was 17:05, Mueller's 16:57 and Squiers' 17:11.
"I think our pack from No. 2 through 6 really showed improvement as the season went along," Thomas said. "Early on there was a pretty big spread from our second and third runners back to our fourth, fifth and sixth, but that gap closed significantly as the year went along."
Harrison Kraehling and Emmett Barber both made All-RRC and peaked with times of 17:23 and 17:18, and Nolan Weber ran a PR time of 17:42 for the Tiger boys.
"I was pleased with how Carson Squiers ran this year," Thomas said. "As a freshman, he did a great job competing and figuring out how to race a 5K as the year went along. He was a solid runner in middle school, but I did not expect him to have the impact on the team that he did. Emmett Barber was another runner who showed a lot of improvement as the year went along and he took a big step forward from where he was as a freshman."
With Wadsley and Weber the only seniors who ran at state for Gilbert, the Tigers have the potential to make it back to Fort Dodge next season.
"I'm excited about our potential for next year," Thomas said. "Losing William will make a difference, but we return our next five runners. That group is motivated to take that next step up and hopefully battle for a top-three finish (at state)."
Tiger girls remain among the top teams in 3A
The Gilbert girls were in the top 10 in 3A all season. They were seventh in the final 3A rankings and took third at a loaded Raccoon River Conference meet featuring three teams that finished in the top 15 of 3A, including No. 2 Ballard and No. 3 Adel-Desoto-Minburn, before winning the 3A qualifying meet at Humboldt.
"We had a great season with some great results," Gilbert head girls cross country coach Laura Kautman said. "I think we competed well within our regular-season schedule. Our team put forth a gritty race performance at our state qualifier in Humboldt, coming away as champs, and we improved on last year's place at state."
The Gilbert girls took 12th in 3A at this year's state meet with 261 points. The Tigers came in 13th at last year's state meet.
The top runners this year for the girls were juniors Clare Stahr, Claire Grandganett, Sarah Thatcher and Mia Kautman, seniors Abby McGuire and Nora Kalvik, sophomore Abby Patel and freshman Keira Andersen.
Stahr ran the fastest 5-kilometer time for Gilbert on the season at 20 minutes, 21.40 seconds at state, where she placed 38th.
"Clare Stahr had an awesome junior season campaign following a solid summer of training," Laura Kautman said. "She gained momentum throughout our season."
McGuire peaked with a time of 20:38, Andersen and Patel both ran a 20:59 at the qualifying meet, Grandganett ran a 21:08.24 at state, Kalvik topped out at 21:09 and Thatcher ran a 21:18.
More:How the Gilbert girls cross country team is hitting its stride despite injury issues
"We had a pretty deep squad," Laura Kautman said. "We will miss solid senior leadership from Nora Kalvik and Abby McGuire."
But with a solid group of upcoming freshmen, the girls don't intend to miss a beat in 2023.
"The RRC will continue to be a solid conference from top to bottom and will contend for podium spots at state," Laura Kautman said. "I am looking ahead to next season and bringing some changes to our meet schedule that will benefit the team."
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Young Gilbert cross country teams both had state runs in 2022
