Vote for Ames Tribune male Athlete of the Week for Oct. 25-31
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The week of Oct. 25-31 saw a team from the Ames area win its fourth consecutive boys state cross country championship and two football teams from the area compete in the Iowa high school football playoffs.
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The Gilbert boys cross country team brought home its fourth-straight Class 3A state championship, and the Tigers also crowned their first individual state champion since 2014 at the Iowa high school state cross country meet held on Oct. 30-31 at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Two area football teams competed in the Iowa high school football playoffs Round of 16 on Oct. 30. Roland-Story upset No. 4 Mid-Prairie with an impressive 42-14 victory over the Golden Hawks at Wellman in 2A competition, and Ballard saw its season end with a 35-0 loss to No. 4 Western Dubuque in 4A play.
There were several individual performances that stood out from male high school athletes from the Ames area during the week.
Here are the Ames Tribune male Athlete of the Week nominees for the week of Oct. 25-31. AmesTrib.com readers vote to determine the winner, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Logan Bleich, Gilbert
Bleich became the second individual boys state cross country champion in Gilbert history after winning the 3A individual title at the Iowa high school state cross country meet on Oct. 31 at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Bleich won the 5-kilometer race in 15 minutes, 12.2 seconds. He beat teammate Jacob Tallman by 9.7 seconds for the title as the two runners became the second and third runners ever in Iowa to place in the top 10 individually for four consecutive state team champions.
Fiston Carlson, Roland-Story
Carlson had the performance of a lifetime at running back in leading the Roland-Story football team to its decisive 42-14 upset victory over No. 4 Mid-Prairie in the Round of 16 of the 2A high school football playoffs on Oct. 30 at Wellman.
Carlson topped 1,000 yards for the season by compiling an amazing 392 yards rushing against the Golden Hawks. He did it on just 29 carries, three of which went for touchdowns.
Zach Stevermer, Gilbert
Bleich and Tallman were the main headliners, but Stevermer may have played the most important role in the Gilbert boys cross country team winning its fourth 3A state team championship in a row at the Iowa high school state cross country meet on Oct. 31 in Fort Dodge.
Stevermer stepped up to place fifth individually as the Tigers' third runner after running a 5k time of 16:01.1. He moved up 26 places and improved his time by over 40 seconds from his 2025 showing as a freshman, and that was a huge difference maker in Gilbert holding off Sioux Center by 16 points for another team championship.
Caleb Bolles, Ames
Bolles made a noticeable improvement in both his place and time from his freshman year to his sophomore showing at the Iowa high school state cross country meet on Oct. 31.
After placing 75th in the 4A boys race as a freshman, Bolles took 43rd as a sophomore. His 5k time of 16:23.5 at the Oct. 31 meet was 15 seconds faster than his 2025 showing.
Graden Hermann, Ballard
Hermann turned in a surprise top-60 showing during the 3A boys race at the Iowa high school state cross country meet on Oct. 31 in Fort Dodge.
Hermann completed the 5k course in 17:07.8 to place 59th out of 134 runners.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Vote for Ames Tribune male Athlete of the Week for Oct. 25-31