PCM’s Ellens finishes 16th at state cross country meet

FORT DODGE — Sometimes the body just doesn’t cooperate. That’s what happened to Prairie City-Monroe senior Chris Ellens on Oct. 29 at the Iowa High School Cross Country Championships.

Ellens came into the meet ranked sixth in Class 2A, but his body failed him during the race. The end result of 16th place was not what Ellens wanted, but it was still 56 spots better than his 2015 state meet finish.

The 16th place finish was one spot shy of a medal as Ellens crossed the finish line in his final high school 5K in 17 minutes, 1.2 seconds.

“I could tell at the one-mile mark that something was wrong,” PCM coach Eric Karr said. “It was a scary moment. He doesn’t remember the finish much at all. He passed out a few times after the race. We are just glad he is OK.”

Ellens made an incredible turnaround from one year to the next. He bettered his time in the 2A boys race at state by more than a minute from his junior season.

“He’s made one of the most impressive progressions that I have seen in my life,” Karr said. “He has nothing to be ashamed about. His body didn’t cooperate with him and he still ran a 17:01. His body essentially shut down, and he still finished the race.”

Defending 1A champion Andrew Stumbo, of Ogden, won the 2A race with a time of 15:53.6. Top-ranked Reece Smith of Garner-Hayfield-Ventura was second in 16:02.2.

Ellens, who will run in the senior all-star meet Saturday at DMACC, was well ahead of his competition at the state qualifier earlier this season. At the state meet, Aplington-Parkersburg’s Mason Tyler, East Marshall’s Nick Meling and Pella Christian’s Grant Dunsbergen all finished before Ellens. The Mustang senior had defeated Dunsbergen several times this season.

“Just because you get beat by someone doesn’t mean that guy is faster,” Karr said. “It means he had a better day. I actually high-fived Dunsbergen and so did Chris. We were happy for him, too.”