Alberts, Wilmesmeier lead L-S boys to best-ever finish at state cross country

FORT DODGE — The junior duo of Colton Alberts and Blake Wilmesmeier ran near perfect races during the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

They didn’t get out too fast, maintained a pace that kept them near the front and finalized strong seasons with a pair of top-20 finishes at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course inside Kennedy Park.

“Those two are our running leaders and as juniors they are vocal leaders now, too,” Lynnville-Sully head cross country coach Darin Arkema said. “The final week’s rankings are supposed to be a prediction for where teams will finish. It doesn’t have to be where we finish though.”

The Hawks final ranking before the state cross country meet was 13th. But Alberts and Wilmesmeier gave Lynnville-Sully a bump at the top of its lineup and propelled it to the best team finish in school history.

The Hawks placed 10th with 245 points. That was one point back of No. 11 South Winneshiek (244) and eight points in front of No. 7 Sioux Central (253).

Lynnville-Sully also was better than No. 10 Van Buren County (260), No. 8 Beckman Catholic (269), No. 15 Pekin (294), No. 16 North Butler (303) and No. 14 Nodaway Valley (305).

Alberts came into the meet ranked No. 21 but posted a career-best time in the boys’ 5K race. He finished 10th in 16 minutes, 39 seconds. That was a 24-second improvement from last year’s state meet.

The three-time individual state qualifier also ran the fastest time ever for an L-S male at the state meet. His 10th place finish was the best in school history, too.

“It feels amazing. It’s awesome,” Alberts said. “My goal was to get 15th. Being 10th is amazing.

“I think we did great. Everyone pushed their hardest and tried their best. Our goal was to be the highest finishing team ever, and we did that.”

Alberts earned a spot on the all-state deck. The top 15 individual finishers and top three teams are recognized on the deck after each race.

Wilmesmeier secured second team all-state honors after a 20th-place finish. His time was clocked in a career-best 16:58.2. He’s the fourth L-S runner to ever go under 17 minutes at the state meet and his time was a 52-second improvement from the 2024 state meet.

“I paced off him for about the first two miles and tried to stay with him as long as I could,” Wilmesmeier said about Alberts. “He’s been here three times now so he knows the ropes for sure.

“It was a great experience. It was fun. You just need to hang on after the fast start the best you can.”

The L-S girls also competed at the state meet for the second straight season. The Hawks were one of five schools in 1A that sent both of their cross country teams to state.

Junior Emma Parkinson headlined the Hawks’ day with a 34th-place finish. Her time was clocked in a career best 20:23.4.

It was a disappointing day overall for the L-S girls. The No. 14 Hawks placed 15th in the final standings with 287 points. They tied No. 13 Wapsie Valley (287), but the Warriors finished 14th due to a better sixth runner.

“It feels awesome to accomplish something I have worked so hard to get this season,” Parkinson said about the career-best time. “I wanted to be top 40 so I got that. This year I wanted to make it as a team and as an individual so I feel pretty proud at this moment.

“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 and I’m so proud of them.”

Class 1A No. 1 Oakland Riverside won the boys’ team title with 54 points. No. 2 Lake Mills (69) placed second despite having a 2-3 finish individually.

Third-ranked Ankeny Christian (124), fourth-ranked Earlham (150) and No. 6 Springville (225) completed the top five. The rest of the top 10 included No. 9 Columbus Community (227), No. 12 Louisa-Muscatine (228) and No. 5 East Sac County (231).

Class 1A No. 8 Hugh Conway of South Winneshiek won the boys’ 1A title with a time of 15:50.7.

Top-ranked Hayden Thompson (16:02.7) and second-ranked Knute Rogne (16:03.4) of Lake Mills finished second and third, respectively.

“When we got here, Ankeny Centennial was 13th ranked in 4A coming in, and they got third place,” Arkema said. “The rankings are just a number. There is still a race to run.

“Tenth place and only losing one senior tells me we can do this again. We have 10 guys coming back who have to believe we can go even higher.”

Sophomore Madden Gunsaulus (18:21.5), junior Sam Terlouw (18:24.6) and senior Ethan Dunsbergen (18:49.1) were the other scoring runners for the L-S boys. The trio placed 98th, 105th and 123rd, respectively.

Juniors Keegan Schnell (19:20.1) and Evan Arkema (19:30.1) were non-scoring runners in 134th and 137th, respectively.

“It was great to get to run a second time and apply what I learned from last year,” Gunsaulus said. “You learn how not get out as fast as you may want to and I learned how to take the tight turns better.”

Gunsaulus was 1 minute, 9 seconds faster on the state course in 2025 than he was last fall. Terlouw had a 30-second improvement and Arkema went 23 seconds faster than last year.

Dunsbergen is the only graduating senior on this year’s varsity roster. He was very confident coming into the day after racing on the state course last season.

“It wasn’t my best race, but it was solid,” Dunsbergen said. “I’m glad my last race was under 19 minutes. It would have been nice to reach my goal time, but I’m still very happy with how it went.

“I’m very proud of the team for what we’ve achieved. It feels great that I get to be a part of this. I know that everyone has worked very hard all season and we wouldn’t have accomplished this without everyone buying into this team. I will remember this season for the rest of my life.”

Alberts is the first state medalist since James Gruver placed 14th in 2022. Gruver’s time of 16:52 was the previous fastest time by an L-S male at the state meet. Coach Arkema went 16:52 during his prep days and also finished 14th.

“If I could have scripted a race for him today, it wouldn’t have been far off what he did,” Coach Arkema said about Alberts. “You have to get out, but you have to stay composed, know yourself and have something left for the final mile.

“He was 33rd at the first mile marker. He gained a runner here and gained more runners there. He picked them off one by one.”

No. 1 Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert defended her girls’ 1A title with a time of 17:56.6 and then committed to the University of Texas on Monday.

Second-ranked Chloe Glosser of Pekin was the runner-up in 18:33.5.

After Parkinson for the L-S girls was sophomore Mandeesa Vos (21:35.9) in 83rd. Sophomore Breah Lowry (22:43.2) placed 119th and junior Peyton Sharp (22:49.7) finished 127th.

Sophomore Isabelle Vos (23:12.2) was the final scoring runner in 135th and Freshman Katelyn Nikkel (25:01.7) and senior Morgan Hay (27:24.4) were non-scoring runners in 151st and 158th, respectively.

“When we were walking the course, I realized I didn’t remember much of the race last year,” Lowry said. “It was a cool experience. It’s so loud and busy everywhere you go.

“I think we were hoping to do better, and I think we could have. We all did good though.”

Lowry spent last fall dual sporting with volleyball but chose to just run cross country in 2025.

Isabelle Vos and Hay were the dual-sport athletes this fall. Both were out for cross country for the first time, and Hay is the only varsity runner who will not be back next season.

“It was actually a really fun experience. I ran with them this summer, I really like the team and I really like track,” Isabelle Vos said. “The coaches are really good about making sure you’re not overwhelmed. I think it went well. It was a lot, but it was fun.”

No. 1 South Winneshiek won the girls’ 1A championship with 125 points.

Second-ranked Sumner-Fredericksburg (136) finished second and the rest of the top 10 included No. 8 Hudson (143), No. 7 Earlham (148), No. 6 Madrid (155), No. 5 Martensdale-St. Marys (180), No. 12 Van Buren County (198), No. 10 English Valleys (207), No. 9 Collins-Maxwell (207) and No. 3 Sioux Central (222).

No. 11 Tri-Center (228) was 11th, and No. 4 Newell-Fonda (243), No 15 Sibley-Ocheyedan (246) and No. 16 Alta-Aurelia (324) completed the 16-team field.

“It was a disappointing day overall,” Coach Arkema said. “We finished eighth last year and were basically twice as far back this year. I think seeing what English Valleys and Collins-Maxwell did, and knowing we beat them this year, makes it harder.

“This is on me. I have to figure out how to get our kids to the finish line. Our month of October was a downward slide, and I take ownership in that. I don’t put any of that on the kids. They are fully capable of placing better.”

Notes: The state cross country meet featured some of the coldest temperatures of the season. It made for some interesting strategies throughout the 5K course. “I would rather run in 80 degree heat,” Mandeesa Vos said. “You just never know what to wear and you start second guessing things. It makes the start of the race more stressful.” … Coach Arkema’s message about the weather was that it’s the same for everyone. “How do we practice in September for what today’s weather could be and usually is?” Coach Arkema said. “Do we go to Alaska?”