Our countdown of top sports moments from Newton High School during the 2024-2025 school year takes us back to the fall, where sophomore Cooper Lenz competed as an individual at the Class 3A State Boys Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge on November 1st. It was Lenz’ first appearance at the state meet, and he finished 72nd out of the 100 qualifiers. His time was 17:27.4. The Newton sophomore said running at the state meet was the highlight of a tough season.

“Throughout the season I was kind of hitting a block and feeling low because I have not had the best times. In the past couple of meets the times went down substantially. So it’s made it a lot better.”

Lenz made it to the 2024 Class 3A Boys State Cross Country Meet by placing 11th at the qualifying meet in Pella on October 23rd. Lenz was the highest placing Cardinal, with a time of 16:57.28.