In the wake of a challenging state qualifying meet on Oct. 23, only four of West High’s cross country runners earned spots in the state meet: Michael Hanna ’28, Susanna Olson ’27, Kate Van Waning ’26 and, 27th ranked, Moustafa Tiea ’25. To qualify for state, Tiea and Hanna both ran within the 16-minute range, while Olson and Van Waning ran within the 20-minute range, earning them a spot in the Iowa High School Cross Country Championships. Their execution at the state meet was even more remarkable to finish their season.
Girls
The afternoon began with the 4A Girls 5000M race. With the crack of the starting pistol, Olson and Van Waning bolted off the starting line with one goal: to compete. Maintaining a quick pace throughout the beginning of the race, Van Waning came through the first mile in 6:04.4; Olson followed closely behind at 6:06.9. The second mile proved more challenging, with Van Waning reaching the two-mile mark at 12:42.9 (splitting 6:38.5) and Olson at 12:50.0 (splitting 6:43.1.). After pushing through the final mile, Van Waning and Olson finished 87th at 20:11.2 and 94th at 20:20.1, respectively – a strong showing at a highly competitive meet.
Boys
45 minutes after the girls’ race was the 4A Boys 5000M race. Lining up at the start line, Tiea and Hanna exchanged words of encouragement before the official’s voice cut through telling teams to ready themselves.
As the starting pistol went off, Tiea surged ahead, passing the one-mile mark at 4:52.9, followed by Hanna at 5:09.0. Tiea’s second mile came and went nearly as fast as his first, reaching the two-mile mark at 9:57.1 (splitting 5:04.2), while Hanna came in at 10:36.8 (splitting 5:27.9.).
Coaches and teammates took notice of Tiea’s incredible pace while recording splits and cheered him on louder than ever. Tiea completed his final high school cross country race in ninth place at 15:38.3, a sensational feat that earned him a medal, plaque and admiration from many. After a dogged final push, Hanna finished his first high school cross country state meet in 94th place at 16:52.0.
Although he believed himself to be the “underdog” during the season, Tiea was prideful in his performance, concluding his high school cross country journey.
“I’m happy because I saw myself as an underdog throughout the whole season, and knowing that I could see the results of [my] training and working on myself, being shown instead of being underground, has meant a lot to me,” Tiea said.
As one of only five freshmen who ran in the state meet, Hanna believes that hitting roadblocks is vital for his development as an athlete.
“If there’s a time to learn, it’s now when [there are] just a couple [of] people running instead of an entire team because, in a situation like that, I’m just running for myself to see what I can do,” Hanna said. “And that’s a lot better than hitting a wall and not placing where I need to to help our team as a whole.”
However, with role models such as Tiea, Hanna is hopeful for his future.
“Moose is a big role model for me, and he’s everything I want to be in terms of an athlete [within] the next three years, and I feel like I can get up there. I’m hoping that I can be that good,” Hanna said.
After Tiea’s final high school cross country race, he feels optimistic about the team’s future with rising underclassmen such as Hanna.
“We have a really strong underclassmen class. I’m excited for them to show each other, and the rest of the state, [that] it’s only up from here,” Tiea said.
