Eight area athletes gear up for state XC meet

Newton junior Jackson Mace-Maynard plans to eat a few Casey’s donuts and a good burger this weekend.

Before that, it’s business as usual for the Cardinal cross country standout as Mace-Maynard and seven other area harriers prepare for the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships this weekend.

“We are in the championship season so I am eating healthier right now,” Mace-Maynard said. “I am trying to get plenty of sleep, too.”

Mace-Maynard and his teammate Treycen Garton run in the Class 3A boys’ 5K race at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge at 4 p.m. on Friday.

The other six area athletes competing at the state meet hit the course inside Kennedy Park on Saturday.

PCM sophomore Paige Steenhoek and freshman Tiffani Koonce compete in the 2A girls’ race at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The 1A girls’ race at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday features Lynnville-Sully sophomore Greenlee Smock and Baxter’s Elie Tuhn and Kailee Conradi.

The 1A boys’ race at 4 p.m. on Saturday includes Lynnville-Sully sophomore James Gruver.

Mace-Maynard’s third-place finish and career-best performance at the state qualifying meet in Pella pushed him into the final 3A rankings.

He enters the state meet ranked 29th. His goal for Friday is to get into the top 15 to earn a state medal.

“I will have to be a little faster than what I ran at districts to get that, but there aren’t a lot of runners there that I won’t be able to compete with,” Mace-Maynard said. “It’s a tight field. From like five to 40, it may be a 40-second difference. I think 10 seconds can be the difference between eight places.”

Garton also ran his best race so far at the state qualifying meet and that helped him to a ninth-place finish. He wants to be in the top 25 at state but thinks top 15 also is possible.

“I want to get a PR,” Garton said. “I want to be top 25. But my ultimate goal is to be in the top 15.”

Garton’s career-best time coming into state was the 16 minutes, 57.39 seconds he ran at the state qualifier. Mace-Maynard finished his 5K in a career-best 16:47.66.

Those times are both ranked in the top 10 all-time in Newton boys history.

Newton boys’ head coach Steve Weeks says now is not the time to get cute at practice.

The training that has gotten Mace-Maynard and Garton to the state meet has been key. They won’t veer off from the regular routine too much.

“At this point, it’s just business as usual,” Weeks said. “I know it’s a big meet. It’s the goal. But when it comes to training, it’s a body of work thing and the reason they are here is because of what they’ve already done. It’s not what they are going to do today or tomorrow. We want to keep them in the mindset that it’s just another race.”

It will be the first state appearance for Mace-Maynard and Garton. Steenhoek and Smock are the only area runners who competed on the state’s biggest stage before.

Smock finished 10th and earned a state medal in her first prep season last year. She finished the race at Lakeside Golf Course in 19:49.2 and three graduating seniors finished ahead of her.

“I would like to get that again. Maybe top five this time,” Smock said. “It will be a much more difficult race with some great competitors out there. I just have to stick with the people I know I can race with.”

Because of COVID-19, Smock has only competed in six meets this year. Her best time was the 20:00.9 time she turned in at Grinnell on September 8.

One of Smock’s biggest competitors for another state medal this weekend could be from Baxter’s Tuhn, who was a couple seconds faster than Smock at last week’s 1A state qualifying meet at ACGC.

It was the first time Tuhn defeated Smock this year. And it helped her jump Smock in the latest 1A rankings. Tuhn goes into the state meet ranked 12th while Smock is 13th.

“It gives me confidence going into next week. I was mostly focused on this race but we’ll start thinking about state now,” Tuhn said after the state qualifier. “I am so proud of (Kailee), too. It’s amazing to be able to run with her at state.”

Tuhn ran more meets this season than any of the other area state qualifiers. Her best time was the 20:07.93 she ran at the Iowa Star Conference meet at Wartburg earlier this month.

Perhaps the surprise finisher at the 1A state qualifier at ACGC was Conradi, who finished eighth. She ran in only five races this season because of injury and has been hampered by injuries in each of the last three years.

“It’s going to be an amazing experience. I am so happy that we both get to go together,” Conradi said. “(Elie) helped me greatly. She has pushed me so much. I think that helped my times.”

Conradi’s best time this season was the 21:27.81 she ran at the conference meet at Wartburg.

Steenhoek was 44th last year in the 2A girls’ race at state. She finished in 20:53.1 and 10 graduating seniors finished in front of her.

Steenhoek’s best time this season was the 20:26 she ran at Pleasantville. Koonce turned in a career-best time of 21:15.9 to qualify for state.

Gruver ran an 18:32.76 at the 1A state qualifier to finish eighth. His best time this season was the 17:46 he ran at Pleasantville. He’s only competed in five races this season.

Mace-Maynard and Garton will be in Box 6 for the 3A boys’ 5K race on Friday. Both of them got a good look at the state course when the Cardinals ran there on Oct. 8.

Mace-Maynard ran a 17:24.4 and Garton turned in a 17:42.7. They both know they’ll have to be faster the second time around to reach their goals.

“There are two kids in 3A that are going to be in the 15s. We won’t be near them but there will be another pack in the 16s and both boys should be in that group,” Weeks said. “There is a huge clump and they know they can both be at the top of the clump or the bottom. I think Jackson has a shot to medal. A good goal for Treycen is to be in the top 30.”

The toughest stretch of training for both runners is done. They have used the final week before the state meet to get in the right frame of mind mentally. And to maintain fresh legs.

“I don’t want to get to the meet on Friday and feel stuffy. I am just getting plenty of sleep and dieting well so I can stay fast,” Mace-Maynard said. “Treycen and I run together all the time. It’s been weird not having the rest of the team with us, but it’s been a good week.”

Garton’s career-best run at the state qualifier came a few days after he recovered from a knee injury he suffered two weeks earlier. He’s happy to be as healthy as he’s been in three weeks for the state race.

“Three weeks ago, I had a knee injury and it took some time to get back in the swing of things,” Garton said. “When I ran at districts it was a few days after that injury so I have had more time to let that heal. That should help.”

Garton said Mace-Maynard usually picks out a runner to stay with. His plan is to stick with his teammate as long as possible. And they both hope running on the Fort Dodge course will play to their advantage.

“Jackson always picks out someone fast so I usually mark up Jackson and try to keep him in my sights the best I can,” Garton said. “We’ll definitely know where to pick up the pace and we’ll know where the finish is so that will help, too.”

Steenhoek and Koonce will start in Box 1 for the 2A girls’ 5K race. Tuhn, Smock, Conradi and Gruver all begin their 1A races in Box 13.