The junior duo of Colton Alberts and Blake Wilmesmeier propelled the Lynnville-Sully boys’ cross country team to its best-ever finish at the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships on October 28, 2023. Competing at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge, the pair delivered near-perfect races, both securing top-20 finishes and contributing significantly to the team’s historic achievement.
Coach Darin Arkema noted the leadership qualities of Alberts and Wilmesmeier, stating, “Those two are our running leaders and as juniors they are vocal leaders now, too.” The Hawks were ranked 13th before the state meet, but the performance of their top runners helped push the team to a remarkable 10th place finish with a total of 245 points, just one point behind South Winneshiek and eight points ahead of Sioux Central.
Alberts, who entered the meet ranked 21st, achieved a personal best time of 16 minutes, 39 seconds in the boys’ 5K race, finishing 10th overall. This result marked a 24-second improvement from his previous state meet performance and was the fastest time recorded by a Lynnville-Sully male at the state level. Reflecting on his achievement, Alberts said, “It feels amazing. It’s awesome. My goal was to get 15th. Being 10th is amazing.” He earned a spot on the all-state deck, which recognizes the top 15 individual finishers and the top three teams.
Wilmesmeier also had a standout performance, finishing 20th with a time of 16:58.2, earning second team all-state honors. His result represents a significant improvement of 52 seconds from his previous state meet time. Wilmesmeier noted, “I paced off him for about the first two miles and tried to stay with him as long as I could,” referring to Alberts. “It was a great experience. It was fun.”
The girls’ team from Lynnville-Sully also competed for the second consecutive year, finishing 15th with 287 points. Emma Parkinson led the girls with a 34th-place finish and a personal best time of 20:23.4. Although the team did not achieve the desired ranking, Parkinson expressed pride in her performance and the team’s efforts, stating, “I think we did well. We didn’t place as high as we wanted to, but the girls put in the effort every day at practice.”
In the boys’ team competition, Class 1A No. 1 Oakland Riverside clinched the championship with 54 points, followed by No. 2 Lake Mills with 69 points. Other top finishers included Ankeny Christian in third with 124 points and Earlham in fourth with 150 points. The individual title was claimed by Hugh Conway of South Winneshiek, who crossed the finish line in 15:50.7.
As the season concludes, Coach Arkema reflected on the boys’ performance, noting that with only one senior graduating, there is optimism for the future. “Tenth place and only losing one senior tells me we can do this again,” he said. “We have 10 guys coming back who have to believe we can go even higher.”
The race conditions presented challenges, as temperatures were among the coldest of the season. Athletes had to adapt their strategies accordingly. “You just never know what to wear and you start second guessing things,” said Wilmesmeier’s teammate, Mandeesa Vos.
Overall, the championships proved to be a significant event for Lynnville-Sully, marking a turning point in their program’s history. With promising results from both the boys’ and girls’ teams, the future looks bright for Lynnville-Sully cross country.
