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HCHS senior Nathan Brace was the area's highest place-winner at the State Cross Country Meet.
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FORT DODGE -- Sometimes, it's easy to forget that Nathan Brace didn't start running cross country until the summer of 2007.
Three seasons later, the Harlan Community senior culminated a brief, albeit decorated career by placing 23rd out of 123 Class 3-A boys at Saturday's State Cross Country Championships near Fort Dodge.
It wasn't quite the top-10 finish Brace had been shooting for, but his final placing still marked a 13-spot improvement over a year ago on a brisk day for running at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.
On Saturday, Brace got out of the chutes in good shape and ran among the top seven or eight leaders for much of the five-kilometer race. However, the last half-mile or so turned into a gauntlet for Brace, and he was unable to finish with his normal late-race kick.
HCHS head coach Doug Renkly surmised that something out of the ordinary may have been going on with Brace's breathing, or possibly an upset stomach.
"It's very uncharacteristic of him to fade like that, but he hung in there, and being in the top 25 at the state meet is still an unbelievable feat," Renkly said.
Brace, who actually ran 13 seconds faster last year in placing 36th at state, entered the meet ranked fifth in Class 3-A. His goal was the same as at districts five days earlier - stay with Winterset's Evan Selsor, Boone's Brogan Austin and Glenwood's Johnny Fuller (ranked 1-3) for as long as possible.
Austin ended up winning the individual title in 15:35, Fuller placed third and Selsor - the defending 3-A champ - fell back to seventh. Brace's time was 17:03.
"Starting off I felt pretty good. I was up towards the front," he said. "I just tried to stay up with those guys, and it was like half way or so . . . I just couldn't keep up. I didn't have it today, I guess. It just wasn't my best race.
"I wish I could've done better, but I did the best I could."
Pella won the 3-A boys team title with a score of 95, outlasting Boone (109) and Algona (118) atop a 15-team field. Glenwood placed seventh with a 174.
In addition to Fuller placing third, Atlantic foreign exchange student, Dennis Lengishon, also represented the Hawkeye 10 on the medal stand after rallying late for a ninth-place finish.
Brace, who placed 16th at the district meet his sophomore year, competed as a state meet individual the last two seasons. His senior campaign was filled almost exclusively with first and second-place finishes, including a second-place medal at the Hawkeye 10 Meet behind Fuller.
Coach Renkly says that Brace's outstanding leadership by example will be missed the most as the Cyclone boys continue to build as a program.
"All we can do is build off his legacy of hard work and determination," Renkly said. "Consistency, I think, is the biggest word that describes Nathan; he's just Mr. Consistent.
"This race is not going to define Nathan Brace. Everybody is entitled to have an off day, and I wouldn't even call this an off day. He just didn't finish the way he wanted to. You go in with high expectations, and whenever those high expectations aren't met, you're disappointed for a little while until you can absorb the data and understand how special you are."
Brace is undecided when it comes to a potential running career in college, but says he has grown to love cross country "quite a bit" since being talked into the sport just two summers ago.
"I didn't know anything about it until my sophomore year, and then I just learned how it is, I guess," he added. "It was a good season overall. We're building the team, and that's good."
Class 3-A Boys' Summary
Top 3 Teams: 1. Pella 95, 2. Boone 109, 3. Algona 118. Also - 7th: Glenwood 174.
Individual Champion
Brogan Austin, Boone, 15:35.
Also - 3rd: Johnny Fuller, Glenwood, 16:00; 9th: Dennis Lengishon, Atlantic, 16:22.
HCHS Individual Results
23rd: Nathan Brace, sr., 17:03.
(5-kilometer times; 123 total runners)
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