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| State Champions! Pictured are the class 2A state champions, l-r: Trent Pelzer, Landan Hill, Caleb Shumaker, Noah Jedlicka, Ben Ellis, Andrew Olseen, Cody Bohlman, Gabe Peach, assistant coach Jill Engels, and head coach Eric Walsh. The Tigers claimed the program's first state title since 1975 on Saturday, October 27. Photo by Ryan Stonebraker. |
Sports Editor
Tigers capture their first title since 1975
FORT DODGE — With one eye on the past and the other in the present, the Tipton boy’s cross-country team claimed the program’s first state title since 1975 Saturday in Fort Dodge, winning the Class 2A State Championship. There, the Tigers demolished the 2A field, winning the meet by 28 points over runner-up and RVC foe Bellevue, with 72 team points.
“(That 1975 team) was our rally cry,” Tipton coach Eric Walsh said. “We really banked on the tradition of Tipton cross country.
“We went into the season determined we were tired of just getting here. This was the year to actually do it. We just believed in ourselves, and it turned into a magical season. I’m beyond words.”
The Tigers wanted to be the River Valley Conference team that finished the highest at the state meet this year. Tipton came into the state meet ranked No. 1 and one of four ranked RVC teams in the IATC top-15 rankings. The others, Bellevue (3rd), Monticello (7th) and Camanche (9th) placed second, sixth and eighth respectively in the top-10, giving the RVC four of the top-10 teams statewide in Class 2A this year.
“I didn’t think we had it secured until the end. We had a mission today and we knew where we wanted to be at. I had a good feeling, but I didn’t want to overthink it,” said Walsh.
“We didn’t know the results and were waiting, and waiting. When the state official slipped me a green sheet of paper with the results, I knew it was real then,” he said.
The 1975 team spoke at a few Tipton functions this year to the current Tiger team. The Tigers of 1975 were led by Brett Eggert and Joe Pelzer who gave the Tigers a 1-2 punch and the duo finished in that order at the Class B state meet that year. The Tigers were members of the WaMac conference then and captured the conference title as well that season. Their coach was Hall of Famer Dave Vogelgesang. Other team members were Mark Wiskus, Tom Weih and Ed Pelzer.
The Tigers wore all black uniforms with gold ‘Tipton’ across the chest to honor the 1975 team. The Tigers usually don black shorts and gold tops for their uniforms.
Tipton was led by sophomore Caleb Shumaker who placed 4th overall in a time of 16:33. In 2017 as a freshman, Shumaker placed 20th in 2A in a time of 17:06. Senior Ben Ellis placed 11th in 16:55. Both earned All-State honors.
“We went into the season determined we were tired of just getting here. This was the year to actually do it. We just believed in ourselves, and it turned into a magical season. I’m beyond words,” said Walsh.
“Going into the race, I wanted to really focus on the third mile, basically right after the second-mile marker. I wanted to give it all I had for the school and the Tipton community. They have given me and our team a lot of support, I wanted to put it all on the line,” said Shumaker.
“I was trying to focus and my main goal was to beat Brady (Bellevue kid) since I didn’t have a chance at the conference. I knew that the seniors to that would be up there, I didn’t want to go out too strong, I wanted to be able to fight back later in the race and make a push at the end,” he said.
Bellevue was the Tigers main target at the state and if you ask, they would tell you even Sioux Center was in their sights Saturday. The Comets and Tigers have battled the past few years for Eastern Iowa supremacy with Monticello in there too. Last year, the Comets placed second in class 1A and moved up a class to 2A this year. Their top runner, sophomore Bray Griebel is the Comets version of Shumaker. Griebel placed 7th as a freshman earning All-State honors and placed 6th this year in 2A in a time of 16:39. With two years of eligibility for each of them, the Shumaker-Griebel races will be fun to watch in the coming years.
Tipton athletic director Matt Fouch recently updated the Cross-Country record board at the high school, updating the state runs by the most recent THS teams. Tipton senior Noah Jedlicka said that one thing that stood out was that there was only one year posted under ‘State Champions’ and that this year’s team wanted that to change.
“It’s been a long time coming. Last year we saw on the record board the one state champion, the 1975 team and we have been saying to Fouch the rest of last year and then this year ‘You are going to put on more on there, just you wait’ and here we are, we did it,” he said.
Most of the Tigers squad returns in the fall of 2019. The Tigers will graduate two seniors from the seven state runners in Noah Jedlicka and Ben Ellis. Back will be sophomore Caleb Shumaker, juniors Trent Pelzer, Landan Hill and Andrew Olseen and freshman Cody Bohlman.
Shumaker will be one of the top returning 2A runners statewide next year. He was ranked No. 6 in the final individual runner rankings. Pelzer will also be up there, after ending the year ranked No. 29.
Jedlicka and Ellis have left their mark on the program and will be missed. Jedlicka has been the team's scout, regularly following teams statewide, comparing times and showing wise upperclassman leadership. Ellis will exit with back-to-back All-State honors in his junior and senior seasons.
“Our attitude the last two months we have been ranked No. 1. We wanted to prove it today. We wanted to make a statement. We are Tipton. Even today, it was our attitude. We wanted to show Iowa that we are Tipton, and we can do it (win a title),” said Jedlicka.
“Basically we wanted to take it as another race. It was a big meet for us today. We worked hard to get here today,” said THS senior Ben Ellis.
Trent Pelzer placed 19th to give Tipton, three top-20 finishes at the meet. Pelzer crossed the finish line in 17:18.
Pelzer, Landan Hill, and Andrew Olseen, all juniors, were Tipton’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 finishers. They were separated by 26 seconds. Hill finished in 17:38, Olseen in 17:44. Noah Jedlicka placed 57th in 18:02 and Cody Bohlman rounded out the Tiger finishers with a 90th place finish in 18:32.
2018 State Cross-Country Meet
Saturday, October 27
At Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge, IA
Class 2A Team Scores: 1. Tipton 72, 2. Bellevue 100, 3. Sioux Center 102, 4. George-Little Rock/Central Lyon 108, 5. Roland Story 170, 6. Monticello 198, 7. South Hardin 205, 8. Camanche 210, 9. Albia 228, 10. Davis County 230, 11. Okoboji 245, 12. Grundy Center 258, 13. Des Moines Christian 272, 14. Unity Christian 300, 15. Williamsburg 307.
Top-15 Finishers: 1. Reece Smith (Garner-Hayfield-Ventura) 16:00, 2. Joe Anderson (George-Little Rock/Central Lyon) 16:22, 3. Jerry Jorgenson (Treynor) 16:32, 4. Caleb Shumaker (Tipton) 16:33, 5. Eric Heibult (Sheldon) 16:34, 6. Brady Griebel (Bellevue) 16:39, 7. Dylan Darsidan (Camanche) 8. Spencer Moon (South Central, Calhoun) 16:50, 9. Chandler Douglas (North Fayette Valley) 16:53, 10. Taylor Myers (Estherville-Lincoln Central) 16:54, 11. Ben Ellis (Tipton) 16:55, 12. Lake LeBahn (Union) 17:00, 13. Peter Shippy (Sioux Center) 17:00, 14. Samuel Harrison (Sioux Center) 17:00, 15. Landon Noe (Albia) 17:04.
Individual Team Finishers-Overall Place:
TIPTON (72): 2/4. Caleb Shumaker 16:33, 5/11. Ben Ellis 16:55, 12/19. Trent Pelzer 17:18, 22/34. Landan Hill 17:38, 31/43. Andrew Olseen 17:44, 39/57. Noah Jedlicka 18:02, 60/90. Cody Bohlman 18:32.
BELLEVUE (100): 3/6. Brady Griebel 16:39, 15/22. Kyle Guenther 17:21, 16/23. Jack Sieverding 17:22, 17/24. Alex Reed 17:25, 49/72. Andrew Penniston 18:14, 77/109. Sam Dunne 18:54, 80/112. Mason Jackson 18:58.
SIOUX CENTER (102): 6/13. Peter Shippy 17:00, 7/14. Samuel Harrison 17:00, 20/28. Avery Den Herder 17:28, 32/45. Gabe Rathbun 17:48, 37/54. Logan Pitsenberger 17:57, 76/108. Andrew Schouten 18:54, 93/126. Carter Vande Vegte 19:30.
Tigers capture their first title since 1975
FORT DODGE — With one eye on the past and the other in the present, the Tipton boy’s cross-country team claimed the program’s first state title since 1975 Saturday in Fort Dodge, winning the Class 2A State Championship. There, the Tigers demolished the 2A field, winning the meet by 28 points over runner-up and RVC foe Bellevue, with 72 team points.
“(That 1975 team) was our rally cry,” Tipton coach Eric Walsh said. “We really banked on the tradition of Tipton cross country.
“We went into the season determined we were tired of just getting here. This was the year to actually do it. We just believed in ourselves, and it turned into a magical season. I’m beyond words.”
The Tigers wanted to be the River Valley Conference team that finished the highest at the state meet this year. Tipton came into the state meet ranked No. 1 and one of four ranked RVC teams in the IATC top-15 rankings. The others, Bellevue (3rd), Monticello (7th) and Camanche (9th) placed second, sixth and eighth respectively in the top-10, giving the RVC four of the top-10 teams statewide in Class 2A this year.
“I didn’t think we had it secured until the end. We had a mission today and we knew where we wanted to be at. I had a good feeling, but I didn’t want to overthink it,” said Walsh.
“We didn’t know the results and were waiting, and waiting. When the state official slipped me a green sheet of paper with the results, I knew it was real then,” he said.
The 1975 team spoke at a few Tipton functions this year to the current Tiger team. The Tigers of 1975 were led by Brett Eggert and Joe Pelzer who gave the Tigers a 1-2 punch and the duo finished in that order at the Class B state meet that year. The Tigers were members of the WaMac conference then and captured the conference title as well that season. Their coach was Hall of Famer Dave Vogelgesang. Other team members were Mark Wiskus, Tom Weih and Ed Pelzer.
The Tigers wore all black uniforms with gold ‘Tipton’ across the chest to honor the 1975 team. The Tigers usually don black shorts and gold tops for their uniforms.
Tipton was led by sophomore Caleb Shumaker who placed 4th overall in a time of 16:33. In 2017 as a freshman, Shumaker placed 20th in 2A in a time of 17:06. Senior Ben Ellis placed 11th in 16:55. Both earned All-State honors.
“We went into the season determined we were tired of just getting here. This was the year to actually do it. We just believed in ourselves, and it turned into a magical season. I’m beyond words,” said Walsh.
“Going into the race, I wanted to really focus on the third mile, basically right after the second-mile marker. I wanted to give it all I had for the school and the Tipton community. They have given me and our team a lot of support, I wanted to put it all on the line,” said Shumaker.
“I was trying to focus and my main goal was to beat Brady (Bellevue kid) since I didn’t have a chance at the conference. I knew that the seniors to that would be up there, I didn’t want to go out too strong, I wanted to be able to fight back later in the race and make a push at the end,” he said.
Bellevue was the Tigers main target at the state and if you ask, they would tell you even Sioux Center was in their sights Saturday. The Comets and Tigers have battled the past few years for Eastern Iowa supremacy with Monticello in there too. Last year, the Comets placed second in class 1A and moved up a class to 2A this year. Their top runner, sophomore Bray Griebel is the Comets version of Shumaker. Griebel placed 7th as a freshman earning All-State honors and placed 6th this year in 2A in a time of 16:39. With two years of eligibility for each of them, the Shumaker-Griebel races will be fun to watch in the coming years.
Tipton athletic director Matt Fouch recently updated the Cross-Country record board at the high school, updating the state runs by the most recent THS teams. Tipton senior Noah Jedlicka said that one thing that stood out was that there was only one year posted under ‘State Champions’ and that this year’s team wanted that to change.
“It’s been a long time coming. Last year we saw on the record board the one state champion, the 1975 team and we have been saying to Fouch the rest of last year and then this year ‘You are going to put on more on there, just you wait’ and here we are, we did it,” he said.
Most of the Tigers squad returns in the fall of 2019. The Tigers will graduate two seniors from the seven state runners in Noah Jedlicka and Ben Ellis. Back will be sophomore Caleb Shumaker, juniors Trent Pelzer, Landan Hill and Andrew Olseen and freshman Cody Bohlman.
Shumaker will be one of the top returning 2A runners statewide next year. He was ranked No. 6 in the final individual runner rankings. Pelzer will also be up there, after ending the year ranked No. 29.
Jedlicka and Ellis have left their mark on the program and will be missed. Jedlicka has been the team's scout, regularly following teams statewide, comparing times and showing wise upperclassman leadership. Ellis will exit with back-to-back All-State honors in his junior and senior seasons.
“Our attitude the last two months we have been ranked No. 1. We wanted to prove it today. We wanted to make a statement. We are Tipton. Even today, it was our attitude. We wanted to show Iowa that we are Tipton, and we can do it (win a title),” said Jedlicka.
“Basically we wanted to take it as another race. It was a big meet for us today. We worked hard to get here today,” said THS senior Ben Ellis.
Trent Pelzer placed 19th to give Tipton, three top-20 finishes at the meet. Pelzer crossed the finish line in 17:18.
Pelzer, Landan Hill, and Andrew Olseen, all juniors, were Tipton’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 finishers. They were separated by 26 seconds. Hill finished in 17:38, Olseen in 17:44. Noah Jedlicka placed 57th in 18:02 and Cody Bohlman rounded out the Tiger finishers with a 90th place finish in 18:32.
2018 State Cross-Country Meet
Saturday, October 27
At Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge, IA
Class 2A Team Scores: 1. Tipton 72, 2. Bellevue 100, 3. Sioux Center 102, 4. George-Little Rock/Central Lyon 108, 5. Roland Story 170, 6. Monticello 198, 7. South Hardin 205, 8. Camanche 210, 9. Albia 228, 10. Davis County 230, 11. Okoboji 245, 12. Grundy Center 258, 13. Des Moines Christian 272, 14. Unity Christian 300, 15. Williamsburg 307.
Top-15 Finishers: 1. Reece Smith (Garner-Hayfield-Ventura) 16:00, 2. Joe Anderson (George-Little Rock/Central Lyon) 16:22, 3. Jerry Jorgenson (Treynor) 16:32, 4. Caleb Shumaker (Tipton) 16:33, 5. Eric Heibult (Sheldon) 16:34, 6. Brady Griebel (Bellevue) 16:39, 7. Dylan Darsidan (Camanche) 8. Spencer Moon (South Central, Calhoun) 16:50, 9. Chandler Douglas (North Fayette Valley) 16:53, 10. Taylor Myers (Estherville-Lincoln Central) 16:54, 11. Ben Ellis (Tipton) 16:55, 12. Lake LeBahn (Union) 17:00, 13. Peter Shippy (Sioux Center) 17:00, 14. Samuel Harrison (Sioux Center) 17:00, 15. Landon Noe (Albia) 17:04.
Individual Team Finishers-Overall Place:
TIPTON (72): 2/4. Caleb Shumaker 16:33, 5/11. Ben Ellis 16:55, 12/19. Trent Pelzer 17:18, 22/34. Landan Hill 17:38, 31/43. Andrew Olseen 17:44, 39/57. Noah Jedlicka 18:02, 60/90. Cody Bohlman 18:32.
BELLEVUE (100): 3/6. Brady Griebel 16:39, 15/22. Kyle Guenther 17:21, 16/23. Jack Sieverding 17:22, 17/24. Alex Reed 17:25, 49/72. Andrew Penniston 18:14, 77/109. Sam Dunne 18:54, 80/112. Mason Jackson 18:58.
SIOUX CENTER (102): 6/13. Peter Shippy 17:00, 7/14. Samuel Harrison 17:00, 20/28. Avery Den Herder 17:28, 32/45. Gabe Rathbun 17:48, 37/54. Logan Pitsenberger 17:57, 76/108. Andrew Schouten 18:54, 93/126. Carter Vande Vegte 19:30.
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