By Kory CarpenterRecord Sports EditorDespite the nerves of running in the Class 3 state cross country finals last Saturday, Warrenton freshman Nathan Nordwald was able to finish the final race of his first season not far off his normal pace.After initially believing he finished in around 19 minutes, Nordwald was officially clocked in at 18:12.63, which placed him 131st in the state on a course most runners are not prepared to battle.“It’s probably one of the most difficult courses,” Warrenton cross country coach Jeremy Collins said after the race.Nordwald agreed.“It was definitely a tougher course than usual,” he said. “But you’re running against the best runners in the state, so you just have to push through it and stay persistent.”Nordwald was the only Warrenton boy to qualify for the meet at Jefferson City’s Oak Hills Golf Center, and his coach called him a “tough kid who has been having great workouts.”Ben Naeger of St. Genevieve won the race with a time of 14:55.98, and it was that type of pacing that led Nordwald to struggle at times.“When you see some of the fastest runners in the state running next to you, you kind of over-pace a little bit,” Nordwald said. “Which is what happened today.”Nordwald finished ahead of 24 upperclassmen in the race and was already thinking about improvements that can be made next season, minutes after crossing the finish line.“I definitely wouldn’t go out as fast as I did and I probably would have pushed more on the hill,” he said. “I want to do more hill work in the offseason and have more consistent pacing.”Nordwald and Collins expected to be in Jefferson City Saturday since the beginning of the season, and the experience Nordwald picked up in the race should help in 2016 and beyond.Collins used the race as a learning experience, as well.“As a coach I’m already thinking about what kind of workouts we can do next year to prepare them a little bit more,” he said. “And besides the course itself, you’re running against the top runners in the state, so that adds a component to it.”As for Nordwald, another year of training to go with the knowledge he gathered Saturday could help him if he returns to the course as a sophomore.“I think he has a lot of potential, so it’s just going to take him to mentally think about what he wants to do his sophomore year, junior year and senior year, then going out and working hard, building a base and getting that speed work,” Collins said. “He’s a great runner, so if he can just get a little stronger he will be up there.”

Warrenton freshman Nathan Nordwald runs toward the finish line of Saturday's Class 3 state cross country meet. Nordwald finished the race in 18.12.63.