About the Program
North High School is proud to offer cross country. The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union sanctions our high school sports for girls. Our teams compete in the Missouri River Conference. Through involvement in athletics, students learn valuable life skills, including teamwork, leadership, and commitment.
Meet the Coach
Head Coach: Abdier Marrero
Coach Marrero has coached the Stars since 2007. Throughout his coaching career he has led the Stars to many notable achievements including:
- Four Boys City Championship teams
- Five Individual City Champions
- One girls MRAC Conference Championship team
- Three boys MRAC Conference Championship teams
- 64 All-MRAC Performances
- Six Individual MRAC Champions
- Nine MRAC Individual Runner-up Performance
- 20 All-District Performances (Individual State Qualifiers)
- One Individual District Champion
- One boys Team District Championship
- Three State Qualifying Boys Teams and Three All-State Cross Country Performances
- One Top-5 Boys Team Finish, along with one Individual 3rd Team All-Region Performance at Nike Heartland Regionals.
Coach Marrero was also named At-Large Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2019 by IATC.
Since Coach Marrero began his coaching career at North High, the Stars have seen 118 Academic All-Conference Runners as well as 11 Academic All-State Runners. 20 Stars have made their way to Collegiate Cross Country Programs, including the NJCAA, the NAIA’s Great Plains Athletic Conference, NCAA D-II’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, as well as the NCAA D-I’s Summit League, the Big East, and the Big XII Conference!
Coach Marrero began his running career at Sioux City West High School in 1996. He received his first Varsity Letter in Track in 1997 while attending Montclair High School in California. He returned to Sioux City West where he competed in Cross Country for the first time under Coach David Nash and graduated from Sioux City West High School in 1999. He continued his running at Morningside College in the NCAA Division II North Central Conference, garnering All-NCC Honors during the 2002 Indoor Track and Field Season. Coach Marrero enlisted into the US Army Reserves and served from September of 2000 to June of 2018, holding the rank of Sergeant First Class, and has two deployments under Operation Iraqi Freedom. Coach Marrero obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Morningside College, Master’s Degree from Buena Vista University, and currently works as a Professional School Counselor at Sioux City North High School.
Coach Marrero holds his Coaching Authorization from the Iowa Department of Education, and holds certification from the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, and is USA Track and Field Level I Certified.
Meet the Team
Student-athletes give their all, both on and off the course. Countless hours go into strength, conditioning, and practice to build strong athletes that are prepared to compete. Likewise, our athletes fulfill academic requirements in order to participate in sports.
Stats & Highlights
Our students are gracious in victory and defeat. While we compete to win, our athletes know, it’s how you play the game that matters.
Varsity Girls Cross Country Stats
Notable Individual Achievements
The following girls received Distinguished in Academic Achievement honors in the spring of 2020, carrying the team to over a 3.25 GPA:
Carmen Calderon, Eleanor Chalstrom (Manager), Lillian Davis, Erica Goeden (Manager), Aphraditie Hancock, Elizabeth Jordan, Emma Kelley, Froso Konidas, Megan Kopp, Christina Ly, Jazmin Mosqueda, Liberty Nordstrom, Mia Norton, Cameron Risetter, Michelle Sanchez-Angulo, Victoria Schneiders, Emma Walz, and Nicole Zuehl.
Stars All-Time Top 10 State Qualifiers
- Nicole Benzoni 15:07:00, 2007
- Sarah Nelson 15:16:00, 2004
- Lillyana Yebra** 19:44:00, 2015
- Veronica Limon 16:03:00, 2004
- Lillian Garay 20:04, 2019
- Elizabeth Jordan 20:15:00, 2019
- Sarah Nelson 16:16:00, 2005
- Lillyana Yebra** 20:24:00, 2016
- Chelsie Stokes 16:23:00, 2005
- Cat Nelson 16:23:00, 2005
Fundraising
To help cover gear/equipment costs, the North High cross country team partners with Jolly Time Popcorn in Sioux City to participate in the Koated Kernels Popcorn fundraiser. Fundraising encourages creativity and teamwork and teaches the importance of charity and community.
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For more information about the North High cross country team visit https://www.northstarsxc.com/.