Area runners take off at Van Buren Invite

KEOSAUQUA ? At long last, area cross country teams heard the sound of a starting gun Tuesday night.

Following last Thursday?s rain-out in Ottumwa, runners finally ran their first race of 2010 at the Van Buren Invite at Riverview Country Club in Keosauqua.

The Fairfield boys and girls? teams both picked up second-place team finishes in the AA division. The Trojan girls fought off its top Southeast Conference competitor Fort Madison thanks to the tie-breaker finish of No. 6 runner Nohema Graber finishing in 17th place.

And they did it without No. 1 runner Jessica Lamb, who sat out to rest a nagging injury.

?We know Ft Madison will continue to improve as the season progresses but it?s good to know that we can do well against them even when we?re not at full strength,? said head coach Jerrod Belzer.

Davis County was 19 points ahead to take the team title. Fort Madison placed its top four runners in the top 10, but had its fifth, and final, girl drop back to 32nd place to open up the second-place opportunity for the Trojans.

Sophomore Hannah Sobaski stepped into the lead runner?s slot for Fairfield with a fifth-place finish in 16:37. Holly Kerr was ninth in 17:51 and a pack of Trojans completed the team score led by newcomer Courtney Laux (13th, 18:52). Serena Ward was 14th (18:54), Sage Richmond was 16th (19:03) followed by Graber.

?Overall, the girls ran well for the first meet of the season. Hannah did a great job leading the way for us with a top five finish against some very good runners,? Belzer added. ?Courtney and Nohema both stepped up and gave us great efforts in their first-ever cross country meet.?

Central Lee?s Katie Hocker was the individual champ with a time of 15:36.

On the boys? side, the 2009 conference champ Bloodhounds did get the best of Fairfield in what turned out to be a two-team race. Fort Madison finished with an impressive score of 24, Fairfield came in with 44 followed by Keokuk way back with 146.

Senior Dakota Simmons stepped back into his No. 1 role he held for most of last season to begin 2010. Simmons squeezed into the top-5 with a time of 17:52.

Fellow senior Travis Schombert was one spot back in 18:05, newcomer Ricardo Coronado took 10th (18:21), Issac Schloss was 12th (18:25) and Jason Davis completed the team score in 12th (18:32).

A total of 18 Trojans ran the Riverview course to make for one of the deepest teams Fairfield has ever had.

Fort Madison?s Isaac Steffensmeier was the individual winner more than 90 seconds ahead of the rest of the field with a time of 15:59. The Bloodhounds placed two more in the top-5 and had all five runners in the top-10.

The Trojans will host the Fairfield Invite Thursday at Waterworks Park and will get their first look at other SEC teams Mount Pleasant and Washington.

Van Buren, Cardinal run in Class A

KEOSAUQUA ? Van Buren freshman Unity Daugherty ran the first race of her high school career on her home course, but she picked up right where she left off from an impressive season in middle school in 2009.

Daugherty finished in fourth place in Class A with a time of 17:07 just three seconds away from a top-3 finish. Tyra Watson came in next for the Warriors in 19:58 to help Van Buren to a fourth-place finish in the team standings.

The Van Buren boys squad was led by a pack of five runners all finishing in the span of just over a minute. AJ Penn led the way in 19th (20:05) followed by Levi Sherod (20th, 20:34), Seth Dickinson (23rd), Drew Nolting (21:04) and Jordan Staton (21:08).

The Warriors were sixth out of seven teams in Class A.

What Cardinal lacked in numbers was made up for by a good run from its top returning runner Lindsay Albert. The sophomore was fifth overall in Class A with a time of 17:30.

Cody Waddle was the Comets? lone representative in the boys? race finishing in 38th (21:29).