By DEAN JACKSON
WZBD.com
BERNE – Thrilled, yes.
Surprised, no.
Even as a runner in junior high school, Madison Gerber zeroed in on this.
The Adams Central senior sped to a first-place finish in the ACAC cross country championship Saturday at South Adams High School.
This is where her efforts will be judged and rewarded.
“I have worked for six years,” Gerber said. “I have had a great team over the years to push me. This is what I am working for in my senior year and my last three meets.”
Those last three meets would be the sectional, regional, and state championships.
Gerber ran a 6.21-minute mile to finish at 19:43.2, nearly 20 seconds faster than her closest rival, Katy Niles. The Woodlan junior finished with a time of 20:02.9.
She’s committed and has worked hard since the start, but it took on new meaning this past summer.
Gerber admitted there were plenty of sacrifices.
“It was a ton of early mornings and going to bed early.”
“Madison was near her typical pace at the first and second miles,” Adams Central Coach Hannah Kaehr explained. “I saw her compete with the girls she has been around in the past. She went through the mile and the two-mile around the same time she had been all season. She was great about running her race and not letting other runners get in her head too much. I have run with her enough to know she was comfortable, and I wasn’t worried about the other girl. I knew she would pull out the win in the end, and she ran relaxed, and I could tell she was relaxed and ready to go for it.”
Kaehr added, “she’s the portrait of what you want in a runner. She was looking at this race and wanted to win. This is her goal, and it’s just fun to watch her do it and accomplish it, and it’s not over yet.”
Gerber said she was patient before making her move to get ahead of the pack. She hung out with the group and waited.
“I didn’t start all out. I’ve done that and then die at the end. I start steady and stay consistent, so I don’t fall off.”
It also keeps her on track.
“I do better when there are ten girls around me. I can pick them off. When I’m running solo, it is harder to push on my own.”
In the first mile, she passed three girls. Later she broke away.
“(Niles) stuck with me through the first two miles. It was hard to keep her out of my head. She kept pushing. She was right there. Se kept going and passing me, but whenever she fell back. If I fell back she could get right back up and pass me.”
Gerber was grateful.
“I just want to. I’m so thankful for my coach, she has put in so much effort, and my team, who have helped push me and train me, and glory to God for this success because it’s not in my strength.”
In the girls’ race, Jay County took the team title with 49 points. The Patriots had all five of their runners finish in the top 12.
The Flying Jets were second with 65 points. Addison Gilbert (20:40.6) was fifth. Madison Hamilton (21:29.2) was eighth. Hailey Brune was 23rd. Alyssa Fruechte (24:45.3) finished 28th. Haley Jauregui (25:09.4) and Ella Bluhm (28:38.6) were 33 and 42. Bluhm’s time was especially impressive as she cut nearly 2.5 minutes from her season best.
Heritage finished fifth with 127. Rosalinda Medina (23:16.3) was 16th, going 42 seconds better than her previous season best. Ava Smith (23:47.7) was 18th. Jolena Beckman (24:45.2) was 27. Emily High (24:55.6) was 31. Elise Hissong (25:02.4) was 32.
South Adams was sixth at 131. Adalynn Watson (20:20.0) led South Adams. She was fourth. Ava Kinsey (22:27.5). Stella McIntire (25:18.0) finished 34th. Kalle Trausch (25.18.0) was 35th. Aleena Bierbaum (29:11.9) was 44th. The times for Watson, Kinsey and McIntire were all season bests for the individual runners.
In the boys’ race, Bluffton had five runners in the top five, including the top two paces. Levi Johns was first with a 16:16.3 finish. His Tiger teammate Jude Baumgartner was seven seconds behind at 16:23.7.
South Adams was second with 85. Dakota Sprunger (16:37.3) paced the Starfires at fourth overall. His time was 13 seconds better than his attempt in the SA Invite back in September and a season best.
Wyatt Mann (17:36.8) was 10th. Carson Laux (18:24.6) was 18th with his best 5K of the year. Daniel Rupp broke 19 minutes for the first time (18:49.1) this season and was 23rd. Maddox Miller (19:02.8) was 29th. Jacob Heflin (19:51.1) 35th. Zayden Storm (22:49.1) was 49th. Benjamin Rupp (24.22.7) was 62nd.
Adams Central was fourth with 104. Trevor Schwartz finished third with a season-best run. His time of 16:31.1 was just under 15 seconds off the pace. Ethan Crockett (16:50.7) was 7th with his first time under 17 minutes. Bryson Edgell (18:55.0) was 25. Alex Alana (19:02.3) was 28th with his best time of 2024. Tyler Schwartz (20:27.2) finished 41st. Trevor Chamberlain (21:16.1) 45th. Vince Laukhuf (21:31.0) 46th.
Heritage was fifth with 118 points. Corban Roth (17:39.4) finished 11th. Marshall Harris (17:42.1) was 12th, peaking at the right time much like he did last track season with a season-best time.
Hayden Amstein (18:40.9) was 22nd. Cooper Naatz (19:05.2) was 30th, Alex Smith (20:36.1) 43rd. Zane VanOsdale (21:44.3) 47th. William Voglewede (21:55.8) 48th. Gavin Juricak (22:39.8) 59th. Brock Taylor (25:26.6) 64th.
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