Men’s cross country team takes on Districts

The CFHS men’s cross country team competed in the MVC Divisional Meet at Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids. They got to battle it out with two of the three best teams in the state, Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Prairie. “It was a very good opportunity to see where we stack up against the rest of the state,” senior Timmy Sevcik said.

The Tigers finished third with six of their runners finishing in the ninth through 14th places. Leading Troy Becker’s team was senior Jonathan Smith who finished ninth and set a personal record, followed by seniors Jared Failor and Timmy Sevcik. Both junior Dylan Southall, who finished 12th, and emerging sophomore Jake Hartman also set personal records.

With an average time of under 16 minutes, the team impressed, but they have room to improve. Junior Hiram Marquez was dealing with injuries and finished a disappointing 43rd. “My ribs were really killing me, but I went out and gave it all I had because I love the team,” he said.

Marquez, who is still bothered by the injury, will not be running at Districts, which means he cannot qualify for the state meet. Very disappointedly, Marquez said, “It sucks. After training so hard all offseason and really improving all year, it really hurts. I’ll still be cheering my team on, but it’s very hard to watch other people do the one thing you love most when you can’t.”

Sophomore Isaac Smith will take the varsity spot. “It’s going to be exciting to see all our hardwork pay off,” Smith Said.

Cedar Falls will be one of 10 teams, including the top-ranked 4A team in the state, Linn-Mar, that will attempt to qualify for State at Marshalltown on Thursday. They have to finish third or better to qualify for the state meet in Fort Dodge on Nov. 2. If they are able to qualify, they will look to improve on a ninth place finish in last year’s meet.