Prep cross-country: Ottumwa harriers wrap up season

Oct. 21—INDIANOLA — Asa Canny could have slumped after crossing the finish line in tears after seeing his final chance at qualifying for the state cross-country meet slip away on Wednesday.

Ditto for Lina Newland, a senior leader for the Ottumwa girls cross-country team who improved by over five minutes from her first meet of the season to what proved to be her final race Wednesday at Pickard Park.

Canny instead joined OHS head cross-country coach Jeff Smith at the finish line to show his support for his Bulldog teammates. Newland, meanwhile, could only smile thinking about the strides she made this season running for the Ottumwa girls throughout her senior season.

The Ottumwa High School cross-country teams each finished seventh at the Class 4A state qualifying meet in Indianola, four spots outside of earning a trip to state. The Ottumwa boys scored 236 points, 170 away from Iowa City West for the third and final state team qualifying berth, while the Bulldog girls wrapped up the year with 197 points, missing out on state by 105.

There was no heartbreak, however, for a season in which the Bulldog runners gave it their all right down the final five kilometers of the season.

"We knew this was going to be a tough meet to qualify for state at," Ottumwa head girls cross-country coach Kristin Mitchell said. "I think everybody ran around their best times of the season. For us, Lina was close to her best time. Jasmine (Luedtke) ran her best time. Mariah (Frueh) did. Emily (Rust) did. That's exciting to see. That's exactly how you want to build up your season to have your best race at the end of the year."

Canny missed out on state by less than a minute for the third consecutive year, finishing 27th overall in what proved to be his final high school cross-country race posting a final time of 17:59. The competitive 4A boys state qualifier saw Dowling Catholic junior Jackson Heidesch set the pace, winning the individual district title for the Maroons with a time of 15:36.

Norwalk sophomore Noah Buhrow would cross the finish line in 15th place in 17:08. At the time, Canny was still heading around the final loop of Pickard Park ultimately running past Iowa City West sophomore Robert Strong over the final two hills to the finish line giving everything he had for the final time in an OHS cross-country uniform.

"From where I was at the very beginning, posting 18:30 in the very first race of the season, I didn't know where I was going to go from that," Canny said. "I had some 17:50 times for a few weeks. Over the course of the whole season, I got better and mentally tougher. I think I can take 17:59 home and be happy with it."

Ottumwa head boys cross-country coach Jeff Smith could also look down at the final times of almost every Bulldog runner on Wednesday with a smile. Just four weeks after running on the same course, six of Ottumwa's seven runners improved their time at the district meet.

"Our goal was to be faster on this course than we were four weeks ago," Smith said. "The boys gave it everything they had. It's always tough to say goodbye to the seniors after the last meet because they've given so much over the past four years. They've become better runners and better people. That's my goal each year as a coach. That's due in large part to the boys and everything they've contributed over the past four years to the program."

Anthony Reyman joined Canny in completing his senior season of Ottumwa cross-country running in Wednesday's state qualifier. Reyman closed out his high school cross-country career finishing 51st in 19:35.

Noah Trucano posted the second-fastest time among the Bulldog boys in the state qualifier, finishing 47th in 19:15. Waulfret Morales placed 53rd in 19:59, Zander Proctor finished 58th in 20:36 and Elijah Menninga came home in 64th place in 22:03. All four runners will return next season for the Ottumwa boys.

Luedtke, meanwhile, came the closest to qualifying for state finishing 24th for the Ottumwa girls in 20:54. The Bulldog sophomore came up just 41 seconds short of the top 15, giving Luedtke a realistic goal to shoot for over the next two years.

"My goal is to make it to the state cross-country meet," Luedtke said. "I've got two more years to get there. I'm incredibly happy of where I finished this year, because it's so much better than how I finished last year. I'm looking forward to seeing how much I improve next season."

Luedtke will have plenty of familiar faces surrounding her next year with fellow sophomore Frueh, who placed 45th on Wednesday in 23:06 and Rust who placed 47th in her first state qualifying meet in 23:14. Junior teammates Sarah Hunger (48th, 23:14), Lilly Mitchell (52nd, 24:22 and Emily Lord (56th, 24:50) are also set to return next season for the Bulldog girls.

Newland, however, wrapped up her high school cross-country career finishing 33rd in the state qualifying meet. After opening the season finishing outside of team scoring with a time that exceeded 26 minutes, Newland finished her final race in 21:21.

"My season was completely different this year. I didn't PR once last year. I seemed to struggle in every single meet," Newland said. "I didn't enjoy it last year. I put the time into the sport this year and I'm really sad to see it go. I really grew to love running again this year. I have so many good memories. Cross-country helped me grow so much."

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.