Jackson Heidesch, a Duke-bound senior at Dowling Catholic High in Iowa and two-time Class 4A state cross country champion who achieved the all-time 5-kilometer mark of 14:56.66 in the Oct. 29 championship race at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss preparation for racing Nov. 13 at NXR Heartland at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, S.D. Dowling Catholic, which secured its 10th boys state title in program history and the eighth under coach Tim Ives, is seeking its first trip to Nike Cross Nationals since 2012, looking to improve from a ninth-place finish at the regional meet last season. Heidesch, who finished 26th in the regional championship last year in 15:40.2, revisits how illness compromised the Maroons' lineup last year in South Dakota and how motivated the group is to return to Yankton Trail Park to compete against the top teams in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He also reflects on Dowling Catholic winning the boys varsity gold race Sept. 23 at the Roy Griak Invitational for the first time since 2015 at Les Bolstadt Golf Course, prevailing against elite Minnesota programs Wayzata, Lakeville North and Rosemount, and how beneficial that competition was in preparing for the Heartland championship race. Heidesch also examines how valuable the opportunity was to compete against Noah Breker of Robbinsdale Armstrong in Minnesota, who prevailed by a 15:31.1 to 15:33.5 margin, and how that lone setback of the season provided inspiration for future races. He analyzes how significant it was to run 15:10.7 on the state course Oct. 6 at the Fort Dodge Invitational, providing the belief that Heidesch could run sub-15 at the Class 4A championship, especially after clocking 14:57.1 on Sept. 8 in another 5-kilometer race at the Marshalltown Bobcat Invitational. Heidesch also shares how meaningful it was to eclipse the state meet record of 15:02.0 achieved in 2012 by former Dowling Catholic standout Jason Thomas, and to secure the triple crown of repeating as individual winner and team champion, in addition to producing the all-time mark on the 5-kilometer layout. He also examines the strong Duke recruiting class, including Riley Newport from DeKalb High in Illinois, Alden Keller from Breck School in Minnesota, Rendon Kuykendall from Hope Christian in New Mexico and Sean Morello of Albany High in California.