The ACGC Charger cross country teams raced towards the final meet of the season Saturday with a large volume of success. Those who qualified made the most of the opportunities, finishing well in Fort Dodge.

Sophomore and defending 1A Girls Champion Kate Crawford dominated the regular season races, winning every single one. However a nagging hip injury caused her to slip slightly in the WCAC Conference and state qualifying meets. Crawford battled through that injury to finish third Saturday. Crawford also recorded a personal best time of 19:15.5. Senior Emma Swanson came in 23rd at 20:26.5 and junior Lauryn Embleton finished in 41st with a time of 21:06.1.

Junior Noah Nelsen finished 20th at last year’s state meet. Nelsen came off his winning performance at the state qualifying meet in Holstein to cross the line in 12th with a school record time of 16:43.3. Nelsen led the way for the ACGC boys team as they finished 8th. The Chargers finished with 194 points, just ten points behind Starmont for sixth place and three places higher than projected.

Head Coach Colin Shawgo is extremely proud of his team’s success and sees a promising future ahead for Charger cross country. “We had a lot of adversity that we battled through.  I think next year they’ll use this as a launching pad to show some people that they are two of the best teams in the state.”

For more interviews and reaction from the state meet, listen to today’s Guthrie County PM Sports Page.