Last fall was a difficult time period for Nevada senior Dawson Lemke.
After qualifying for the cross country state meet as a junior, Lemke entered his senior season hoping to return to Fort Dodge and improve upon his 74th-place finish in Class 3A. But just before the season began, he suffered a stress fracture in his right foot.
The injury sidelined Lemke for most of the season. He was able to return as the campaign was winding down, but he was nowhere near 100% and unable to get back to Fort Dodge.
But instead of stewing over the unfortunate circumstances that cost him one of his dreams, Lemke decided to work.
He was constantly working hard to recover and get his walking boot off so he could get back on the cross country course before the season ended. He also started preparing for the 2026 track and field season.
He spent the winter months getting fully healed and back into prime running shape. On top of running during his downtime, Lemke got a lot more aerobic work in by adding a steady diet of cross-training.
“I admire his commitment,” said Nevada boys cross country and track and field coach James Mills. “He attended every practice and worked on his rehabilitation to be able to return as best and as quickly as possible. Dawson has been committed to doing the work in the offseason to be best prepared for the in-season, whether it is track or cross country.”
Now fully healed, Lemke is thrilled to be running again.
“My goal for this season is to just be able to run the whole time,” Lemke said. “I’d love to run PRs again and the goal is to qualify for state.”
He is not just running. He is winning.
Lemke entered the Nevada Invitational on March 31, having run the fastest 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter races on the team.
His best 800 time entering the meet was two minutes, 10.27 seconds. Lemke’s fastest time in the mile was 4:51.49 and he ran the two-mile in 10:38.18.
At the Nevada Invitational, Lemke placed third in the 1,600 with a time of 4:55.17. He also anchored the Cubs to victory in the 4×800 relay with a time of 8:40.69.
“Absolute dawg,” said Nevada 4×800 runner Gavin Egeland. “Just seeing him work hard is so inspiring. He just brings the energy up and makes us work hard.”
Lemke ran in the 4×800 at the state meet for Nevada two years ago. He ran the opening leg for a Cub team that placed 22nd in 3A with a time of 8:25.18.
He said running with teammates gives him extra motivation to succeed. His teammates are motivated by his passion for competing.
“Dawson has been running all winter and all cross country season, even though he had a stress fracture,” said Nevada 4×800 runner Henry Little. “Every day he’d be biking. He was probably working harder than everyone else on the team while he couldn’t run. He’s just been a really good inspiration for the team.”
Individually, Lemke’s top event is the open 800. That is one of the toughest races to compete in for a lot of runners since they must sprint around the track twice.
“You’ve just got to dig deep and keep pushing,” Lemke said. “You’ve just got to be mentally strong. I’m happy when it’s over — it’s a hard thing to do.”
But as difficult as it is to run the event, Lemke loves competing in the 800.
“There are so many different strategies and different strengths,” Lemke said. “That makes it entertaining and fun to do.”
Lemke said he wants to qualify for the state meet in the 800, 3,200 and 4×800. But he is not thinking about where he could place in those events just yet.
Right now, his goals are to stay healthy and keep getting better every meet. If he does those two things, he has a good chance to end the season running in Des Moines.
“I want him to finish his senior season on the Blue Oval,” Mills said.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: How a cross country injury fuels Nevada’s Dawson Lemke during track season
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
