By Becky Walz,
A strong core of athletes combined with young talent may have what it takes to make some noise on the course for the Decorah boys’ cross country team.
With three athletes back who ran at Fort Dodge last fall, the Vikings will boast experience on the big stage. However, more up-and-comers are needed to push the team onto the deck.
Leading the Vikings for his seventh year is Head Coach Brad Johansen. He will be assisted by Tim Hayes.
A strong core of athletes combined with young talent may have what it takes to make some noise on the course for the Decorah boys’ cross country team.
With three athletes back who ran at Fort Dodge last fall, the Vikings will boast experience on the big stage. However, more up-and-comers are needed to push the team onto the deck.
Leading the Vikings for his seventh year is Head Coach Brad Johansen. He will be assisted by Tim Hayes.
Taking ninth
Last season, Coach Johansen had four all-conference athletes back in Arlo Hayes, Hogan Smith, Izaak Eichinger and Larsson Shockey. He also had eight all-conference JV performers to look to.
He used the regular season to find a strong group of seven for the postseason.
Hosting the Northeast Iowa Conference meet, the Vikings finished second overall with 59 points, just eight behind Waverly-Shell Rock. Four of the seven runners placed in the top 15, earning all-conference honors.
Decorah finished second at the state-qualifier hosted by the Vikings a week later, earning a trip to the state meet. Hayes and Shockey both individually qualified for state by finishing in the top 15. Hayes took sixth while Shockey finished 11th.
Running at Fort Dodge, the Vikings claimed ninth in Class 3A with an average time of 17:44, with a spread of 36 seconds.
Lost to graduation
The Vikings will be without several key members to last year’s squad. At the top of the list are the four harriers who competed at state.
Hayes was the silver medalist at the NEIC meet, posting a time of 17:09.50. In 17:17.90, he took sixth at the state qualifying meet. He earned 39th overall at state in 17:25.90
Shockey also competed at state. He took 14th at the conference meet in 18:01.20. Moving to state-qualifying meet, Shockey took 11th in 17:47.90. In his final meet in a Viking uniform, Shockey finished 50th in 17:33.43.
Capping off his high school career at state, Schutte finished 12th at the NEIC meet in 17:58.30 and just missed an individual state qualifying spot in 16th in 18:01.10. At state, Schutte crossed the finish line in 17:46.27, good for 71st overall.
Eichinger was the final Viking senior to compete at state a year ago. He just missed all-conference honors by placing 16th in 18:03.20 and was 17th at the state-qualifying event in 18:04.70. Competing at state, he clocked in at 1755.34, good for 85th.
Also graduating were Drew Berns, Nolan Jacobsen, Wyatt Hackman, Landan Folkedahl, Bradyn Hook, Adrian Huang, Dylan Muhlbauer, Simon Mumford, Haywood Stowe, August Witt, Austin Wilkins and Karter Einck.
Veteran talent back
Coach Johansen does have some veteran talent he can look to this season.
Olson earned 15th at the NEIC in 18:01.80. He was part of the team score with a 21st place finish at the state-qualifying meet in 18:16.00. At state as junior, Olson stopped the clock at 18:02.40, good for 93rd overall.
Jacob Magner also ran on the Vikes’ state-qualifying team last season. At the NEIC meet, he was 20th in 18:19.40, and went on to finish 23rd at the qualifying meet in 18:18.30. In Fort Dodge, Magner concluded his junior season in 18:41.09, taking 123rd overall.
Rounding out the veteran returnees is Henry Weis who was 29th at the conference meet as a sophomore in 18:45.00. As a sophomore, he was 27th at the state-qualifying meet, posting a time of 18:24.80. Lacing up the shoes at state, Weis posted a time of 18:17.31 to take 106th place overall.
“Overall we have a younger team and will have to mature mentally and physically to compete at a high level,” noted Coach Johansen.
In the NEIC
Heading into the season, Waukon appears to be the team to beat this year.
“Our team and Charles City should be able to provide a formidable challenge to Waukon,” said Coach Johansen. “Everyone else has outstanding runners but may not have enough depth.”
However, the future is bright for the Vikings this year.
“We have a very exciting group of athletes to watch who represent the strong tradition of Decorah Cross Country. If healthy all year, we will be in the mix for conference and district titles and another trip to state,” concluded the veteran coach. “It is hard not to be excited about the challenges and opportunities that are ahead of us this season.”
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