South Tama runners James Brant, right, and Tommy Tyynismaa share a moment at the finish line after completing the Class 3A boys’ state cross country race on Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The South Tama boys finished 11th as a team in their first trip to state in program history. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

FORT DODGE — Tommy Tyynismaa didn’t focus on his individual accomplishment on Saturday afternoon.

The day belonged to South Tama County as a team, and Tommy and the Trojans celebrated their first state cross country meet appearance in school history in the Class 3A race at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

For the second year in a row, Tyynismaa finished seventh overall in the 3A field, running 15:53 against a loaded field of competition. He’ll end his cross country career as a four-time state qualifier and a two-time state medalist.

But having his teammates jumping out of the starting box with him is the crux of what this journey means to him.

James Brant was 32nd overall in 16:47. Cade Rosenberger placed 73rd in 17:15, Braxten Rohrs 106th in 17:42 and Holden Schirmer 109th in 17:43. Barrett Jesina, a sophomore and the only non-senior running on Saturday, provided a non-scoring time of 17:52 for 116th.

South Tama senior Tommy Tyynismaa waves after accepting his seventh-place medal following the Class 3A boys’ state cross country race last Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Tyynismaa was a four-time state qualifier and two-time all-state medalist, helping to lead the Trojans to the state meet for the first time in school history. STC finished 11th as a team. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

“Yes, my individual performance helps,” Tyynismaa said. “But I just really wanted to get the team here, that’s what mattered to me most. We’ve been running together since seventh grade, and we knew each other for years before that. It just means the world.”

STC was 11th in the team standings with 249 points, eight points behind 10th-place Glenwood. Gilbert (57) and Pella (63) ran away with the top two spots.

Brant was chasing his dream of sharing a top-15 medal with his teammate, but came up short in his final cross country race.

“I have big goals, and I don’t think I quite met them today,” Brant said. “It’s a hard race, but it’s just such a joy to be here, and I’m thankful. It’s hard to get here three years straight, but it’s just about working day in and day out with my teammates.

“We were a friend group that just wanted to try something new and now it’s turned into this some six years later. It’s really awesome, and I couldn’t ask for a better team to be with.”

PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

And besides, Brant admits his cross country shortcomings have powered future successes in track season, including two state medals on the Blue Oval last spring.

“This definitely gives me some fuel going into that,” Brant said. “But the biggest thing I’ve taken away from this is having that level of competitiveness with the team but also respecting each other, helping each other grow and develop into better runners.”

Tyynismaa, too, found further success in state track with three state medals earlier this year, including a pair of runner-up finishes in the 800 and 1,600, but he appreciates the culture of the running sports that goes beyond what it says on the front of the jersey.

He embraced Pella’s Canaan Dunham, Saturday’s winner in 15:18, after the race.

“The people are amazing, we cheer each other on,” Tyynismaa said. “We’re congratulating each other after every race and it’s a really good community. And there’s hardships, cross country isn’t easy. It really makes you a better person and teaches you a lot about life.”

Barrett Jesina, STC sophomore, 116th place, 17 minutes, 52.5 seconds. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships

At Fort Dodge

CLASS 3A

BOYS

Team Standings — 1. Gilbert 57, 2. Pella 63, 3. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 100, 4. Carlisle 144, 5. Washington 186, 6. Winterset 196, 7. Solon 215, 8. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 223, 9. Clear Creek-Amana 229, 10. Glenwood 241, 11. South Tama County 249, 12. MOC-Floyd Valley 259, 13. ADM, Adel 266, 14. Central DeWitt 297, 15. Sioux Center 357.

Individual (top 10) — 1. Canaan Dunham, PEL, 15:18.5; 2. Ethan Eichhorn, LC, 15:25.5; 3. Nathan Vander Waal, PEL, 15:39.8; 4. Micah Rees, WAS, 15:47.9; 5. Andrew Smith, GLEN, 15:51.2; 6. Quentin Nauman, Western Dubuque, 15:52.5; 7. Tommy Tyynismaa, STC, 15:53.2; 8. Logan Bleich, GIL, 15:55.6; 9. Jacob Tallman, GIL, 15:59.5; 10. Bryant Keller, GLEN, 16:05.0.

SOUTH TAMA COUNTY (249) — 7. Tyynismaa 15:53.2, 32. James Brant 16:47.3, 73. Cade Rosenberger 17:15.1, 106. Braxten Rohrs 17:42.1, 109. Holden Schirmer 17:43.9, 116. Barrett Jesina 17:52.5.

GIRLS

Team Standings — 1. Pella 80, 2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 129, 3. Gilbert 142, 4. Sioux Center 155, 5. Glenwood 172, 6. Ballard 176, 7. Marion 208, 8. Solon 209, 9. Clear Lake 209, 10. Sioux City Heelan 225, 11. Decorah 235, 12. ADM, ADel 250, 13. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 253, 14. Harlan 276, 15. Clear Creek-Amana 332.

Individual (top 10) — 1. Marissa Ferebee, PEL, 18:38.6; 2. Lindsey Sonderman, Harlan, 18:42.1; 3. Audrina Jones, SXC, 18:53.8; 4. Avery Rump, Fort Madison, 18:54.0; 5. Iris Dahl, Washington, 18:57.5; 6. Addison Dabroski, Marion, 19:03.3; 7. Avelyn Vance, BAL, 19:04.0; 8. Grace Berglund, GLEN, 19:08.3; 9. Amelia Roe, DEC, 19:09.4; 10. Emee Dani, GIL, 19:13.3