Trojan freshman Dalaney Eldridge ran to a state medal with a 13th-place finish in her state debut, while junior Addie Thompson set a new personal best in 18th place as part of the Class 2A girls race at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

“This is super exciting,” Eldridge said. “I’ve had some great, great teammates to train with, and Addie has been pushing me and the other girls this year.”

Eldridge and Thompson ran together for the first two miles of the race. Thompson, now a three-time state qualifier, was running with a teammate at state for the first time on Saturday.

“It was really great to have a teammate with me this year,” Thompson said. “Usually we don’t run the whole race together, usually she starts ahead of me, I catch up in the middle and then she finishes ahead of me, but it was really great to run it with her.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – West Marshall freshman Dalaney Eldridge waves as she is introduced as the 13th-place finisher in the Class 2A state cross country race Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

At the two-mile mark, both were just outside of the top-15 bubble for all-state status.

“I started to make my moves later in the second mile just to get up there with the front of the pack,” Eldridge said.

The kick paid off, with Eldridge gaining four spots in the last mile and finishing the last 1,800 meters in seven minutes flat for the state medal.

“When I finished, I had no idea what place I was, so I was a little worried,” Eldridge said. “But I kept hearing people saying 13, so I was pretty excited.”

Unfortunately for Thompson, a surge pack that included Rachel Hostetler and Kendal Landstrum of the state-title winning Mid-Prairie also made their moves, which left the junior on the outside of the top 15.

Landstrum was the last one in the all-state top 15, finishing less than nine seconds ahead of Thompson.

“I’m a little upset that I didn’t place top 15, because I was really close,” Thompson said, “but I thought the race was pretty good.”

Thompson has gone from 98th as a freshman, to 48th as a sophomore, and now 18th as a junior.

“I’m really looking forward to next year, because I feel like my times will just continue to improve,” Thompson said. “I’m so happy [Eldridge] was able to get a medal as a freshman, that’s a really good accomplishment for her.”

Grundy Center junior Grace Storjohann, a three-time state qualifier, did not finish Saturday’s race.

Mid-Prairie scored 84 points to win the team title, followed by Unity Christian (92) and Van Meter (114). Noelle Steines of Tipton won her fourth individual title in 18:12, becoming the second girls competitor to win four titles — she won her first three titles with Calamus-Wheatland in 1A.