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Mason City’s Ivy Ketelsen and Paizlee Carter emerge from the woods during Tuesday’s varsity race.
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Junior Riley Beitel crosses the finish line after the junior varsity race on Tuesday.
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Sophomores Keigan Flaherty and Kyran Hirsch compete for space in a tight pack.
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Senior Brogan Evans leads the MCHS girls’ team during the varsity race.
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Junior Henry Hansen leads the varsity boys’ race.
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Henry Hansen receives his medal for a first place finish in a time of 16:03.
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The MCHS cross country team cheers as medal-winning teammates are announced.
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The girls’ team celebrates as their overall victory is announced.
The Riverhawk girls’ and boys’ cross country teams competed in the Riverhawk home invitational last night. The girls’ varsity team secured a first place finish, and several athletes had outstanding individual performances.
One remarkable performance on the boys’ side was a 16:03 performance by junior Henry Hansen. A personal record for Hansen, the time also secured him a first place finish by a remarkable margin of 13 seconds. “I wish that I was chasing someone because I think I could have run even faster,” said Hansen afterwards.
“I was thrilled to set a new PR,” he added. “This is my first time winning a real varsity meet, so it really boosted my confidence.”
The boys’ varsity team took third place out of 12 teams, behind Lake Mills and Ames.
The girls’ varsity narrowly won their race by a margin of one point. With five runners in the top ten finishers, the girls dominated the race from the start line.
“It was great to have lots of Mason City runners represented on the awards podium,” said head coach Tyler Ketelsen. “I was very happy for the girls team as they got to win our home meet. [It’s] an exciting memory for the entire team.”
Going forward, Ketelsen says the girls team has a chance for post-season success. “Our girls team can take a run at the conference title this year,” he said. “[They] will be knocking on the door of a state qualification if we can all perform at our best at the same time.”
“We want to keep working hard, keep improving, and continue lowering times,” Ketelsen added.
Other notable performances from the Riverhawks included a first-place finish in the girls’ junior varsity race by junior Harley Trettin and a runner-up placement in the varsity girls’ race by senior Brogan Evans.
