Pekin boys?, girls? cross country teams qualify for state meet

KNOXVILLE ? One Pekin cross country team came into the district meet in Knoxville as the undeniable favorite; the other was just hopeful for a shot.

Both punched their tickets to the state meet in Fort Dodge, though, as the No. 1-ranked Panther girls won the meet with 39 points and the boys scored 124 points to take third.

The Pekin girls? team, which has accomplished almost everything sans a state championship this season, won in closer fashion than expected, scoring 39 points to best second-place Earlham?s 49.

?It was a tough race,? said head coach Davis Eidahl. ?It was good for them, though. They had to work for the win, and the girls found out they?re going to have to go at state.?

The Panthers squeezed four runners into the top 10 and were once again led by Celsey Conger, who led the race for its entirety to become a three-time district champion. Conger broke the tape in 15:23 to beat the second-place runner, Earlham?s Abbey Murphy, by 46 seconds.

Behind Celsey was twin sister Brenna Conger in fourth place (16:20), Samantha Wright in eighth (16:46) and Maleaha Earnest in 10th (16:53). Brandy Millikin also scored for the Panthers with a 16th-place finish (17:11).

In the boys? event, Eidahl and his runners sat on edge as the results were tallied.

?I knew we wouldn?t get first or second, but we maybe had a shot at third,? said Eidahl. ?I thought we might have got fifth when it was all done.?

?After the boys ran, they were depressed. They just knew they didn?t get it,? Eidahl added.

But the team, using depth rather than starpower, would end up joining its female counterpart as state qualifiers, and it wasn?t even that close. The Panthers scored 124 points ? good for third in the team standings ? to beat Southeast Webster Grand by 35. BCLUW won the event with 36 points.

Pekin?s Cade Millikin ensured he would be going to Fort Dodge with or without the team, finishing as an individual qualifier in 10th (17:56). Chase Earnest, who finished 43rd at the district meet last season, was second for Pekin at 17th (18:30).

Also scoring for the Panthers were Tim Murray in 24th (18:42), Colton Dunning in 34th (19:02) and Stratton Bond in 39th (19:25) to help the boys return to the state meet for the first time in seven years.

?Of all the years I?ve coached, this team is the greatest example that hard work pays off,? said Eidahl, who has been coaching for 49 years. ?They deserve to go to state. They?ve worked hard.?

The two Pekin teams will be among the 15 teams in each event gunning for the state title at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.

Final Team Standings ? Boys

1. BCLUW 36

2. Earlham 96

3. Pekin 124

4. Se Webster Grand 159

5. Prairie Valley 160

6. South Hamilton 166

7. Van Meter 192

8. Lynnville-Sully 228

9. Ogden 231

10. Wayne Community 236

11. Colo-Nesco 249

12. Twin Cedars 304

13. Gmg 312

14. Central Decatur 398

Final Team Standings ? Girls

1. Pekin 39

2. Earlham 49

3. South Hamilton 106

4. Lynnville-Sully 108

5. North Mahaska 146

6. Prairie Valley 168

7. BCLUW 182

8. Se Webster Grand 204

9. Ogden 270

10. North Tama 272

11. Van Meter 276

12. Central Decatur 311

Individual Results

State Qualifiers ? Boys

1. Levi Storjohann (Bcluw, 16:48), 2. Austin Dunbar (Van Meter, 17:22), 3. Jakob Lantz (Prairie Valley, 17:30), 4. Derek Coutler (Bcluw, 17:33), 5. Sean Dulaney (Colo-Nesco, 17:37), 6. Chase Jansen (Lynnville-Sully, 17:44), 7. Anthony Schavone (Prairie Valley, 17:46), 8. Clark Jackley (Bcluw, 17:48), 9. Ben Kuhl (Bcluw, 17:52), 10. Cade Millikin (Pekin, 17:56)

State Qualifiers ? Girls

1. Celsey Conger (Pekin, 15:23), 2. Abbey Murphy (Earlham, 16:09), 3. Jaclyn Rittgers (Prairie Valley, 16:11), 4. Brenna Conger (Pekin, 16:20), 5. Kristen Weber (Earlham, 16:22), 6. Emma Luhmann (Se Webster Grand, 16:33), 7. Becca Steckelberg (Bcluw, 16:40), 8. Samantha Wright (Pekin, 16:46), 9. Hannah Murphy (Earlham, 16:48), 10. Maleaha Earnest (Pekin, 16:53)

Pekin Boys

10. Cade Millikin (17:56), 17. Chase Earnest (18:30), 24. Tim Murray (18:42), 34. Colton Dunning (19:02), 39. Stratton Bond (19:25), 40. Aaron King (19:28), 47. Clayton Essary (19:39)

Pekin Girls

1. Celsey Conger (15:23), 4. Brenna Conger (16:20), 8. Samantha Wright (16:46), 10. Maleaha Earnest (16:53), 16. Brandy Millikin (17:11), 24. McKenna Gambell (17:42), 54. Monica Cooley (19:42)