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BRONZE WILL DO

FORT DODGE – Connor Foster had it all planned out. A win, followed by a victory lap with the team flag, that’s how he and his teammates were going to send head coach Tony Bussan into retirement.

It was a perfect idea; vintage Bussan. If only it had worked out.

And yet Foster wasn’t disappointed. Neither was his coach.

Instead, both beamed with pride as the sun began to dip at Lakeside Golf Course Tuesday evening. Webster City wasn’t going home with the gold, but the team’s best run of the season and a third-place finish at the North Central Conference meet was plenty satisfying.

“The goal was to try to win it or get second, but we ran well,” Foster said.

“It was far and away our best boys’ team race of the year,” Bussan said.

Foster and teammate Tyler Bultena were the catalysts, as WCHS was able to notch 74 points and secure bronze. Both reached all-conference status by racing each other and finishing in the top 10. It was Foster’s turn to get the better of the rivalry, as he pulled just a step or two ahead of his teammate as they reached the final straightaway and placed sixth in a time of 17:34.10. Bultena was right behind him in seventh in 17:34.50.

“Connor and Tyler ran fantastic races,” Bussan said. “It’s very gratifying to see a senior like Connor Foster do that. That’s a kid who was a 22-minute 5K kid as a freshman. As a coach, you enjoy it when one of your athletes takes everything you’ve given him and applies it. And I was very proud of Tyler, too.”

The friendly rivalry that has developed between the Lynx leaders has paid dividends throughout the season.

“He knows that it’s always a race,” Foster said of Bultena. “Whenever we get by the chute he says ‘let’s go,’ and I know the race is on.”

Freshmen Dawson Hjelmeland and John Piazynski both cracked the top 20 as well for the Lynx. In the top 10 until the final 500 meters, Hjelmeland placed 12th in 17:49.60, while Piazynski vaulted up to 20th in 18:14.20.

“Those were tremendous performances by the two freshmen,” Bussan said.

Still fighting back from illness, Trey Nelson closed out the Lynx scoring in 29th with a clocking of 18:48.70. Evan Mark (18:50.70) and John Brandt (18:54.90) weren’t far off the pace in 30th and 33rd, respectively.

Fifth-ranked (Class 2A) Clear Lake put three runners in the top four and cruised to the team crown with 43 points. Humboldt (62) occupied the runner-up slot.

St. Edmond’s Harrison Mayer made a late push to surge to the front for individual gold. He crossed the finish line in 16:51.50, nearly 13 seconds ahead of silver medalist Eric Faught of Clear Lake.

It was the 27th and final NCC meet for Bussan, who has piled up more than his fair share of team titles over the years, 22 to be exact. He’s also led 11 other teams to second-place finishes.

No hardware made its way back to Webster City with him this time, and that’s OK, he said.

“I’m very proud of this group,” he said. “Our tradition has been to run your best when it matters most, and they honored that tradition. Everybody did things the right way and stayed committed to each other.”

It’s not completely over for Bussan and his team. They’ll now spend the next week preparing to take one final crack at reaching the state meet at next Thursday’s 3A qualifier in Spencer.

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