Freedom harrier Alex Heidemann knew it was his day from the start of the PIAA State Class 3A Cross Country Championships, and at the finish, the Patriot senior clinched a 10th place medal with a time of 16:25.70 on Saturday afternoon at Hershey.

Heidemann crossed the finish line and threw his arms up in the air, knowing he finished in the top 20, and knowing he ran a great race. His parents and sister thought he placed 15th, but soon after, Freedom assistant coach Devon Harris delivered even better news: 10th place.

“I was super happy, jumping around, gave him a hug,” Heidemann said. “From the start of the season, my goal was to run the best race I could and medal at states. My heart and mind were completely set on that, but my mind really did that for me.”

Seconds later, Freedom head coach Bob Thear was at the finish to congratulate his state medalist.

“I was really excited, thrilled, elated!” said Coach Thear. “Devon and I had a feeling a good race for Alex would be to finish between 15th and 20th. At least that was our expectation.”

But when Thear and Harris read the MileSplit (a cross country and track website) preview on Friday night, it said that Heidemann could finish in the top 10, something the two coaches kept to themselves.

“From the gun, I was in a great spot,” said Heidemann, who found himself smiling as he looked around at all the other racers. “My plan was to maintain my pace on the uphills and make up ground on the downhills.”

Right away, Coach Thear saw Heidemann’s starting spot was next to the team from Hempfield, contenders for a team title, including Aidan Hodge, who finished ahead of Heidemann in the Paul Short Run in October.

“The early stretch is very chaotic, so I told Alex to go out with them. They’ll go out hard,” Thear said. “I saw him at a quarter mile in, and I was happy. At the halfway point, he was 20th, and a half mile later, the pack had broken up a bit, but Alex looked good.”

In fact, at each mile mark, Heidemann said he was right where he wanted to be: 5:01 at the first mile and 10:28 at the second mile. And on a steep downhill, where he definitely didn’t want to fall, Heidemann passed a few competitors after catching others on that second mile.

“The third mile favored me because it was flat,” he said. “Going into the last half mile, I was 15th with five guys in front of me and two next to me, and there’s a hill that challenges you, and you don’t want to kick.”

But in the last 200 meters, Heidemann let it go and caught all five for a 10th place state medal.

“I saw Alex at 400 meters, and then I saw him kicking. He was going after them,” Thear said.

Freedom teammates Dylan Boyle and Eric Chen were also there for moral support.

“Eric was a good part of my mindset,” said Heidemann. “He helped me focus.”

What meant a lot to harrier and coach was the medal ceremony because, as Heidemann said, Thear was the one who put the medal around his neck.

Said Thear, “That was a big thrill and honor for me. I gave Alex a big hug and told him I was proud of him. I was so happy that he was being rewarded for all his hard work and dedication.”