Van Meter girls cross country wins state title, football continues postseason run

The Van Meter girls cross country team competed at state Oct. 28, ending its season in a big way.

The Bulldogs placed first at state, finishing with 111 total points and beating second-place Williamsburg by two points.

Head coach Josh Flaws said the win was an incredible accomplishment for the girls and that it was great to see all the dedication and hard work pay off.

“It’s always a goal but you don’t realize it until you kinda get to that moment and get to the state meet that it’s actually going to be a thing that you can attain,” Flaws said. “So it was just a really cool and special moment for all the kids and something they really had to go earn.”

The win was the first state championship in school history for cross country and Flaws said it was an amazing moment.

Seniors Clare and Mary Kelly have been leaders for Van Meter all season and played an important role in securing the win.

Clare finished third at state while Mary placed 19th.

Flaws said placing in the top three was the goal for Clare, and although Mary had a tough day, her battling to finish where she did was important for the team.

“If she lets go and just relaxes and kind of just gives up in the middle of the race we probably don't win as a team and she was able to battle back through some tough stuff she was dealing with,” Flaws said.

Four of Van Meter’s top five runners PR’d at the meet, which Flaws said is the hope when running at state. The race was so tight, with Van Meter behind on mile two, however he said the girls kept pushing and were willing to give everything they had to win.

Sophomore Luka Hulse also ran at state after individually qualifying. Hulse placed 67th with a time of 18:00.70.

Flaws said it was a good experience for Hulse and it will jumpstart the rest of his sophomore into junior year.

“I know he’s really motivated to get back and continue to do well,” Flaws said. “He kinda really started to run really well at the end of the year, he got really consistent and we kinda knew what to expect out of him and he kinda knew what his goals were there.”

Football continues postseason run

The Van Meter football team played in the second round of the playoffs when the Bulldogs took on Woodward-Granger on Oct. 28.

The Bulldogs defeated the Hawks 42-0, boosted by a strong second quarter.

Head coach Eric Trudo said he was pleased with how the team came out and started the game and was able to clean up its mistakes from the prior week.

The Bulldogs scored 28 points in the second quarter, which Trudo attributed to the offensive line, who he said wore down the Hawks’ defensive front.

“Our defense continued to play well and put us in positive yard situations for our offense to get the ball and to start drives and our offensive line, really gotta compliment them, they came to play,” Trudo said.

Junior Ben Gordon also benefited from the strong offensive line play, as he rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns. The game was his second 200-yard rushing game of the season. Trudo said Gordon is a new varsity starter this year and has continued to grow, running better each game.

“When you have four new offensive starters in the offensive line and he’s a new varsity starter in the offensive backfield, there’s a lot of growth that needs to happen before we are able to start to gel and that’s just been a gradual process over the course of the season and I’m glad it’s working out right now in the playoffs,” Trudo said.

Van Meter’s defense also played well, holding Woodward-Granger to -17 yards rushing.

Trudo said the defensive front executed really well and Van Meter placed an emphasis on not allowing the Hawks to run, making them as one-dimensional as possible.

Van Meter will next play Sigourney Keota, a team it has not yet faced, in the quarterfinals.

Trudo said the Cobras have a strong tradition and are district champions, running a unique offense that tries a lot of misdirection.

Trudo said if Van Meter remains disciplined the Bulldogs will give themselves a chance to win again.

Van Meter takes on Sigourney Keota at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at Van Meter High School.

Volleyball falls in regional championship

The Van Meter volleyball team saw its season conclude after the Bulldogs fell to Des Moines Christian on Oct. 25.

The Lions defeated the Bulldogs three sets to one in the regional championships. Van Meter won the first set 25-21 before falling in the final three sets 25-19, 25-10 and 25-14.

Sophomore Teya Speltz and senior Abby Matt led the team with nine and eight kills respectively, with sophomore Haedyn Rebelsky recording 27 assists.

Senior Malia Kelly led the team with four aces.

This article originally appeared on Dallas County News: Van Meter girls cross country wins state title, football continues postseason run