Panthers hopeful for repeat performance at state meet

The Pekin girls? cross country team has made a habit of winning meets all season long, and a field consisting of the state?s 15 top teams and 131 fastest runners isn?t expected to slow it down.

The defending state champion Panthers, which have sat atop the Class 1A girls? cross country ranking all season long, have been crowned state champs two of the past three seasons. What?s more, four runners have returned from last season?s championship run and are hungry for more.

Much like the team she leads, senior Celsey Conger is the returning state champion but has fallen to No. 3 in the latest individual 1A rankings. Conger has blown away area competition more often than not in 2011, however, and has continued to peak when it matters most, grabbing individual wins at the conference and district meets.

Conger?s top competition should be Griswold?s freshman phenom Rebekah Topham and Sibley-Ocheyedan?s Leah Seivert, both runners who recently won their respective district meets to supplant Conger at the top of the individual rankings.

Celsey?s sister Brenna, who is ranked 15th in the state individually, has run some of her best races on the Lakeside Golf Course. In 2010, Conger finished second only behind her sister and in 2009 finished 11th overall in Class 2A.

Behind the Conger twins lies plenty of experience, including state returnees Maleaha Earnest and Samantha Wright. Last season at the state meet, Earnest finished 16th and Wright was 21st. The two will again be looking for top-25 finishes along with senior Brandy Millikin. McKenna Gambell and Monica Cooley round out the varsity squad.

Top challengers for the state title include Earlham, which lost to Pekin by 10 points at the district meet last Thursday, and Eagle Grove?s young squad.

The Pekin girls will officially begin their quest for a second consecutive team title at 2 p.m. Saturday in Fort Dodge.

Pekin boys return for first time in seven years

The Pekin boys? cross country team wasn?t supposed to make it to Fort Dodge.

At least not according to the final rankings by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches, where the boys won?t find themselves among the top 15 Class 1A teams in the state.

Nevertheless, the boys let their running decide their fate at the district meet in Knoxville to make it to the field of 15. The Panthers will hope to have a few more tricks up their sleeve come race time Saturday at Fort Dodge?s Lakeside Golf Course.

The team has no individuals ranked in the latest top-30 ranking, but the Panthers will continue to pay little mind by using a solid pack.

Cade Millikin, who finished 10th at the district meet in Knoxville, has emerged as the indisputable leader of Pekin this season and will have his sights set on a top-25 finish. Other top runners for the Panthers include Chase Earnest and Tim Murray, while a tight pack of runners ? from Colton Dunning and Stratton Bond to Aaron King and Clayton Essary ? hope to close the gap on the top three.

The gun for the boys? event will fire at 2:30 p.m.