Chickasaws put together solid state cross country meet

The New Hampton student-athletes who participated in the state cross country meet didn’t take time off and rest the day after their trip to Fort Dodge.
Olivia Burke talked about the meet after her shift at Klunder’s Kafe and Nolan Usher did the same after deer hunting.
And as for coach Jamie Ohrt, she was up at 4 a.m. Sunday to run in a benefit race in Des Moines.
There were 135 boys in Class 2A and Usher finished in the middle of the pack, 68th with a 17:55.
“It wasn’t my best performance, but it’s always a good time down at state,” said Usher, who ran at the meet last year. In 2016 he was 59th in 17:52.
“So my times were pretty similar,” said the junior. “I basically sprinted the first 100 meters, there’s a lot of adrenaline going. During the race I kind of felt a little tired, but at the finish, that’s where I really felt it. People are sprinting and you just try to keep up.”
“Nolan got out to a fast start, that’s important when you run with 140 people,” explained the coach. “Because of the number of fans along the route, you can have a hard time passing so you really have to establish your position early. 
“At first Nolan was the first or second runner and I was worried he was starting too fast but he was able to maintain his pace.”
Burke ran the 5K in 21:52, which was 80th of the 136 runners. Burke has been in meets with more runners, but these are the best of the best. 
“I was more nervous,” she said, “because it is state, there’s a lot more pressure and lots of people watching.”
For the full story, please see the Oct. 31 Tribune.