Ever since the construction of the Ashton Cross Country Course finished in September of 2003, the course has served as the home of all Division I Iowa cross country meets. In addition, it’s a focal point of research for its well-maintained prairie wildlife and a beloved place to spend leisure time during all seasons of the year. On top of all of that, Ashton has also been the home of the Iowa City West cross country teams for decades. However, West High is now planning to move in a different direction with the creation of their own course right in their own front yard.
This decision came as a surprise to many, as Ashton has been a reliable course for the entirety of its history. Despite being an unexpected announcement, the students at West were enthusiastic about the development of the course.
The plans for the creation of this course were born from multiple different factors, one being that cross country and track runners at West have historically never had a proper place to train since the creation of the school. In the past, West runners were able to travel to Ashton and were free to train on the soft grass and clear-cut course provided by the university.
However, within the last decade, the University has slowly been retracting the privilege of letting high school teams train and race on their facilities, and as of 2022, any athletics associated with West High were denied regular access to the course for training purposes. This left runners and coaches in a predicament, as aside from Ashton, there were no designated locations or routes to practice on. Runners and coaches had to learn to adapt, often being forced to train on hard gravel or cement roads that proved to be incredibly harsh for runners, as the high-impact surface offered little cushion for joints and ligaments. This has led to elongated or worsened recovery for West students and worse performance overall.
The athletic department at West, headed by BJ Mayer, recognized the growing issue after conversations with coaches. A request to build a new course that would keep the athletes at West healthy and continue to enable them throughout their careers was brought to the attention of the Iowa City Community School District’s board of directors.
Another reason for the production of a new cross country course is the lessening of privileges at the high school level, as determined by the University of Iowa. With the newer decision to not allow high school students to train on Ashton, the ICCSD school board was caught between leaving the situation as it was or putting in plans for the construction of a new course. Eventually, the decision to pay for a new course was drafted and set into motion.
There have been challenges that come with the creation of a new cross country course, though.
One of these challenges includes the maintenance that follows with the creation of a new cross country course. Previously, all the maintenance was covered by the University of Iowa at Ashton, and West did not have to worry about keeping the track in constant performance condition. With West’s own course, many new factors, including painting and repainting the course and keeping the grass short by regularly mowing and clearing any obstructions, are all thrown at athletic directors.
Currently, the runners at West are confined to running along a lightly painted path that loops around the front yard of the school if they wanted to hit grassier places to practice. Despite the softer ground though, the athletes try to avoid running along this path too often as the ground is extremely hilly and not practical for cross country runners yet. This problem is planned to be addressed by terraforming the land around West for the new course, but this comes with lots of logistical maintenance issues that will try to ensure the ground stays in shape for the pressures of hundreds of students running on it.
The exact layout of the course is unavailable to the public yet, but it is planned to wrap around the entirety of West High, spanning from the front courtyard to the back of the Trojan football stadium. Students are hopeful that the course they currently run on in the future will improve as operation to expend and improve upon the course continues and depending on how large the course is, the previously mentioned maintenance factors will be multiplied as well.
Another challenge that has come up more recently for West is the announcement concerning their district debt. On March 24, 2025, the school board announced the plans for a huge $7.5 million dollar budget cut after also announcing that the district had fallen over $15 million in debt earlier in the school year. This news throws a wrench in many projects that the ICCSD had planned for West High and other schools within the district, as money was redirected to paying off debts.
Because the plans for the course were paid for back in 2024 prior to the debt announcement, the course’s construction is guaranteed. However, exactly when the course will be completed is unknown. With so many projects around West High compromised in some way, specific details about when projects are going to be completed are up in the air.
It is confirmed that West High runners will continue running on Ashton for the 2026-27 school year at least, but anything beyond is uncertain.
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding the construction, West High athletes remain positive and excited for the opportunity to one day run on their own course, faithful that it will serve as a opportunity to give sports like cross country more of a spotlight inside the West community and act as a more accessible place for their friends and family to come and support them.
