Running in his fourth and final State Cross Country Meet, Norwalk senior Noah Buhrow capped an outstanding career last Friday by earning All-State status and a Class 4A medal. Buhrow placed 14th out of 130 4A runners, clocking a time of 15:48 in cold and windy conditions at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge.
Buhrow, who took 26th at last year’s State Meet, crossed the finish line just 11 seconds out of fifth and led the Warriors to 13th place as a team. Earlier this season, Buhrow finished third at the Little Hawkeye Conference Meet and second in the 4A State Qualifying Meet at Southeast Polk High School.
Buhrow tells KNIA/KRLS Sports that he was excited to accomplish his individual goal of bringing home a state medal. “It means a lot to me. I never thought I’d be All-State if I’m being honest,” Buhrow said. “Coming into freshman year, you never really expect it but I work hard, the team works hard. We (did) great this year. I know we’ve got guys in the coming years that are going to do even better than I did this year, so I’m excited to see how that plays out.”
Buhrow is the only senior among Norwalk’s seven state competitors, so the expectation for a sixth consecutive state-qualifying team next fall is already in place. Junior Tony Anania, who placed 28th in 4A, is already looking forward to next season.
“Noah’s really good, I love him. He’s a great leader. He’s probably the best we’ve ever had,” said Anania. “But we have six returning guys, so I think we can get right back [to state] and I think we can be way better than we were this year.”
The Warriors placed 13th at this year’s state meet despite a solid average time of 16:30, which Buhrow believes is a testament to how strong Iowa cross country has become. “All these teams here are amazing and I’m pretty proud of how we fought,” he said. “Even though the place might not be what we wanted, I know we all worked hard and I’m happy with that.”
Norwalk has now had an All-State performer in back-to-back state meets after Donovan Card placed 15th as a senior last year.