South Tama junior Barrett Jesina settles in during the Class 3A boys’ portion of the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships last Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Jesina clocked in at 16 minutes, 39 seconds, to earn 24th place.

Another year of exemplary performances have come and gone in the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle coverage area. Records were set, barriers were broken, and bids at state championships were had. News Chronicle correspondents carefully reviewed the highlights and here is their list.

College commitments

The STC Class of 2024 proved to be one for the history books, bringing home a state title, plenty of podium finishes, and the first ever state cross country qualifying team, this elite group of small town athletes have taken their talents to the next level. Those athletes include: MaCael Bear, Amare Chavez, Maeley Elsbury, James Brant, Tommy Tyynismaa, Kyan McBride, Gavin Bridgewater

Additionally Kaden Kopsa and Daniel Wiese decided after the school year to take their golf skills to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo.

Elsbury sisters on podium

Not many things in life are certain: death, taxes, and the Electric Elsbury sisters being on the podium. In an alltime match Sophomore Autumn Elsbury brought it all to Decorah’s Naomi Simon in the 170-pound championship match — Simon, a University of Iowa commit, prevailed over Elsbury to achieve her goal of becoming Iowa’s first four-time girls state champion with a 15-2 major decision.

Maeley Elsbury fought through much of the wrestling season with a major knee injury. Despite a brace and limited knee mobility, the eldest Elsbury worked her way to third place in the 135 pound bracket. The knee injury was operated on shortly after the tournament and Maeley Elsbury is still in recovery.

Chavez-Bridgewater 3x placewinners

Once again Gavin Bridgewater placed on the podium inside the Wells Fargo Arena. His 5-4 defeat in the Class 2A 215-pound championship match ends his wrestling career with two runner-up finishes bookending a three-year run at state that also included a third-place finish last season.

In another last hurrah STC found another three-time placewinner in 126-pounder Amare Chavez. Finishing sixth after an 8-2 decision victory for Burlington Notre Dame’s CJ Davis and a 5-2 decision for Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Ethan Skoglund, Chavez found his rightful place on the podium.

Archery honors Dick & Vicki

After founding the club 13 years ago, Dick Koehler, along with his wife Vicki were invited to attend the annual archery banquet and were presented with a plaque. Coach Ludy Ortiz spoke of the coaching staff being inspired at an early season tournament which was named after a fellow archery coach who founded a program.

This inspiration led to the announcement that from now on, the first STC Archery Club tournament of the season will be known as the Richard and Vicki Koehler Tournament in honor of their contribution to the club.

Timm state tennis

After a 14 year drought Kaden Timm returned STC to the state tennis meet. Despite an early exit from the tournament Timm’s hard work was more than evident..

“I used to be super out of shape,” Timm said. “This got me really in shape and it helped build a lot of relationships with my team and other teams like Marion or Independence. It’s been a really good experience.”

Timm’s commitment to excellence on the court will be remembered for years to come.

Trojan’s track relays shatter record

Nothing can quite compare to state track! In front of a booming crowd assembled inside of Drake Stadium, both the 4×800 meter relay and the distance medley relay shattered previous records for the Trojan quartets.

The 4×800 finished with a time of 7:59.78, the Trojans finished just two seconds off the win. This time shattered the school record established just two weeks prior and broke the 8 minute barrier for the first time in school history. The quartet was composed of James Brant, Cade Rosenberger, Braxten Rohrs, and Tommy Tyynismaa.

In the distance medley, STC’s time of 3:32.48, left the Trojans in third place to secure their second podium finish of the weekend. Their time was also a massive school record, bringing down the record from last year at state by nearly 2.5 seconds. This quartet was made of Chase Gustafson, Cody Blocker, James Brant, and Tommy Tyynismaa.

Jesina at state cross country

With a newfound culture of distance running dominance, 2024 was no different. With the departure of the class of 2024, Jesina was the only returner to the cross country team with varsity experience. With fewer teammates to train with and the departure of Coach Baron Davis, Jesina persevered and exceeded his own expectations.

The South Tama County junior finished 24th in the Class 3A boys state championship race. Jesina finished in 16:39, over a minute faster than his first time in Fort Dodge last year running with his STC teammates, when he clocked in a 17:52 for 116th overall.