All-GTNS cross country lineup features many familiar faces

For many area harriers, a preseason brimming with high expectations was successfully met ? and in many cases surpassed ? on the courses.

Several on the 2011 All-GTNS cross country team made it to the state meet in Fort Dodge last month, and a few of them can now call themselves state champions.

The area team that undoubtedly carried the highest expectations into 2011 was the defending Class 1A champion Pekin girls? team. The Panthers were ranked first from Week 1 onward and didn?t disappoint when it came time to prove their ranking in Fort Dodge, as they won their third title in the last four seasons.

It?s hard to see anyone at the helm of the Pekin dynasty other than Davis Eidahl. Under Eidahl?s direction, the 2011 Panthers won every meet they entered except for two meets in Iowa City against 4A competition. The experienced 49-year head man has brought his fair share of titles to Packwood and will be looking for more of the same in his 50th season.

Though the program wouldn?t be the same without Eidahl, it?s equally hard to imagine Pekin?s string of recent titles without senior sisters Celsey Conger and Brenna Conger. The two runners have been integral parts on the team for all three state championship runs and have plenty of hardware to show for it. Celsey concludes her cross country career as a three-time district champion and two-time Southeast Iowa Superconference champ, while Brenna has one individual conference championship to her name.

Pekin?s Maleaha Earnest was not far behind the Conger twins all season, and along with sophomore teammate Samantha Wright, helped fill out the top four spots for Pekin. Earnest saved her best for last to take 35th place at the state meet with a clocking of 15:53. The junior has been on two state championship teams and makes her second appearance on the All-GTNS lineup.

Like the Conger sisters and Earnest, Fairfield junior Jessica Lamb is no stranger to the All-GTNS squad and lands on it for the third consecutive season. Despite missing out on the state meet in 2011, Lamb continues to be the undisputed leader of the Fairfield cross country team and won four meets, including the Fairfield Invite, in 2011.

Perhaps Lamb?s toughest competition throughout the season was Mount Pleasant sophomore Hannah Weber. Weber makes her second appearance on All-GTNS after taking the top spot in the conference race this season ? up from fourth place last year ? to lead the Mount Pleasant team to its second consecutive Southeast Conference title. Weber then qualified for the state competition with a seventh-place finish in the regional race, despite running against girls from the top two state-ranked teams. She set a personal record at the state meet with a time of 15:53.

Mid-Prairie senior Sofia Chmaruk accomplished her goal of reaching the state cross country meet each of her four years of high school, and she capped off a stellar career with a personal-best 13th-place finish in Fort Dodge this year. Chmaruk had finished 20th at the state meet as a freshman and a sophomore before slipping to a 40th-place finish last fall. But she bounced back with even greater resolve as a senior, winning the Cedar Valley Conference title and placing third at the Class 2A state qualifying meet en route to her state bid.

Mid-Prairie teammate Mallory McArtor used every inch of a course that measured too long in order to qualify for state in her junior season. Mid-Prairie?s coaches measured the course at the Class 2A state qualifying meet at Jefferson County Park near Fairfield, and found it to be 250 meters longer than the normal 4-kilometer course. But that worked out in McArtor?s favor, as she passed Albia?s Kristyn Graver in the race?s final 200 meters for 10th place, the final state qualifying spot. After McArtor?s 10th-place finish at districts, Mid-Prairie cross country coach Mark Hostetler expected her to finish around 40th at the state meet. So he was definitely surprised when McArtor finished 18th in 15:42, crossing the finish line just five seconds behind Chmaruk.

Pekin's Millikin lands on All-GTNS team

In her first season as Highland?s cross country coach, Angie Strobel led the Huskies to their first-ever trip to the state cross country meet. It was an amazing accomplishment for a school that had struggled for years to even field a boys? team big enough to score in a meet. But with numbers, Strobel?s group improved throughout the season, placing third at the SEISC meet before a surprising first-place finish at the state qualifying meet in Wapello. Finally, the Huskies placed 11th at the state cross country meet in Fort Dodge.

Under Strobel?s direction, junior Matt Eden helped lead the Huskies to their first-ever state cross country meet. Eden placed third at the SEISC meet and fourth at the state-qualifying meet before finishing 30th at state, where the Huskies placed 11th as a team.

Evan Mahler was right on Eden?s heels all season, except for in practice, where he led the Huskies thanks to an abundance of energy. In fact, Strobel said the freshman runner is more energetic than anyone else she?s ever seen. Mahler broke onto the scene as a freshman with a sixth-place finish at the conference meet and a seventh-place finish at the state qualifying meet, helping the Huskies get to the state cross country meet for the first time in school history. In Fort Dodge, Mahler came in 37th.

Mid-Prairie senior Peter Schwartz ran at the state cross country meet for the fourth time this fall, and he had a career-best finish. Schwartz had finished 114th as a freshman, 58th as a sophomore and 43rd last fall, but this year he came in 27th. Mid-Prairie head coach Mark Hostetler said Schwartz?s time of 16:50 was the best a Golden Hawk boy has ever had at the state meet. Schwartz also won the Cedar Valley Conference championship and placed sixth at the state-qualifying meet near Fairfield. But he was disappointed following the state-qualifying meet, as the ninth-ranked Golden Hawks placed fourth and missed a trip to state as a team.

Keota?s Trevor Draisey worked hard in the summer and during the season, and it paid off for the senior. Draisey was runner-up at the South Iowa Cedar League meet and he placed fifth at the state-qualifying meet to earn his first trip to the state cross country meet. In Fort Dodge, Draisey placed 19th in 17:04. Draisey was also the team?s leader, motivating and encouraging his fellow Eagles to keep pushing themselves to get better.

IMS senior Jesse Shetler capped off an impressive career of improvement with a 57th-place finish at this year?s state cross country meet. In Shetler?s first season of cross country in 2008, his goal was to not walk during a race. He completed his first race in 29:33, and his best time that year was 25:02. During his sophomore year he dipped under 20 minutes for the first time at his last meet of the year, yet this wasn?t quite good enough to earn him a spot on the varsity squad that won the state championship that year. During his junior year he scored for the team several times and earned his first letter. Then at this year?s state meet he finished in 17:51, just seven seconds shy of his personal-best time that he set at the district meet.

Mount Pleasant?s Zach May earns his second consecutive spot on the All-GTNS cross country team after leading the Panthers on the course during his senior year. He placed second overall with a time of 16:47 in the Mount Pleasant Invite, but struggled in October after a strained ankle took him out of a couple races. May then returned to lead the pack of Panthers to the finish of the season.

Cade Millikin rounds out the 2011 All-GTNS boys? cross country team after having a breakout sophomore season. Although the Pekin girls? cross country team stole the headlines, fellow Panther Millikin had a breakout year that saw him lead the boys? squad to its first state meet in seven years. The sophomore?s future looks bright after finishing eighth in a crowded field at the SEISC meet and helping himself to a 10th-place finish at districts.

The 2011 All-GTNS teams are selected by sports editors Michael Leach of the Fairfield Ledger, Ashlee De Wit of the Mount Pleasant News and Travis Brown of the Washington Evening Journal.