Written by Nathan Manske
On Tuesday, October 13th, the Algona boys’ and girls’ cross country teams had their North Central Conference meet hosted by Hampton. The Bulldogs ran at Maynes Grove in Hampton. The Algona boys finished 5th as a team and the top three runners were Brooks Morgan placing 11th, Axton Hood placing 12th, and Landon Becker placing 15th. The Bulldog girls also finished 5th as a team. The top four runners were Charli Dodds in 11th, Chelsy Vicente-Gomez in 30th, Hadley Friedrich 42nd, and Evelyn Kissinger 43rd. Rounding out the Bulldog ladies, Elise Duff placed 45th, Karsyn Bailey 53rd, and Natalie Orban 61st. 
On Wednesday, October 21st, both the boys and girls had their State qualifying meet at Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Clear Lake. The Algona women had a great night at the District qualifying meet. The ladies placed 7th as a team. Charli Dodds placed 13th in the meet and qualified for State! She will run next Saturday in Fort Dodge at the 2026 State Cross country meet. Chelsey Vicente-Gomez placed 33rd, Mara Davis 44th, Evelyn Kissinger 45th, Hadley Friedrich 47th, Karsyn Bailey 61st, and Elise Duff 70th. Good luck Charli! The Algona men also had an amazing afternoon, placing 7th as a team. Brooks Morgan was very close to making State but came up short, placing 20th. Axton Hood placed 23rd, Landon Becker 35th, Grandon Dahlhauser 37th, Caden Harms 54th, Ethan Orban 71st, and Brenden Sampson 74th. Brooks Morgan states, “I am proud of our team and I ran speedy.”