probably recite many of them without needing to look at the printouts for reference. Re- cently, her teams have only added heft to the record book with three consecutive state ap- pearances and a third-place fin- ish in Class 3A a season ago. Can the 2024 crew continue to push the narrative? Kautman stops and thinks about that for a minute. Her gaze shifts to the left as she looks off in the dis- tance while she chooses her words. “I think we can be good be- cause we believe we can be,” Kautman said. “We have a lot of running talent.” That talent, coupled with the team’s top-three finish at the 2023 state meet, will put out-
side expectations on the pro- gram this fall. The Tigers will be ranked, probably pretty highly, to open the season. Defending state champion Pella and 2023 state runner-up Mount Vernon- Lisbon will likely sit atop the rankings, and returning fourth- and fifth-place finishers Sioux Center and Glenwood will be highly regarded as well. But what the rankings say in late August aren’t nearly as im- portant as what happens when the leaves begin to fly off the trees in late October. “I would anticipate going into the season, just having the sea- son we had last year, we’re going to come in and a lot of people are going to look at us as one of the favorites,” Kaut- man said. “But as a coach, I’m
not sure you want your teams to come out of the gate and be the best you can be in August.” Translation: Gilbert may be a work in progress. And that’s more than fine with Kautman. Truthfully, the Tigers have some questions that need to be answered. There are some holes to fill. But Kautman is op- timistic and excited about the possibilities. Replacing someone like re- cent graduate Clare Stahr isn’t easy. Not only did she run on three state teams and finish 21st a season ago, she was the virtual heartbeat of the 2023 team. When a teammate needed a pick me up, she turned to Clare. When the team needed words of encourage- ment, it was Clare who did the talking. Stahr’s talent on the course will need to be replaced. Her talent off the course will need to be duplicated as well. And here comes that word again: Legacy. “Clare Stahr was athletically gifted, but she was also really great at relationships and that’s part of her legacy,” Kautman said. “It is that leadership piece that she gifted to other girls. She set the standard for a lot of them, and I think we have girls that are ready to carry that baton.”
THE RECORDS Gilbert Girls Cross Country
State Qualifying Teams (28) Years and Place •1984: 13th •2004: 14th •1987: 16th •2005: 14th •1988: 7th •2007: 12th • 1989: 1st •2008: 14th •1990: 2nd •2010: 11th •1991: 2nd •2011: 11th •1992: 4th •2012: 5th •1993: 6th • 2013: 1st •1994: 5th •2014: 2nd •1995: 12th •2015: 7th •1997: 9th •2016: 11th •1998: 12th •2021: 13th •1999: 5th •2022: 12th •2003: 11th •2023: 3rd State Champions (Individual) •1990: Sydney Pounds •1992: Sydney Pounds •2011: Sadie Timms •2013: Grace Gibbons •2014: Grace Gibbons Individual All-Time Best Times 5K
Name
Year 2023 2023 2015 2023 2023 2015 2023 2016
Time 19:03 19:13 19:26 19:30 19:33 19:34 19:39 19:42 19:49
Emee Dani Emee Dani Emee Dani Clare Stahr Carly Rahn Clare Stahr Emily Branson Maggie Pollard
Keira Andersen 2023
Maggie Pollard
2015 19:49 *Note: The 5K was introduced in 2015
Gilbert will also need to re- place 10th-place state-meet fin- isher Emee Dani, who is no longer with the program. Mag- gie Danilson, another varsity Other Numbers •Conference Titles (Team): 17 •Conference Titles (Individual): 16 •District/SQM Titles (Team): 16 •District/SQM Titles (Individual): 15 •State Top 10 (Individual): 21 •State Qualifiers (Individual): 60
Gilbert senior Abby Patel at the 2023 state meet in Fort Dodge.
FALL 2024 | GAME ON 27
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