June 12, 2025

Baxter’s Richardson nearly reaches ultimate goal at first state XC meet

Bolt sophomore placed 55th in the Class 1A boys’ 5K race

By Troy Hyde

Baxter sophomore Matt Richardson, right, finished 55th in the Class 1A boys' 5K race at the state cross country meet in Fort Dodge on Friday. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

FORT DODGE — Baxter sophomore Matt Richardson had a goal of finishing in the top 50 in the Class 1A boys’ 5K race at the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships on Friday.

He was super close. And his time would have been in the top 50 at last year’s state meet.

Richardson settled for a 55th-place finish in his first experience on the state’s biggest stage.

“Matt has become a numbers person with cross country,” Baxter head cross country coach Dennis Vaughn said. “He was comparing his time and place this year as a sophomore to Logan Berg when he was a sophomore. They were very similar.

“We (coaches) pointed out he was nearly in the top third of the very best runners in Class 1A.”

Richardson finished the boys’ 5K race at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in 17 minutes, 46.5 seconds.

“It was not as good of a time as I wanted it to be,” Richardson said. “It was a pretty good first experience. It was a good environment. This way more people than I expected.”

Baxter sophomore Matt Richardson, right, competes in the state cross country meet in Fort Dodge on Friday. He was 55th in the Class 1A boys' race. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

The top 15 finishers in each 5K race at the state meet earned medals, all-state status and a spot on the famous Lakeside Golf Course deck. The final all-state time was clocked in 16:50.35.

Top-ranked Landon Bendgen of Woodbine won the boys’ individual 1A title with a time of 15:58.11. He was 42nd at last year’s state meet.

Fifth-ranked Caden Keller of IKM-Manning was the runner-up in 16:13.07 and third-ranked Payton Griebel of Bellevue finished third in 16:15.03.

Richardson peaked at the end of the season, running his best times at Dike-New Hartford and at the conference, state qualifying and state meets.

When he left Fort Dodge on Friday, he was already talking about next season.

“He was already asking what he needed to do to be even faster,” Vaughn said. “With his drive and determination, Matt has a bright two years ahead of him.”

Richardson said he will not be playing baseball this summer. Instead, he will train to be in better shape before cross country season begins.

“I should be able to run a lot more because I’m not playing baseball,” Richardson said. “I want to be in the rankings next year.”