Rams’ Berglund, Stanley punch ticket to state cross country
Grace Berglund was second at the state qualifier to become Glenwood's first four-time state qualifier.
Glenwood runners Grace Berglund and Deagan Stanley both qualified for the Iowa State Cross Country meet with top 10 finishes at the Class 3A regional qualifier at Glenwood Lake Park last Wednesday.
Berglund ran a 17:55 to finish second in the girls race while Stanley was seventh in the boys race with a time of 16:41.
The top three teams and the top 10 individual finishers qualify for state. The Iowa State Cross Country Meet commences at Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge with the Class 1A and 2A boys and girls raced on Oct. 30 and the 3A and 4A races on Oct. 31.
Sioux Center swept the girls and boys team titles. The Warrior girls scored a 68 to edge ADM for top honors and the boys ran a 50 for first place.
MOC-Floyd Valley’s Natalie Anderson won the girls race, running a 17:13, a new course record.
Glenwood’s girls finished sixth with a score of 149.
“We were actually pretty happy with the times our girls ran, as it was a bit warmer than everyone probably was expecting,” said Glenwood girls coach Marissa Klindt. “This is the first state qualifying XC meet in my coaching career where no one needed a coat.”
With her second-place finish, Berglund becomes the Rams’ first four-time state qualifier. She placed eighth in 2023, sixth in 2024, and 23rd last season.
“Grace is highly motivated, and we’re so excited to see what she can do next week at the state meet,” Klindt said. “She wants back up on the deck at state and has put it all the work necessary to get there.”
In addition to Berglund’s runner-up finish, three of Klindts’ girls ran their personal best 5K times. Bree Houser, Betsy Johnson, and Karsyn Lundvall all had record days.
Lundvall ran a 22:14 for 39th, Houser ran a 22:22 for 43rd, Johnsson ran a 22:35 for 47th.
Jada Kanngieser ran a 22:03 for 31st and Katie Leick was 34th in 22:09.
“We had a 19 second split between our second and fifth runners, which is the best we’ve had since 2021,” Klindt said. “Our team is very young, but our underclassmen gained some valuable experience this season. We’re looking forward to the next few years with these girls.”
Sioux Center’s Ray Landegent ran a 16:02 to win the boys race.
The Ram boys tallied 145 points for fifth place.
Glenwood boys coach Todd Peverill called the boys performance their “best collective result of the year” with four runners recording personal best times.
Stanley led that charge, finishing in seventh place and qualifying for the state meet with an impressive time of 16:41, his first sub-17-minute run of the season and 26 seconds off his previous best.
Stanley’s high school journey started this year as a freshman, when he debuted at our home meet on Aug. 29 with a time of 17:45.
“He consistently improved, plateauing around the 17:00 mark across three meets,” Peverill said. “Last night, he made significant strides, improving by 1:04 seconds over the season and achieving the second-fastest freshman time in Glenwood boys school cross country history.”
Cole Berglund, the Rams’ second runner, also broke the 18-minute barrier for the first time, finishing 24th with a time of 17:32, which is a 35-second improvement. Lucas Kauffman followed suit, finishing in 17:58 and cutting four seconds from his best time. Jaxton Long, the Rams’ fourth runner, was only seven seconds from his season best. Fifth runner, CJ Odorizzi, also set a new personal record, improving by one second.
“The team displayed remarkable cohesion, with the pack of our third through sixth runners allowing only 15 runners from other teams to be spaced between them,” said Peverill. “The roster comprised two freshmen, four sophomores, and one junior, signaling a promising future for the team.”
Class 3A State Qualifier
Girls Team Results
1. Sioux Center, 68. 2. ADM, 77. 3. MOC-Floyd Valley, 78. 4. Harlan, 113. 5. Creston, 117. 6. Glenwood, 149. 7. Atlantic, 164. 8. Denison, 199. 9. Bishop Heelan, 235. 10. Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 243. 11. LeMars, 271.
Glenwood Girls Place Winners
2. Grace Berglund, 17:55. 31. Jada Kanngieser, 22:03. 34. Katie Leick, 22:09. 39. Karsyn Lundvall, 22:14. 43. Breelyn Houser, 22:22. 47. Sarah Ruth Johnson, 22:35. 55. Elizabeth Johnson, 23:04.
Boys Team Results
1. Sioux Center, 50. 2. ADM, 71. 3. Creston, 96. 4. MOC-Floyd Valley, 128. 5. Glenwood, 145. 6. Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 172. 7. Atlantic, 173. 8. Denison, 181. 9. Harlan, 194. 10. Bishop Heelan, 213. 11. LeMars, 312.
Glenwood Boys Place Winners
7. Deagan Stanley, 16:41. 24. Cole Berglund, 17:32. 29. Lucas Kauffman, 17:58. 38. Jaxton Lobg, 18:15. 47. Charles Odorizzi, 18:44. 48. Grant Sorensen, 18:46. 56. Alexander Lopez, 19:11.