Hauxwell ninth at state XC

After a tough season that included running against the Class C state champion, Gothenburg, for a chance to get to state, everyone around the Chase County cross country team thought Haven Hauxwell had a good chance to medal at the Nebraska State Cross Country Meet last Friday.
Hauxwell’s ninth place finish left Head Coach Carl Zuege more than pleased.
“He ran such a good race at the district meet, and his confidence was high. Watching his workouts in the week leading up to state, you could see that he was ready to hit another level. Having said that, a top 10 finish in his first time racing at the state meet is a pretty remarkable accomplishment,” Zuege said.
Hauxwell was in 24th at the mile mark and 19th after two miles.
Zuege said the most important thing for Hauxwell was to make sure he was in range of the lead pack when they made the first really tight turn at about the half-mile mark.
If you get backed up there, it is really easy to get stuck and fall off the pace, Zuege added.
“Haven was able to get that good start, and he was probably around 10 seconds off of the leader at the mile mark. After that, it really boiled down to who was going to handle the conditions and intensity of the race the best,” Zuege said.
After a summer of workouts and this XC season, Zuege said Hauxwell has shown that he has the speed to run with the top 10. Plus those summer workouts helped prepare him for the hot weather at the state meet.
“We thought that the warm conditions might even favor him,” Zuege said, and continued, Hauxwell handled all of those things well, and made a continual push up the standings as the race progressed.
“Down the homestretch, he was in a big group of runners that were going to finish from about seventh to 12th, and he made his way toward the front of that group. He really ran an excellent tactical race, and the hundreds of miles he logged since the beginning of summer really paid off for Haven,” Zuege said.
Working hard throughout training, straight through to the last rep, was a factor Zuege believes helped Hauxwell and his teammates during the season. Zuege also thinks Hauxwell will continue to gain speed over his final two years of high school competition.

He is becoming faster and faster, and I think that will only continue to progress over the next couple of years.
The C5 district and southwest Nebraska was well represented at the state meet.
District opponent Gothenburg was able to defend its state title, which Alliance and Holdrege, also district foes, finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
SPVA’s North Platte St. Pat’s improved on last year’s Class D state runner up finish with a state championship.
Individually, Perkins County’s Mason McGreer was first in Class D with teammate Elijah Goodell right on his heels in second place. NPSP’s Jarrett Miles finished third.
Perkins County was fifth in team scoring.
“Distance running in this area is stronger than I have ever seen. Our conference is loaded, our district is loaded -- every meet we go from the Chase County Invite on is just loaded with great runners,” Zuege said.
Looking over the season, Zuege said if the Longhorns’ boys team could have stayed a little healthier, he thinks they would have been right in that Class C top 10, as well.
“We don’t lose any seniors off of our varsity team, so hopefully these guys have their sights set on next year. This track season will also play a key role, as we will see pretty much all of the same competition during the spring,” Zuege said.