AMES – Whether he had an abundance of energy or simply didn’t know better, South Hamilton freshman Logan Peters sprinted down the first straightaway with the leaders at yesterday’s Gilbert Early Bird.

Running a 5-kilometer race at the varsity level for the first time, it would have been normal for Peters to eventually come back to Earth.

That’s what Hawks’ head coach Darrell Paulsen expected to happen to Peters and fellow freshman Gaige Pickering. But they proved him wrong.

The rookies weren’t intimidated by the field or the treacherous Iowa State cross country course, as they maintained a solid pace throughout and placed 10th and 11th, respectively, in the field of 122 runners.

Peters crossed in 18:55.25, with Pickering leaning through the finish in 18:46.73, as they were the key pieces to what was one of the best team races for a South Hamilton boys’ team in more than a decade.

The Hawks put four runners in the top 20 and five in the top 25. They put up 75 points to finish second behind Eagle Grove (33 points) in the Class B field. Roland-Story (116) was a distant third.

“Very honestly, I think we ran a lot better than I thought we would,” Paulsen said. “The course is pretty hard. I don’t know if it was being a freshman or not knowing how much they would have at the end, but they did well.”

Peters was exhausted afterwards, but was content with his first race.

“I thought I would do a lot worse than I did, so I’m really happy,” he said. “I think I can improve as the year goes on, too.”

And the start? Peters said that was planned.

“I just like to stay up at the front as much as I can, that’s just my mentality,” he said.

Veterans Drake Thompson (15th), Devon Fisher (19th) and Josiah Brown (20th) went at a more conventional pace before pushing forward over the final mile. Thompson turned in a time of 19:24.70. Fisher got by Brown late to finish in 19:50.31. Brown clocked in at 19:53.23.

First-year runner Trey Woodall showed promise by touring the course in 20:16.33, good enough for 24th.

“We’ve got a great group of guys,” Peters said. “I think we can do really well this year.”

The South Hamilton girls’ team stepped up to the 5K for the first time and took tentative steps towards improvement. The Hawks were seventh with 168 points.

“It’s going to be a learning process for the girls, but we had to start somewhere,” Paulsen said. “The girls were happy. I don’t think it was as bad as they thought it would be. We’re young, but we’ve got some talent.”

Katie Austin ran by herself for the majority of the race and was the first Hawk to cross in 25:36.91, good enough for 22nd place. Hayley Bell (28th) was next to find the finish line in 26:08.76.

Annie Johnson (27:50.35) placed 43rd, Emily Willadson (28:00.94) was 44th, Ella Carlson (30:09.56) 60th, and Rylee Woodall (30:10.98) 61st.

West Marshall notched 36 points to collect the girls’ team title. CMB (54) was second.

Earlham’s Morgan Allen (22:08.50) was the girls’ individual champion. Colo-NESCO’s Cole Dulaney (17:28.75) claimed the boys’ title.