By Becky Walz,
Returning letter winners on the Decorah boys’ cross country team are (front row, l-r) Jack DelaRosa, Kyan Oftedahl, Kelton Casterton, D’Mitry Lesser, Spencer Christensen, Garrett See, Liam Huang; (back row) Grant Zilka, Riley Berns, Reid Berns, Max Grimstad, Davis Coppola, Tommy Hammel, Landyn Hook, Oliver Bollinger and Mitchell Stemper. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
The Decorah boys cross country team is looking to return to the big stage in 2024 after getting left out as a team at state the last two seasons.
The high quality of depth and experience could make the battle at the varsity level a competitive one for the Vikings, according to head coach Brad Johansen, who enters his ninth season at the helm with Tim Hayes as his assistant.
Making the most of 2023
Eight letter winners looked poised to make some noise in 2023, eventually finishing second at the Northeast Iowa Conference to Waukon and boasting five All-NEIC athletes. Grant Zilka paced the Vikes with a sixth-place finish, with Garrett See not far behind in ninth. D’mitry Lesser crossed the finish line 10th, followed by Landyn Hook in 12th and Henry Weis in 14th.
At the state-qualifying event in Clear Lake a week later, Decorah harriers finished fourth with 111 points and an average time of 17.42, missing a bid to state. Finishing 12th, Zilka earned a coveted individual ticket to Fort Dodge to represent the Vikings. See just missed his chance as he crossed the finish line 17th. Weis capped off his high school career in 23rd, while Lesser took 28th. Hook completed the Viking scoring in 31st.
In Fort Dodge, Zilka made the most of his 5K race, touring the course in 16:53.8, good for 38th overall.
Following graduation in May, Coach Johansen will be without several members that were leaders for the Vikings in 2023, including Lucas Arendt, Doug Bentley, Peter Essa, Lucas Hanson, Montana Jump-Gerleman, Alex McGohan, Aidan Nalean-Carlson, Travis Nordheim, Nathan Swarbrick, Adam Walter and Henry Weis.
With experience
Coach Johansen will have a host of athletes back with talent and experience. At the top of the list are his four all-conference performers. Joining the quartet will be JV all-conference honorees Jack DeLaRosa (1st, 18:13.8), Mitchell Stemper (3rd, 18:27.8), Liam Huang (4th, 18:28.8), Max Grimstad (5th, 18:46.1) and Kyan Oftedahl (6th, 18:48.7).
“Our mental toughness in the middle of the race will determine our overall success,” said Coach Johansen.
NEIC breakdown
Decorah will have its hands full when it comes to getting the top spot in the NEIC.
“Every team in the league has at least one very high quality runner. The team that can put seven on the course will be the champion,” said Coach Johansen. “I like our chances to put seven talented runners out on the course. Many runners have put the time in last spring running and this summer training. Staying healthy and injury free will be our limiting factors this season. When we are healthy and injury-free, we will be a top-notch Class 3A team.”
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