Rain.

Throughout the season, several of the cross country meets were canceled due to excessive rain, which flooded the courses, making them muddy and dangerous to run on.

The girls and boys cross country teams canceled a total of three meets this season, including Oelwein, Waverly, and the home meet at Hart Ridge.

Runner Hannah Axline (11) was a slightly upset that the meets were rained out.

“We put so much work into every practice, and the meets really show off what we can do,” Axline said. “I was also pretty disappointed about the home meet being canceled because I love performing in front of the community.”

According to Axline, the canceled meets did not crush the girls’ team spirits; in fact, it motivated them to work harder. They continued to run in the rain and harsh conditions at practice.

“The rain was nice to practice in since you never knew how the weather was going to be for meet day,” Axline said.“This way, it prepared us for anything.”

Because of the rain, the girls’ team decided to incorporate the water into one of their practices.

“Since there was so much rain, we got to have a water-related practice in the river at Bailey’s Ford,” runner Gracie Weeks (11) said. “It was a fun way to have a strength training workout. We had a relay in the water fighting against the current. Everyone ended up soaked.”

Even though several meets were canceled, the teams managed to squeeze in a make-up meet at Central DeWitt. This was the first time the boys and girls teams had ever run at this meet.

“I was glad we got to run at another course, and DeWitt ended up being my favorite course this season because of the scenic views,” runner Nathan Goranson (11) said.

Weeks feels the runners were less impacted by the rain than they originally thought. “We still went to practice and worked as hard as we could every day, no matter the conditions,” Weeks said. “I’m excited to see what next year has in store.”