Creston cross country pushed through adversity

The Creston cross country team concluded its season Sunday, ending the year with three State Cross Country Meet qualifiers, all of which on the girls side

In the Creston Community High School commons head coach Pat Schlapia and assistant coach Gary O’Daniels presented awards and praise to the student athletes throughout the evening.

It didn’t take long for Schlapia to talk about the adversity the Panthers faced with meets constantly being rescheduled or cancelled throughout the year due to weather.

“Out of all the years we’ve had cross country, I’d say this is probably the worst year we had with conditions and the adversity that we had with that,” said Schlapia. “We had three meets cancelled on us.”

The Panthers missed out on hosting the Hawkeye 10 meet as weather forced the event to be pushed to Glenwood before the State Qualifying Meet was held on the same hilly course.

But Creston did get a home meet earlier in the year in which the girls finished in fourth and the boys took ninth as a team in “the most solid, loaded meet,” according to Schlapia.

Schlapia thanked the parents for helping throughout the season with food for the meets and transporting to and from practices.

Thanking the coaches, Schlapia talked about Maggie Arnold winning the IATC Middle School Coach of the Year just two years after O’Daniels took home the Assistant Coach of the Year award.

As the lone senior, Brielle Baker capped her third season with her third varsity letter and her third appearance at the State Cross Country Meet, putting her in elite company of Creston runners.

Braelyn Baker and Paige Davis were the other two qualifiers on the girls side for the state meet as Braelyn went back for the second time as a sophomore while Davis qualified for the first time, becoming one of 39 state qualifiers in school history.

Schlapia praised the 11 members of the summer running club, noting how he could tell their worked in the offseason showed early on in the year.

“We had a lot of improvement not only individually, but when you put all those individuals together that’s what makes that team,” said Schlapia. “No matter where you are, first place runner of last place runner, there is a spot for you on this cross country team.”

Varsity letterwinners — Seniors: Brielle Baker (3). Juniors: Levi Hitz (3), Jared Moreland (3), Brittany Linch (3), Hunter Fry (3), Devin Baker (3), Brooklyn Bolinger (Manager 3rd), Sydney Hartsock (2), Ashton Wills (Manager 1st). Sophomores: Braelyn Baker (2), Morgan Buxton (2), Ali Christensen (2), Paige Davis (2), Clayton Stafford (2), Keagan Trembly (2), Angelina Chuong (1), Jackson Kinsella (1). Freshman: Hannah Rounds (1).

Participation — Juniors: Isaac Jacobson, Spencer Lane, Sydney Pantini. Sophomore: Rachel Boyer. Freshmen: Sophia Short, Tristan Callahan, Isaac Shields, Adam Short.

Academic all-Hawkeye 10 — Brielle Baker.

State qualifiers — Brielle Baker, Braelyn Baker, Paige Davis.

Brandon Gale Memorial Manager Award — Brooklyn Bolinger, Ashton Wills.

Chris Wyatt Award – Brielle Baker.

Summer Running — Braelyn Baker, Brielle Baker, Ali Christensen, Angelina Chuong, Paige Davis, Hunter Fry, Jackson Kinsella, Levi Hitz, Clayton Stafford, Jared Moreland, Brittany Linch.