On Aug. 18, the first cross country preseason rankings placed Dallas Center-Grimes at sixth in Class 4A ahead of the start of the new school year. And in what is hopefully the last day with a heat index near triple digits, the Mustangs were hard at work just as they have been all summer, looking to climb those polls.
If you were to go to a DCG boys cross country practice, you might be surprised to see the first 30 minutes aren’t spent running or training physically. Head coach Matt Pries said it’s about how the team holds each other accountable, how they treat each other and dedicate themselves to DCG’s mission statement of Dedication, Compassion, Guts.
That’s all at the front of mind at practice. It’s not just running.
“When people say ‘How come your practices last two hours?’” head coach Matt Pries said at practice this week. “Today we spent over half an hour [working on that mission statement].”
Pries said that this season he feels the team is at the best it’s ever been in all of his 12 years, noting the best summer training attendance. And with a team of over 40, it’s those shared moments before hitting the trails that Pries takes pride in, so each member on the team can excel in their physical training when they might be apart for the rest of practice.
And four that might be separate from the pack look to be the four returning from last year’s state meet: Graham Ibeling, Jack Meggison, Noah Kerndt and Cael Ramsey who helped the team place fourth as a team.
Ibeling is the team’s top returner based on his final time of the season, clocking 16 minutes 11 seconds for 33rd place at Fort Dodge. Meggison trailed behind at 16:27 for 56th place. Meggison made some strides in the offseason, particularly in the first leg, as he placed Top 15 at the state track meet in the 800-meter run.
Pries also gave some hope that the team could be adding some strength from freshman Rylan Heeran who was one of the state’s top eighth-graders last year. But more than who will hopefully be representing the Mustangs at the state meet again, Pries was insistent on the whole roster’s value.
“We need No. 41 to be his very best because he’s pushing 40. He’s pushing 39 and on up the road. We need those to get to be our best every single day,” Pries said.
DCG starts its season on Tuesday, Aug. 26 at the DMACC campus in Ankeny.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: DCG boys cross country preview: Team works on more than running
Reporting by Sean Cordy / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
