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Freshman Phoe-nom

Hermanson gets Bobcats back to state cross country meet

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

The last time a freshman made the state meet for the Marshalltown girls cross country team, Phoebe Hermanson was 3 years old.

Now 11 years later, Hermanson is the first Bobcat freshman to make the trip to Fort Dodge for the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships since Lydia Martin in 2007 and the first MHS girl to run at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course since Rachel Blagg in 2014.

In the week since earning her spot at state by placing ninth in the state qualifying meet at the Marshalltown Community College Cross Country Course last Thursday, Hermanson said there’s been an outpouring of encouragement from the community.

“People have been really nice and supportive and it’s kind of cool to see everyone supporting me,” she said. “I think everyone is just really excited for us and the program to have someone going again.”

Watching Hermanson and teammates Jade Tejada, Mary Kate Gruening and Tanna Underhill finish practice on Wednesday, Bobcat girls head coach Stacy O’Hare said it’s almost a surreal feeling to still be working on the track.

“It’s nice to be able to extend the season one more week, it’s always a great feeling whether it’s just one kid or more,” she said. “We are happy to be here.”

Sometimes when teams get this late into the season players’ interest in practice can dwindle, but O’Hare said Hermanson has remained a stoic force.

“She just continues to work hard, no gripes, just a big smile on her face,” O’Hare said. “It doesn’t matter what the workout is, you just tell her what to do she’s going to go do it. Sometimes it’s hard to slow her down, but her work ethic is no different than it was the first day of practice.”

Hermanson said she continues to practice with a smile because she knows she has a rare chance to experience such a big meet at such a young age.

“I’m just happy to have gotten the opportunity to go there,” she said. “I’ll just run, it’s just running. Go out there and try my hardest and that’s all I can do.”

That kind of approach has kept Hermanson focused, O’Hare said, and it’s almost like she’s an old pro at preparing for state.

“She’s a freshman and doesn’t say a lot but she still talks a little bit,” O’Hare said. “As far as nerves she doesn’t appear to be nervous at all. She is just Phoebe, she’s ready to go. Not real hyped up, she really acts like she’s a well-groomed senior right now, like it’s no different.”

The prospect of running against the other fastest girls in the state could make anyone weak at the knees, but Hermanson said going to the state meet obviously means she will have to face off against some talented opponents.

“I’m not super intimidated, I know they are going to be there so, I mean it’s just other girls. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she said.

O’Hare said running in a conference like the CIML, which makes up eight of the 15 total teams that qualified for state in Class 4A, prepared Hermanson for running against the tough competition she will face on Saturday.

“The thing with the teams we see at the Bobcat Invite or our conference meet, she is going to be running up against a lot of the same kids she’s already seen,” O’Hare said. “The best runners in the state of Iowa, she’s seen pretty much all of them. There might be a few that she hasn’t but we will have a plan going in and she will do just like she always does an run her plan.”

Hermanson got essentially a preview of the state meet in this year’s Bobcat Classic, which featured all of the top-10 teams in 4A among the 23 teams in attendance.

“That was such a huge meet, the number of kids that were at the starting line and how important it was to get out. She’s kind of already experienced that, so that gives her an advantage I think,” O’Hare said.

“That was a really cool experience and I think it definitely prepared me for state,” Hermanson said of the Bobcat Classic.

Still, even with experience against most of the girls she will be running against, competing at the state meet is a new animal for Hermanson. She said she is even enlisting help from the boys’ team to prepare for the race.

“I have looked at the course, [boys head coach Chad Pietig] is going to show me where the hills are early in the morning [Thursday],” Hermanson said.

As far as where she can finish, O’Hare said they haven’t totally laid out goals for the race just yet, but she has a few marks she is sure Hermanson can hit.

“I can see her in the top 25 easily,” O’Hare said. “I would bet she goes under 20 minutes, those are two things that stand out for me right now.”

Hermanson broke the 20-minute barrier once this season by running a 19:54 in the Norwalk Cross Country Invite, but that race is held on a shorter course than usual. She said breaking that barrier at the state meet is definitely one of her goals.

“I would really like to break 20 minutes at state if I can because I definitely know those girls will be pushing the whole field to go a lot faster,” she said.

Just getting to state is already an accomplishment for Hermanson, and it has provided a spark to the entire team that shows with Tejada, Gruening and Underhill all still working out with her.

“That’s really cool that they came out and ran with me even after they were done, they didn’t have to,’ she said of the team’s support. “I just think that’s really awesome, I love those girls and they are super sweet. If they are out here practicing then that demonstrates that they are hopefully looking forward to what we can do next year.”

O’Hare agreed with her freshman phenom.

“It’s a great motivator, it’s something for us to really build on for next year,” O’Hare said. “It’s great to have these guys that, though they didn’t qualify for state, they are here and running with Phoebe and helping her out because they see the enthusiasm and excitement that has happened now that we have somebody to state, so this is our goal for next year as a team.”

Hermanson competes in the Iowa State Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge, with the 4A girls race starting at 11 a.m.

Area State Cross Country Qualifiers

Saturday

At Lakeside Municipal Golf Course, Fort Dodge

Class 4A

GIRLS (11 a.m.)

Marshalltown — Phoebe Hermanson, fr.

Class 3A

GIRLS (Noon)

South Tama County — Callie Frakes, jr.

Class 2A

GIRLS (1 p.m.)

Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck — Taylor Stahl, fr.

West Marshall — Grace Girard, sr.

BOYS (1:30 p.m.)

Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck — Brady Appel, sr., Paul Brockett, fr., Derek Ciddio, sr., Soren Cleveland, fr., Kenny Day, so., Marshall Day, sr., Sam Schildroth, jr.

Class 1A

GIRLS (2 p.m.)

East Marshall — Madison Duncan, sr., Addison Lane, fr., Wendy Liera, jr., Melinda Puumala, sr., Hannah Roads, so., Mkenzie Robinson, fr., Olivia Terrones, jr.

BOYS (2:30 p.m.)

BCLUW — Henry Kaisand, fr., Joe Mason, jr., Tanner McLeland, so., Ruben Montoya, jr., Neifer Ralston, sr., Caleb Silver, sr., Treye Teske, jr.

GMG — Jackson Edens, jr.

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