Senior Cooper Nuss and junior Oscar Hanson ran the final race of the 2022 cross country season last Friday at the state cross country meet in Fort Dodge. The two individuals had qualified for the class 2A state meet the week before.

Oscar, competing in his second consecutive meet, was the top finisher for the Jaguars running a 17:44 to finish 58th. Cooper, running in his first ever state meet, finished the course in 18:23 to finish 87th overall.

“I think we went into state hoping both boys would PR and finish higher. Oscar ran about 3 seconds faster a year ago, but finished 17 places higher, so I think that shows that this year’s race was much more competitive than a year ago. Overall, both boys have had outstanding seasons and should be excited about what they accomplished,” commented Coach Nuss. “These two have really pushed each other the last two years and Oscar started to adjust to running without Cooper this year. It will be different next year without Cooper, but Oscar really started to figure out how to run his own races this year.”

Cooper competed in his final high school race in a Jaguar uniform to end an outstanding career. He will leave as running the 4th fastest time in school history as well as the 3rd fastest senior time all-time. He won 4 individual titles including being a three time conference medalist, two of those he was conference champion.

Cooper was also selected to the Iowa Association of Track Coaches All-Star track meet next weekend in Pella. Coach Nuss says of Cooper, “Cooper really put the work in on his own in the off-season to get to this point. He has been a huge example of what it takes to get to this level for the others on the team. Cooper along with the other seniors on the team really showed some strong leadership this year and really led the younger members of the team. I wish them all the best of luck on their future endeavors.”

“I also need to thank my assistant Coach, Amber Sorenson for her help throughout this year. Also a thank you to the city of Gowrie and the numerous volunteers who made it able to once again host two home cross country meets this year. It’s a big undertaking. Thank you to the local media with the coverage of the teams throughout the season. Finally, thank you to the parents and fans who supported us this year and most importantly our family for this crazy life we live during the season.”