As each fall sport comes to an end, cross country athletes are preparing for the state meet. After junior Bradley Ahrens placed seventh at the Class 4 District 1 meet on Saturday at Arnold Park, it meant he was heading to the state meet in Columbia, MO. 

He is the first state qualifier in the history of the Windsor cross country program. 

At districts, Ahrens’ time was 16:48:00.  In one season, Ahrens has broken the school record twice this season.  Training wasn’t always easy for Ahrens. He could be seen running regularly on the Windsor campus and throughout Kimmswick over the past year. 

Ahrens said, “It felt like all my offseason training finally paid off all the way back to June and July.”

 The dedication that Ahrens gives every year is what all coaches aspire their athletes to be. 

Head coach  John Leech said, “We couldn’t be prouder of Bradley after his success this year in cross country with his patience and hard work.”  

Cross country isn’t an indoor sport, so the competitors adventure into all of Missouri’s weather changes. 

Ahrens said, “The training process will remain the same for now because there’s nothing I can do to really get faster.” 

His goal is to maintain his pace and speed. As the season progresses, so does the cold weather. Ahrens did claim that most of his training was during the heat of the year.

¨Success isn’t how far you get, but the distance you traveled from where you started,” Ahrens said. 

Ahrens will compete at 11am on Friday in Columbia.  Due to the pandemic, the team isn’t allowed to go in person to support Ahrens.

 “It feels good to be the first state qualifier, especially since cross country is a relatively new program. I’m happy to represent the team at state,” Ahrens said.

At this point, it’s time to enjoy the hard work that led Ahrens to state. 

Leech said, “The hay is in the barn and Ahrens won’t make tremendous physical gains before the meet, so we cut back on training to ensure that he is rested for state.”