Both of Fatima’s cross country teams are bound for the state championships this weekend after a first-place finish for each
squad at the Class 2 District 4 Saturday at Linn.

“This was without question the toughest Class 2 district in the state, both with quality teams as well as high-ranked individuals on the girls and boys sides,” said Coach Marc Bridges. “We put a lot of emphasis this week on running as a team and using our teammates to pull everyone along. We also emphasized the concept that everything that happens in the third mile of the race is a decision.

The kids really took these points of emphasis to heart and executed very solid races.”

In the girls race, Fatima won with 39 points, edging out Father Tolton (43) and Hermann (67), as all five Lady Comets earned All-District honors, led by Kendall Haller’s second-
place mark of 20:48, with Alexis Fischer just two seconds behind for third.

“Kendall and Alexis did a terrific job of using each other as Fischer set a good early pace and Haller pushed the pace late in the race allowing both girls to move easily into second and third as they crossed the line,” said Bridges.

Sierra Sankey had a very controlled start before really pushing over the last mile to push past several opponents setting herself up for a seventh-place finish in 21:12. “Sierra’s toughness has always been her greatest strength and mthere is no doubt that her grit was invaluable Saturday,” said Bridges.

Emma Bower (13, 21:29) and Kailey Woody (14, 21:43) did a good job of pacing together early as Woody set the initial pace and Bower pulled them along at the end. “Both Bower and Woody did a great job of knowing where their opponents were late in the race and deciding to push by them,” said Bridges.

Sarah Groene (19, 22:29) and Corinn Karst (25, 23:37) both got into the scoring, pushing the other teams’ points up as they were both able to come in ahead of several other teams scorers.

“Any time you can get your sixth and seventh runners to add points to someone else it’s going to be a good day,” Bridges noted.

Fatima will run in the Class 2 state girls race at 10:50 a.m. Saturday at Gans Creek in Columbia.

On the boys side, Fatima scored 38 points to beat Hermann (47) and Fr. Tolton (66).

“The boys also really took the lessons of the week to heart as they did an incredible job of using each other to push pace,” said Bridges.

Dawson Woehr finished second as Fatima number- one runner in a very fast 17:00. “Dawson is running on another level right now and with great confidence,” Bridges said.

“I’m really looking forward to what he can do at state this week.”

Lucas Laux had his first race in a month after missing some competitions with a hip injury, and ran to a fourth-place time of 17:18.

“Lucas really just kind of felt his way through the first half of the race, ensuring a quality finish,” said Bridges. “This week Lucas will push himself and likely join Woehr in the top of the finishers.”

Caden Haslag (7, 17:35) and Elijah Selin (9, 17:38) have been pacing off of each other since last track season and continued the trend Saturday.

“It’s a pleasure to watch these two work together to eat up opponents and if they will give an effort at state like they did at districts good things will happen,” said Bridges. “Our typical fifth runner, Jake Boyce, had to pull out of the race around the twomile mark with a minor injury, and we look to have him back in the lineup at state.”

Dean Hagenhoff (18, 18:13) moved into Fatima’s final scoring position when Boyce went down. “He did a great job of digging deep and pushing pace to help advance the team to state,” said Bridges. “Dean has been on a definite and measurable uptick in the second half of the season. Josh Even (24, 18:46) finished in our final position and did a great job of adding points to our opponents.”

The Class 2 boys state championship race will begin at 9:35 a.m.

Overall, Bridges said he is very proud of the efforts of Fatima’s athletes and is excited about the week ahead.

Bridges praised event organizers. “Linn’s staff and volunteers deserve a huge thanks for putting together a terrific district meet,” he said. “They really did a great job of organizing and executing a great event.”