This was the day every cross country runner had been training for. The cold and wind didn’t matter. They were ready.

Halloween is normally a day to eat candy, but for freshman Payton Schut and junior Chris Ellens, Oct. 31 was a day to compete in the State cross country meet in Fort Dodge.
“They both went into State sitting in the 80s for placing, so they did better than expected,” Head Coach Eric Karr said.
Schut ran first at 1 p.m. Of 135 girls in 2A, she finished in 78th place with a time of 21:29.9, which was her second fastest time of the season. The 2A girls’ State champion was from Monticello and ran a time of 18:54.7.
“I want to keep trying hard like I have been since seventh grade, and hopefully I will improve,” Schut said.
Ellens was next, running at 1:30 p.m. Coming in first for the 2A boys’ race was a senior from Aplington-Parkersburg, running a 15:55. Ellens ran an 18:06.5, coming in at 72nd place out of 140 boys.
“State is a completely different experience. Different from anywhere I’ve ever run, but just having that experience under my belt, seeing what State is like and just the exciting atmosphere will motivate me to keep going for next year,” Ellens said. “I want to improve on my finishes. I’m not the fastest sprinter in the world, but hopefully I can work on that in track this year.”
Now that the season is over, Karr said, “We are going to switch up our summer training next year in an attempt to keep everyone healthy. We are going to focus more on accessory lifts and strengthening parts of our body that we have been neglecting.”
Congratulations to the PCM cross country runners on an outstanding season.
“It’s not a question of if we can get the team to State… It’s when we get the team to State.”