Elite 50
#14 West Des Moines Catholic

This is the first of many features we will be having this fall that highlights the "Elite 50" high school xc programs. Betsy Flood is a 2008 graduate of Dowling Catholic and is currently a captain on the Iowa Hawkeyes xc squad. The Dowling Catholic Maroons are ranked 14th in the country and have won the class 4A (big class) state championship 4 years in a row. They return 6 of 7 from last year and are sure to be one of the top teams coming out of the midwest. 

Besty Flood:

When I first started running for Dowling XC when I was 15 we did not have much of a team.  I was the only girl to run at the state meet and still I did not do so well on my own.  In the following several years something really special started to happen.  It’s crazy how the right combination of people and motivation can take a program from the ground up.

            Father Kirby and Tim Ives spearheaded most of the changes.  I remember my last two years of competition Father would be bush whacking a trail and laying down wood chips so we could have some where soft to workout.  He would stake out water spots or drive to our halfway point on hot days for water, wake up at 5 am to go get us bagels before practice, and most importantly he would encourage and believe in us.  Tim had a great background in designing workouts and knowing the right balance of strength, speed, and fitness to get us where we needed to be. Within a year we had doubled our mileage, remained injury free, and went from no one placing at state to the entire team getting second overall. 

            After that the sky became the limit for the Dowling program.  We went on to win state the next year and people on the team began competing in bigger meets like footlocker and Nike nationals.  I think the hardest part and biggest change was really to just get people excited about running and to really love what they were doing and feel passionate about their gifts! I can’t take any credit for the success the team has continued to have, but I know that great talent continues to come into the program allowing a longstanding long distance running tradition to stand.  I think it’s so awesome that cross-country is kind of becoming a “cool” sport at Dowling and this year there is the possibility that both the boys AND girls teams could chase the state title and continue in post season competition.

            Father Kirby and Tim Ives have really created a genuine lasting program and so many people have been able to achieve success and set really amazing goals within this program.  Once people see what is going on around them they want to be a part of it and the success and joy are so contagious!