Boys State Cross Country:
The ADM Boys Cross Country team competed at state in Fort Dodge on November 1. Runners Torin Timmerman, Ty Landphair, Max Marple, and Dain Holdmeyer made school history at the 2024 state cross country meet. For the 3rd time in school history, the boy’s cross country team placed in the top 10 teams at state. Timmerman ran the 9th fastest time by a senior (16:59), Landphair ran the 7th fastest time by a junior (17:16), Marple ran the 5th fastest time by a sophomore (17:16), and Holdmeyer ran the 3rd fastest time by a freshman (17:31).
In an interview with Max Marple, he shared that many factors go into preparing for a successful race. Marple said he ensured he slept well, ate carb-filled meals, and drank plenty of water to prepare for state. As a team, they prepared for state by attending meets to get used to the competitive atmosphere. They also cut back on their miles the week between the state qualifying meet and the state meet to give the runners a chance to recover and rest. They kept up with small workouts to keep up with the racing mentality.
When asked about his performance at state, TyLanphair shared that he was proud of himself for continuing to push through and try his best, even when things did not go his way. Landphair was accidentally spiked in the knee by another runner at the beginning of the race, but he still managed to compete, earning 63rd place. Other ADM runners Torin Timmerman, Max Marple, Dain Holdmeyer, and Shay Holdmeyer, earned 42nd, 66th, 80th, and 99th place.
Overall, the team had a very good season. When asked about coach Chapman’s favorite memory from the season, he shared the team’s tradition of doing “shout-outs” or sharing something positive that happened during the meet. Sometimes it’s a new PR or good race, but it’s also about recognizing things that the runners are doing for their teammates.
Coach Chapman goes on to describe the state meet environment as exciting and enthusiastic. There are hundreds of spectators that run around cheering on the runners.  Some fans bring signs, cowbells, and big flags to show their support for the runners.  There is always the initial anticipation of the gun going off and right after the gun goes off if you are standing by the starting line you can feel the ground shake as over a hundred runners take off to start the race.  Then hearing fans and coaches yelling at the runners just makes it all an exciting event.  The finish line gets crowded quickly as everyone wants to see their team finish the race.
Coach Chapman said, “There is something special about seeing the athletes finish a cross-country race.  Overall it is just a high-energy environment that is hard to explain as it is something you just have to experience and once you do then you will understand why the athletes love competing at the state meet”.

State Cheer:
The ADM Cheer Team competed at the state cheer competition on November 2. They competed in the 3A cheer/ dance category and earned 5th overall. According to cheerleader, Angel Lin, the team was overall very proud of their performance but were a little disappointed with the placement. Claire Roorda goes on to add that the team performed very well, and hit all of their stunts, but were hoping to place a little higher. However, they did their best and put in a lot of work. Roorda says to prepare for state, the team practiced every day for 2 hours starting three or four months before state. They got their choreography in June, and have been working on it ever since.
A large part of cheer’s season this fall has been dedicated to football. When asked about the difference between football cheer and competitive cheer, both Roorda and Lin agreed that competitive cheer is more time-consuming and usually harder than football cheer. It also has harder stunts, and you compete a dance to music. On the other hand, football is mostly on the sidelines, doing basic cheers and interacting with the crowd.
Overall, the ADM Cheerleaders had a very good season. Lin’s favorite memory from the season was writing cards to her teammates to celebrate and show how thankful they were for each other. Roorda’s favorite memory was getting to spend time getting to know the freshmen. She says she really enjoys talking to them and they always make her laugh.

State Swim and Dive:
ADM students, Eliza Schmidt and Emma Popp, competed at the state swimming and diving meet on November 15. They are both on the Waukee Swim and Dive Team this season.
When asked what it was like doing a sport for a different school, Schmidt shared how hard it can be on the athletes. “Not a lot of people know about it, or they see it as lesser compared to here [ADM sports]. It seems like people here don’t care about it as much because it’s not our school and our school doesn’t get the credit”.
Schmidt competed in the diving competition, earning 18th overall. Popp competed in the 200 medley relay, 100 IM, and 100 backstroke. She earned  2nd in the B final for the 100 backstroke. The Waukee Swim Team had a great season as a whole, and went into state ranked 10th, after earning 3rd at conference and 2nd at regionals.
The road to state is long for swimmers. First, you must qualify for state by being among the top 32 swimmers in the event. Then, on to state. The State Meet begins on Friday with prelims. Swimmers compete in each event and are ranked by their finishing time. The top 16 swimmers then advance to the next round of competition on Saturday. On Saturday, swimmers compete in their event again, in two separate heats. Each heat has eight swimmers, with the top eight making up the A final, and the bottom eight making up the B final.
Schmidt shares what the road to state looks like for divers. She said, “I have practice every day, and I’m going through everything that I need to work on from regionals and what I’ll compete at state on Friday.” She also shares that to prepare for state, she focuses on her mindset and recovering her body by going to physical therapy, seeing a chiropractor, using the hot tub, and icing. Overall, this has been a really good season, for both Schmidt and her team. She stated she has improved a lot and broken both school and personal records this season