Boys cross-country: Medal-winning Shively leads area seniors at state

Nov. 1—FORT DODGE — Sixth as a sophomore in 16:40. Eighth as a junior in 17:11.

Carson Shively is no stranger to ending his cross-country season with a medal around his neck overlooking a sea of fans and fellow runners from the deck of the clubhouse at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.

For the third straight year, the Davis County senior waved to that crowd as his name was announced as one of the top 15 runners in the Class 2A boys state cross-country race. Shively's final fall run for the Mustangs was right on pace with his two previous medal-winning performances as Shively finished eighth on Saturday in 16:48.52, almost 40 seconds faster than the 27th-place run he had in his first state meet as a freshman in 2018.

"Not to be cocky, but once I made it that first year, I knew I'd be coming back each year after that," Shively said. "I knew how I could perform against the runners from the other teams in districts. I was more worried about how I would do at state late in the season, so that's what I trained for, at least after my sophomore year.

"I think I gave it as much as I could and made sure to run how I wanted to run to do well enough to make the top 15 and the top 10. This year felt even more competitive. It felt like there was more of an expectation to come back and win one last medal."

Shively entered his final state cross-country race ranked third in Class 2A. That's exactly where Shively found himself throughout the opening half of the race running in third behind Des Moines Christian teammates Aaron Fynaardt and Carson Houg right from the start.

"That was the game plan going in," Shively said. "That was probably the best start I could have. Their first mile was about 4:50. I was trying to keep up, but I was also trying to avoid dying right at the very start."

Shively cracked five minutes in his opening mile, posting 4:59.47 to stay in the hunt for the individual state title. As the race continued, Shively's pace slowed somewhat running a 5:35.65-second mile before finishing the rest of the five-kilometer race in 6:07.18.

"I knew how the course was going to be. I knew how the start was going to be. I just didn't know how I would perform," Shively said. "That's what I was nervous about. I didn't know where I was going to be at during the race."

Ultimately, bringing home three medals from three top-10 runs at state is quite a legacy to leave behind. In preparing Shively for his final run at the state cross-country meet, Mustang head coach Josh Husted reached out to one of Ottumwa's all-time best distance runners for advice.

"I got a hold of Kevin Lewis and was bouncing some ideas off him," Husted said. "We came up with some different styles of workouts for Carson. We had a game plan and it resulted in a sub-five minute opening mile. That's really fast, even for a state meet."

"I'd say he's the highest-caliber athlete that I've ever coached. His work ethic is tremendous."

Like Shively, Albia senior Dawson Bonnett completed his fourth and final state cross-country meet on Saturday morning in the 2A boys race. Bonnett posted his best finish in Fort Dodge, placing 26th posting an all-time best time 17:18.7 for the Blue Demons.

"You can't script it any better than that," Albia head cross-country coach Todd Ratliff said of Bonnett's final state cross-country run. "I'm very proud of his four years and what he's accomplished making it to state every year."

Albia teammate Ethan Stalzer closed out his sophomore season for the Blue Demons finishing 67th in 18:02.23. Almost 10 seconds ahead of Stalzer in the 2A boys race was Cardinal senior Gavin Grove, who experienced state for the first and only time running cross-country for the Comets finishing 54th on Saturday in 17:52.98.

"It's packed here. It's been fun to run and a fun experience," Grove said. "I knew it was going to be tough. It was even harder than I figured it would be. I didn't even look down the line at the start. I was too nervous to even see how many kids were out there.

"I wish I would have known the course a little better. I knew it would be fast-paced. It's such a great accomplishment to make it here."

Pekin senior Zack Wise also closed out his high school cross-country career on Saturday, running in the Class 1A boys state race in the afternoon session. Wise, a four-time state qualifier, placed 49th in just his second state run after missing out due to a injury as a freshman and COVID-19 as a junior crossing the finish line Saturday in 17:49.73, improving by 57 places and 45 seconds over his previous state run as a sophomore in 2019.

"I had to go out with a bang. I put everything into this final season of high school cross-country," Wise said. "I did what I normally do. I really wanted to do better than what I normally do, but it's been a heck of a ride. It was a fun time this season with all the support we've gotten.

"There's a difference between regret and wish. I wish I had done better, but I don't regret what I did. I still ran had and gave it all I had. I don't regret the season. We're Pekin. We're one big family and we always support each other."

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.