It’s uncommon for a high school runner to compete in four straight Iowa State Cross Country Meets at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Panorama senior Brooklyn Behrends became a part of the club this past weekend with her fourth straight appearance in the state’s final race of the year. The Raccoon Valley Radio Network had Panther head cross country coach Greg Thompson as a guest on Monday’s Wahl McAtee Tire and Service Center Guthrie County PM Sports Page. Thompson shared despite some personal doubt, Behrends closed her running career with her best state meet showing. “Brooklyn (Behrends) really stepped up,” Thompson said, “We got a text message from her mom that said she was pretty much a wreck Friday night and Saturday morning but she ran her fastest time ever at the state meet so she handled the nerves pretty well.”

Behrends has lowered her state meet time each year she’s competed at Fort Dodge. Her senior year state race time of 22:48 was 45 seconds faster than her junior performance, two minutes 44 seconds better than her sophomore year, and three minutes and nine seconds faster than her freshman year performance. Behrends performance was the fifth best finish on Panorama’s squad, placing her 102nd overall in the individual race standings. The Panorama Panthers girls cross country team finished in seventh place overall in the Class 2A team standings with 180 points scored.