Panthers four-peat at conference meet

KEOSAUQUA ? It was business as usual for the top-ranked (1A) Pekin girls? cross country team Thursday at the Riverview Club Golf Course in Keosauqua.

Pekin scored 38 points to take its fourth straight Southeast Iowa Superconference title, easily beating second-place Wapello?s 62 points.

Celsey Conger, who has been a major part of all four conference titles, ran away from the crowded field as soon as the starter?s gun fired. By the time Conger hit the mile mark, the race was offically Conger and then everybody else.

Conger broke the tape in 14:30 to finish 50 seconds ahead of the second-place runner, Lone Tree?s Ella Feldman. The win marked the second time Conger has been conference champion and was the fourth straight year a Pekin runner won the title.

Behind Conger, Pekin had a lot to be cheer about despite the race being the most crowded conference field Pekin has ever faced. The Panthers managed to place five runners in the top 15 for all-conference recognition.

Brenna Conger, the 2009 conference champion and twin sister of Celsey, missed second place by three seconds to take third. Samantha Wright (seventh, 15:47), Maleaha Earnest (13th, 16:08) and Brandy Millikin (14th, 16:27)rounded out the team scoring for Pekin.

?We really had to compete hard,? said Eidahl. ?There were some close races, which is to [Pekin?s] benefit because they?re very good competitors.?

In the boys? race, Cade Millikin paced Pekin to fourth place and 141 points. Columbus won the meet with 67 points and Mediapolis was second at 109.

Millikin earned all-conference recognition with an eighth-place finish (17:29). Tim Murray finished in the top 25 with a time of 18:29, and Chase Earnest was right behind Murray in 28th. Aaron King was 38th (18:50) and Clayton Essary checked in at 43rd (18:54).

?Cade has been kind of the front runner and the next four runners did a great job closing the gap,? said Eidahl. ?That is a key to the boys making it to state.?

Also for the Panthers, Colton Dunning took 60th and Stratton Bond finished 64th to round out Pekin?s top seven.

For Cardinal, Lindsay Albert improved her placing from last season six spots with a 16th-place finish (16:41). Emily Miller (68th, 20:23), Jenny Gordy (83rd, 23:06) and Kaiti Corwin (87th, 24:14) also ran for a shorthanded Cardinal squad that didn?t record a team score.

The Van Buren girls made little noise in the team scoring, but Unity Daugherty was right up with the top runners to finish 18th (17:02). Van Buren?s Caitlyn Millard also finished in the top 50 with a clocking of 18:10.

Thomas Fitzsimmons led the Van Buren boys? team to a seventh-place team finish in the 13-team field. Fitzsimmons finished 25th individually (18:29), while Seth Dickinson was the second Van Buren runner to cross at 32nd (18:42). A.J. Penn, Nolan Lydolph and Jordan Staton also contributed to the team score.

Cardinal and Van Buren will be running at the Central Lee Invite Tuesday, and both teams will join Pekin for the Lake Darling Classic next Thursday.

Final Team Standings ? Boys

1. Columbus 67

2. Mediapolis 109

3. Highland 116

4. Pekin 141

5. Wapello 147

6. Lone Tree 152

7. Van Buren 172

8. Louisa-Muscatine 185

9. West Burlington 231

10. Danville/New London 285

11. Holy Trinity 291

12. Winfield-Mount Union 313

13. Central Lee 360

Final Team Standings ? Girls

1. Pekin 38

2. Wapello 62

3. Lone Tree 133

4. Columbus 140

5. Louisa-Muscatine 149

6. Mediapolis 166

7. Danville/New London 200

8. Holy Trinity 206

9. Winfield-Mount Union 225

10. WACO 274

11. Van Buren 305

Individual Results

Top 10 ? Boys

1. Dillon Timmerman (Mediapolis, 16:45), 2. Tyler Gonnell (Lone Tree, 17:10), 3. Matt Eden (Highland, 17:11), 4. Ray Quiroz (Columbus, 17:13), 5. Ben Polley (Wapello, 17:16), 6. Evan Mahler (Highland, 17:20), 7. Jordan Junker (West Burlington, 17:28), 8. Cade Millikin (Pekin, 17:29), 9. Jordan Sothman (Louisa-Muscatine, 17:33), 10. Jesse Shetler (IMS, 17:36)

Top 10 ? Girls

1. Celsey Conger (Pekin, 14:30), 2. Ella Feldman (Lone Tree, 15:20), 3. Brenna Conger (Pekin, 15:23), 4. Aryka Parsons (Wapello, 15:33), 5. Melanie Lutral (Louisa-Muscatine, 15:40), 6. Cassie Stuflick (Danville, 15:44), 7. Samantha Wright (Pekin, 15:53), 8. Sydney Reid (Wapello, 15:54), 9. Lorin Fisher (Wapello, 15:57), 10. Tayo Ajose (Mediapolis, 16:02)

Pekin Boys

8. Cade Millikin (17:29), 24. Tim Murray (18:29), 28. Chase Earnest (18:37), 38. Aaron King (18:50), 43. Clayton Essary (18:54), 60. Colton Dunning (19:55), 64. Stratton Bond (20:06)

Pekin Girls

1. Celsey Conger (14:22), 3. Brenna Conger (15:16), 7. Samantha Wright (15:47), 13. Maleaha Earnest (16:08), 14. Brandy Millikin (16:27), 30. McKenna Gambell (17:19), 39. Monica Cooley (17:43)

Van Buren Boys

25. Thomas Fitzsimmons (18:29), 32. Seth Dickinson (18:42), 34. A.J. Penn (18:44), 37. Nolan Lydolph (18:49), 44. Jordan Staton (19:02), 48. Josh Wenke (19:11), 65. Drew Nolting (20:06)

Van Buren Girls

18. Unity Daugherty (17:02), 47. Caitlyn Millard (18:10), 74. Jessie Cassens (21:03), 81. Faith Murphy (22:40), 85. Alison Dickinson (23:34)

Cardinal Boys

90. Brandon Marcella (27:51)

Cardinal Girls

16. Lindsay Albert (16:41), 68. Emily Miller (20:23), 83. Jenny Gordy (23:06), 87. Kaiti Corwin (24:14)