By: Matt Scher, matts@977thebolt.com
Fort Dodge, IA – Three Humboldt Wildcats finished among the top 50 runners in the Class 3A girls race at the 2026 Iowa High School Cross Country State Championships Saturday, October 31, at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Juniors Avery Fisher and Aubry Fisher and freshman Jade Malo represented Humboldt in a field of 136 runners, with all three Wildcats crossing the finish line in under 20 minutes.
Fisher led Humboldt with a 30th-place finish in 19:30.5. Malo placed 43rd in 19:47.9, while Aubry Fisher finished 44th in 19:49.0.
For Avery Fisher, the performance was another opportunity to compete against some of the best runners in the state. She said the first two miles went well before the final mile became more challenging.
“It felt pretty good the first couple miles. The third mile kind of got me, but I’m pretty, like, happy with my performance,” Fisher said.
Wet and muddy conditions also played a role in Saturday’s race. Fisher said she tried to stay toward the outside portions of the course to avoid the muddiest sections.
The junior said competing against a higher level of competition was one of the biggest takeaways from returning to the state meet.
“It’s just really exciting to, like, compete with really good competition and just be able to push myself and run with girls that I hadn’t been able to run with all season,” Fisher said. “I really hope to come back next year and possibly run a faster time or just place higher.”
Aubry Fisher, also a junior, finished just nine-tenths of a second behind her sister. While she said her race did not go exactly as planned, she was pleased to have another opportunity to compete at the state meet alongside her twin sister and Malo.
“It was really exciting to have another runner like Jade, and just a younger team, but being able to lead them and just kind of help them out and just see how they improve throughout the season,” Aubry Fisher said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Malo’s first appearance at the state meet turned into an especially memorable performance.
The Humboldt freshman started strong but fell during the opening 400 meters of the race. She got back up and continued running, eventually completing the three-mile course in 19:47.9 despite suffering a broken fibula.
Malo said she had been experiencing discomfort throughout the week, which had initially been thought to be tendonitis. She believes the injury may have already been a stress fracture before the fall during Saturday’s race.
Despite the pain, her goal was to finish.
“I really just wanted to finish. I don’t know, I just thought I had never not finished a race,” Malo said. “I almost stopped at 2.75, but I was close enough, so I just pushed through.”
Malo said she was shocked to learn afterward that she had completed the race with a broken bone.
“Yeah, it was very shocking. I did not think it was anywhere near broke,” she said. “I figured it was a stress fracture, there’s no way I just ran three miles on a broken leg.”
Humboldt head coach Joel Hoogland said Malo’s determination was something he would remember for the rest of his coaching career.
“Not a lot of people can probably say they ran half a meet on a broken leg,” Hoogland said. “But I mean, just a lot of toughness there to say, ‘I’m not only going to run well, but I’m going to finish on that as well.’ I would never be able to do it. I can’t even put into words what that means.”
Hoogland was pleased with the overall performance from his three state qualifiers, noting that all three finished in the top third of a competitive field.
He said Avery Fisher ran aggressively, worked her way through the early congestion and closed the race well. Aubry Fisher also turned in a strong performance, finishing close to her teammates.
All three Humboldt runners improved their state-meet placing from the previous year.
The coach also pointed to the girls’ fourth-place finish at the district meet, something the program had not accomplished in nearly a decade.
“I thought we had a great year,” Hoogland said. “On the girls’ side, finishing fourth at the district meet, something that hasn’t been done in almost a decade. They can really be proud of that finish.”
The future also looks promising for Humboldt. Avery and Aubry Fisher will return for their senior seasons in 2027, while Malo will enter her sophomore season.
Hoogland said the program has plenty of young talent returning on both the girls’ and boys’ sides.
“The sky’s really the limit on both sides. We have a lot of youth coming back that we can be excited about to build around,” Hoogland said.
The Wildcats wrapped up their 2026 cross country season with three representatives among the state’s top 50 Class 3A girls’ runners.