Stars Sports Report: 11/03/25

picture of Kuma and his family after the state meet.

On Saturday, November 1st, history was made. Sophomore Kuma Gutema is nothing short of an athletic phenom. Last year, Gutema placed 7th at the state meet, becoming the fastest freshman in Iowa history in the process. Just one year later, Gutema placed 4th at the state meet and is now the fastest sophomore in Iowa history—can you see the trend? Gutema finished the race in a time of 14:59, becoming just the sixth person in Iowa history to run under 15 minutes at the state meet.

North High School has a long-standing tradition of successful runners who have gone on to accomplish incredible things. Here are a few North High alumni and their accomplishments: Abbabiya Simbassa placed 5th at the state meet in the mid-2010s; he went on to become a national champion and is currently a professional runner—one of the best marathoners in the country. Merga Gemeda placed 5th at the state meet in 2018 and ran Division I at the University of South Dakota; Gemeda is also now a professional runner. In recent years, North has had Gabe Nash, Will Lohr, and Natnael Kifle earn first-team all-state honors and continue their careers at their respective Division I programs (Gabe: Nebraska; Natnael: USD; Will: SDSU). Lastly, Jaysen Bouwers, North’s only individual cross country state champion, found his own success at the JUCO level. North running has had unprecedented success.

However, with all of this success—the championships, the collegiate running, the professional running—Kuma Gutema is already faster, and he’s only a sophomore. With his performance this weekend, Gutema becomes North’s seventh runner to earn first-team all-state honors in cross country. We can only imagine what he will accomplish in his final two years of high school and just how historic his career will be by the end.

Marcella Palmer capped off her high school career this weekend; Palmer placed 114th at the state meet. Even Tesfaselassi and Ben Hames also finished their careers as Even placed 73rd and Ben 92nd.

Great job Stars!

Football

This season was a strong one for our program, marked by growth, resilience, and development across all levels. Our team made significant strides each week, with many of our younger players gaining valuable experience and essential playing time that will benefit them in the years to come. From our freshmen to our upperclassmen, the progress was clear as the season went on.

Our seniors played a special and vital role in our success. They showed leadership and selflessness, often stepping into multiple positions sometimes outside their natural roles to do what was best for the team. Their example set the tone for our program’s culture of commitment and teamwork. We’re proud of the foundation this group has built and excited for what lies ahead. The offseason will be another important step in our continued growth as we prepare for next year

Cross Country

We are very proud of our season and our guys won conference to keep a proud tradition going. Our girls were runner up with a marginal amount of varsity returning. We are excited about the future and hope to place well individual at state. Kuma is our brightest star. He placed 4th place at the state meet is the 6th fastest runner in Iowa History! We are looking forward to our team moving forward with our young runners stepping up.

Cheer

Football season went well for us! We had the chance to show off some of our newly upgraded stunts with the help of purchasing mats to practice more difficult skills in the summer to be ready for football. We did intermediate-level pyramids with 5-6 stunt groups with only two years of stunting experience under our belts! We are looking forward to continuing progressing our stunting difficulty and execution, as well as cheer for the winter sports! Next year, we are excited to attend a UCA camp and compete a routine at local and hopefully the state and regional competitions!

Golf

While the season was a success, as is the case with most sports, you typically leave the season wanting a little more or having a disappointing taste in your mouth as there is only one winner as a team and one individual winner in golf. Some of the positives that we had throughout the season was our scores got better as the season went on both as a team and individually. A couple of notable accomplishments

Jack Mogensen- All Conference (3x All Conference)
Jack Mogensen and Drew Larson-Academic All-Conference
Letterwinners: Seth Frankele, Jack Mogensen, Kale Puetz, Asher Willson, Tim Ericson, Braden Kumm, Drew Larson, Jackson Casey
Seth Frankele- 78.08 Avg
Jack Mogensen-79.56 Avg

Something that I am looking forward to is while we had a great group of seniors, we were a very young team and had no Juniors on the roster this past season. Excited for our group to grow these next 9 months and see what we will do.

Tennis

The season went well, and our record did not reflect the talent we had. Due to the season being moved to the fall, we had many girls who were absent from matches because of earlier commitments. I was proud of the fact that girls who may not have had an opportunity to play were able to compete and get some varsity wins.
I am really excited to see the steps this team can take from this year to next year. We lose one senior who had a really good year and qualified for state, but we get everyone else back, and it will be awesome to see the steps forward that the girls will take, especially the ones who this was their first season

Band

We are incredibly proud of our students’ resilience and their willingness to learn. From the first day of camp to the final performance, they absorbed new ideas and truly implemented what we were teaching. Their commitment to growth was visible across the season. Each performance was stronger than the last. Many audience members took time to share how impressed they were by the band’s improvement from one show to the next. That kind of growth and recognition is a testament to our students’ hard work and dedication.

This season, our Guard earned Best Guard honors once again, and our Drum Majors were recognized as Best Drum Majors, both at Algona Band Day where the band won second place. While those achievements are certainly highlights, the most meaningful accomplishment for us as directors was seeing the students’ drive to improve. They took ownership of their performances, supported each other, and showed pride in what they created together. Every show felt like a celebration of their growth and teamwork.

We’re excited to continue getting to know our students beyond the marching season. While marching band lasts just three months, the rest of the school year gives us time to get to know students better, strengthen musicianship, and develop a new show that truly reflects who they are. Our upcoming show is being designed for the students and about the students with a message that resonates for them. This is a special group, and we are grateful to be here.

Volleyball

It was a really positive season overall. Our win-loss record only tells part of the story. This group made tremendous strides in both mindset and teamwork. They showed tremendous growth throughout the season. They competed hard, learned a lot, and have set a strong foundation for next year. I am extremely proud of what they have accomplished and their growth. I’m most proud of how much the girls grew this season. Watching their confidence build – both in themselves and in each other – was incredibly rewarding. I’m really looking forward to building on the foundation we set this year. I’m excited to see the girls carry their confidence and chemistry into the new year. With the leaders we have coming back to help guide the program I can’t wait to watch as they continue to push each other, compete and take their game to the next level.