Johnston cross-country team goes to nationals for 1st time ever

The Johnston varsity cross-country runners who qualified for Nike Cross Nationals in 2024, from left: Jayna Lamping, Lexie Wisham, Alyx Woodley, Aubrielle Tousey, Payton Crabb, Ele Wharton, and Audrey Dummermuth. (Courtesy Johnston Community School District)

By Amie Rivers

December 6, 2024

A Central Iowa girls’ cross-country running team is headed to a national meet for the first time in the program’s history.

The Johnston High School varsity team will compete at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, Dec. 7, after qualifying at Nike Cross Regional in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in November.

Athletes who qualified for Nationals are Payton Crabb, Audrey Dummermuth, Jayna Lamping, Aubrielle Tousey, Ele Wharton, Lexie Wisham, and Alyx Woodley.

“We all started crying in disbelief and hugging each other,” said Dummermuth. “We just kept repeating to each other: ‘We made nationals!’ Every single time we said it, it was just so exciting.”

“I was so shocked — my first reaction was tears of happiness,” Woodley said. “Seeing my time and running to hug my teammates, knowing what we had accomplished was the best feeling in the world.”

Amie Rivers

Amie Rivers is Starting Line's community editor, labor reporter and newsletter snarker-in-chief. Previously, she was an award-winning journalist at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; now, she very much enjoys making TikToks and memes. Send all story tips and pet photos to [email protected] and sign up for our newsletter here.

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CATEGORIES: SPORTS

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