Fairfield runs at Fort Madison Invitational

FORT MADISON ? All the hard work the Fairfield harriers have put in has yet to show up in the team standings, but Fairfield head coach Jerrod Belzer is confident the training will pay off in no time.

Running at the Fort Madison Invitational in Rodeo Park Thursday, Jessica Lamb finished second overall to lead the girls to a third-place finish and 54 points. The Fairfield boys, paced by Randy Andermann in 12th place, finished fourth out of five teams with 103 points.

?I know our times and places weren?t great last night, but we?ve had a big training week and we?re still focused on getting in shape for the postseason,? said Belzer. ?We?re confident right now in the training that we?ve been doing, and we know it will pay off when we need it.?

While the team results left something to be desired, the individual results were once again there for several runners, starting with Lamb. In less-than-perfect weather conditions, the senior improved her course time by five seconds (17:18) from 2011 but was runner-up for the second straight season. Fort Madison?s Sara Steffensmeier won the race in 17:07.

Behind Lamb were freshman Taylor Ferrel and senior Hannah Sobaski, who finished back-to-back with just one second of separation. Ferrel took ninth in 18:23 and Sobaski was 10th in 18:24. Sage Richmond scored fourth for Fairfield with a 16th-place time of 19:35, and Abby Melcher completed the team score at 17th (19:50).

Brianna Redmann (20:00) and Chloe Spalla (20:28) finished 20th and 22nd, respectively, to round out the varsity squad.

Southeast Conference foes Mount Pleasant and Fort Madison finished first and second overall in the team race. The Panthers won the race with 33 points, while Fort Madison was just four points behind.

In the boys? race, Andermann?s time of 18:07 was more than 20 seconds faster than his time on the same course last season. Trevor Starnes finished 18th overall in 18:47 ? an improvement of 1 minute, 33 seconds compared to his time in 2011 ? and Brandon Taglauer was 20th in 18:57.

Only four seconds separated Fairfield?s next three runners. Darrin Dimmitt was 26th with a clocking of 19:37, and Jonah Marks edged junior teammate Matt Carr by less than a second. Marks finished the race 27th (19:41.14) and Carr was 28th (19:41.98). Makena Dettman finished seventh for Fairfield, 30th overall in 20:34.

The ninth-ranked (Class 4A) Burlington boys packed their top seven runners into the race?s top nine spots to earn the title. The Grayhounds totaled just 20 points, and 13th-ranked (Class 3A) Fort Madison finished 29 points behind as runner-up.

Tracy Andermann won the girls? JV race with a varsity-worthy time of 19:42. Kaitlyn Daugherty (sixth, 21:25), Danielle Garrison (seventh, 21:29), Emma Lemlin (ninth, 21:45), Holly Bennett (10th, 21:49) and Nohema Graber (15th, 24:20) also ran for Fairfield.

In the boys? JV race, Adam Mueller finished 17th in 21:15. Other Fairfield runners were Josiah Wilbur (29th, 23:58), Nathan Thompson (30th, 24:00), Jordan Van Dijk (37th, 26:12) and Gannon Haile (26:34).

The Fairfield cross country teams will have another shot at the Southeast Conference?s best when they visit Mount Pleasant on Tuesday.

Final Team Scores ? Class A Girls

1. Mount Pleasant 33, 2. Fort Madison 37, 3. Fairfield 54, 4. Burlington 112

Fairfield Individual Results

2. Jessica Lamb (17:18), 9. Taylor Ferrel (18:23), 10. Hannah Sobaski (18:24), 16. Sage Richmond (19:35), 17. Abby Melcher (19:50), 20. Brianna Redmann (20:00), 22. Chloe Spalla (20:28)

JV ? 1. Tracy Andermann (19:42), 6. Kaitlyn Daugherty (21:25), 7. Danielle Garrison (21:29), 9. Emma Lemlin (21:45), 10. Holly Bennett (21:49), 15. Nohema Graber (24:40)

Final Team Scores ? Class A Boys

1. Burlington 20, 2. Fort Madison 49, 3. Mount Pleasant 79, 4. Fairfield 103, 5. Keokuk 143

Fairfield Individual Results

12. Randy Andermann (18:07), 18. Trevor Starnes (18:47), 20. Brandon Taglauer (18:57), 26. Darrin Dimmitt (19:37), 27. Jonah Marks (19:41), 28. Matt Carr (19:41), 30. Makena Dettman (20:34)

JV ? 17. Adam Mueller (21:15), 29. Josiah Wilbur (23:58), 30. Nathan Thompson (24:00), 37. Jordan Van Dijk (26:12), 39. Gannon Haile (26:34)