Another Iowa High School State Cross Country race will feature the Panorama Panthers girls cross country team vying for championship hardware. The Panthers came away top team in Thursday’s Class 2A State Qualifying Race at the Lake Panorama Par 3 Golf Course in Panora, winning the 12-team meet with a low score of 55. Panorama sophomore Ella Waddle was the queen of the race, taking medalist honors with a time of 19:38. She was the only runner with a time under 20 minute. Three other Panthers claimed an individual spot at state with a top 15 finish last night. Freshman Payton Beckman crossed the finish line fifth overall at 21:40. Sophomore Oliva Steffen placed eight at 22:02 and her twin sister Gwen Steffen took 11th at 22:05. Panorama head cross country coach Greg Thompson shared the state qualifying success started over a decade ago. “It started in 2006, that was the first team I ever took to state,” Thompson said, “That got the momentum rolling. I figured out, and they figured out what it took to get there. We’ve pretty much kept the same training program since then and have kept it rolling.”

The Panorama Panther boys cross country team placed 12th out of 14 teams in their Class 2A State Qualifying race, scoring 281. Freshman Kevin Cogil was the first Panther to cross the finish line, placing 46th with a time of 19:54. Junior Emery Colby placed 49th, senior Levi Richey finished 54th, and senior Noah Kirtley ended 56th. The Panther girls cross country team will run in the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet next Saturday, October 27 at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge starting at 2 p.m. Last season, the Panthers placed second in the Class 1A State race.