Rasmussen gets first taste of state meet

After missing out on the state meet his sophomore season, Exira-EHK Junior Austin Rasmussen competed at Fort Dodge Saturday at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course finishing 102nd overall with a time of 18:13.8.
“It's such a great experience for Austin to run at the state meet,” said Spartan Head Coach Kevin Brown. “We sat down earlier at the beginning of the season and he told me his goal was to get to state. It's a long season and everything has to go right to get the opportunity to run at Fort Dodge. He also inspires our younger runners to continue to work hard, so they could possibly make it to state someday.”
Despite where he finished along with his time, Brown was still pleased with the performance he put up considering he was just one of 157 runners for Class 1A that got a chance to compete.
“I told him that I was extremely proud of him for achieving his goal of getting to state this year,” he said. “I reminded him he gained valuable experience that he is going to take with him next year when he comes back to state.”
With Rasmussen’s senior season of cross country in front of him, Brown believes his experience at state this year will drive him to be back next year stronger.
“I am a firm believer that adversity builds strength for runners,” he added. “He didn't hit his goal, but he knows that this will help his training for spring track and next fall in cross country. He's going to continue to grow as a runner, and I expect him to do even bigger things next season.”