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Introducing the 2023 All-Iowa boys high school cross country honorees

joe randleman, des moines register
·3 min read

The Des Moines Register is pleased to announce the All-Iowa boys cross country teams for the 2023 season.

The teams include a six-person Elite Team, made up of the state’s best runners, regardless of class, as well as first-team selections for all four of Iowa’s classes. The teams were picked based on in-season results and observations from the Register.

Members of The Register’s All-Iowa boys cross country Elite team are nominees for the girls cross country runner of the year.

Elite team

Landon Bendgen of Woodbine won back to back state titles as a junior and senior.
Landon Bendgen of Woodbine won back to back state titles as a junior and senior.

Landon Bendgen, sr., Woodbine

Bendgen was the lone boys runner to repeat as a state champion this year.

Bendgen ran a 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 55.3 seconds to win the Class 1A title by 7.3 seconds. He won last year's 1A championship in 15:58.11.

Pella's Canaan Dunham earned his first individual state title in 2023.
Pella's Canaan Dunham earned his first individual state title in 2023.

Canaan Dunham, soph., Pella

Dunham earned his first individual state championship for Pella in helping the Dutch place second as a team in 3A after winning last year's state championship.

Dunham ran the fastest time of any 3A boys runner during the state meet. He crossed the finish line in 15:18.5 to dethrone defending champion Ethan Eichhorn of Lewis Central by seven seconds.

Natneal Kifle of Sioux City North finished on the podium at the state cross country meet in 2023.
Natneal Kifle of Sioux City North finished on the podium at the state cross country meet in 2023.

Natneal Kifle, sr., Sioux City North

After coming in 17th in 4A at last year's state meet, Kifle moved all the way up to third place in 2023.

Kifle completed the state meet in 15:25.6. His best time of the season was 15:10.3 at the Fort Dodge Invitational on Oct. 5.

Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls placed second in the 4A boys state cross country race.
Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls placed second in the 4A boys state cross country race.

Jaden Merrick, soph., Cedar Falls

Merrick came close to winning a state championship this season and he will get two more chances.

The Cedar Falls sophomore clocked in at 15:13.4 during the 4A boys race to trail only Ankeny's Ethan Zuber. His best time in 2023 was 15:08.6, the second best in the entire state for the season, during the Jim Boughton Invitational on Sept. 21 at Dubuque.

Mid-Prairie's Emmett Swartzetruber earned a state title in 2023.
Mid-Prairie's Emmett Swartzetruber earned a state title in 2023.

Emmett Swartzentruber, jr., Mid-Prairie

Swartzentruber placed 20th in 2A at last year's state meet.

He earned a state championship in 2023. Swartzentruber ran a PR time of 15:51 to edge Denver's Neal Pinter by 2.9 seconds for his first state championship.

Ethan Zuber of Ankeny won the Class 4A state title in 2023.
Ethan Zuber of Ankeny won the Class 4A state title in 2023.

Ethan Zuber, jr., Ankeny

Zuber was up with Kifle and Merrick as the top runners in the state during the regular season.

At state, he raised the bar and won his first individual state championship. After placing 11th at state a year ago, Zuber ran the fastest time of any boys runner this season during the 4A race with a time of 15:07.7.

Class 4A

  • Jack Flori, jr., Dowling Catholic

  • Adam Gray, soph., Cedar Rapids Kennedy

  • Jaden Merrick, soph., Cedar Falls

  • Natneal Kifle, sr., Sioux City North

  • Aj Schermerhorn, sr., Ankeny Centennial

  • Ethan Zuber, jr., Ankeny

Class 3A

  • Logan Bleich, fr., Gilbert

  • Canaan Dunham, soph., Pella

  • Ethan Eichhorn, sr., Lewis Central

  • Micah Rees, sr., Washington

  • Andrew Smith, sr., Glenwood

  • Nathan Vander Waal, sr., Pella

Class 2A

  • Collin Houg, sr., Des Moines Christian

  • Evan Osler, jr., Okoboji

  • Neal Pinter, sr., Denver

  • Emmett Swartzentruber, jr., Mid-Prairie

  • Caleb Ten Pas, soph., Des Moines Christian

  • Kyle Wagoner, jr., Clarinda

Class 1A

  • Lincoln Bainbridge, soph., Van Buren County

  • Landon Bendgen, sr., Woodbine

  • Andrew Mahaffey, sr., ACGCG

  • Justin Rygh, sr., Lake Mills

  • Aidan Shannon, sr., Wapsie Valley

  • Emerson Vokes, soph., Grundy Center

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Here are the 2023 All-Iowa high school boys cross country selections