Pekin, D-NL dominate

KEOSAUQUA - Riverview Country Club is no jungle, in fact it was freshly cut for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference cross-country met on Thursday, but it did see a stampede. The Pekin Panthers and Danville-New London Bears filled the Top-15 in both the boys and girls races, and both schools took home one team championship and one individual title.

D-NL used its depth to take home the SEISC boys title, despite Pekin's Brady Millikin beating everyone to the finish line. Pekin flexed its collective muscle in the girls race, but D-NL's Addison Parrott ran away for first place.

No. 1 (2A) D-NL had all five of their scorers finish in the Top 12 in the boys race. The Bears scored 28 points, beating Pekin by 36 for the team title. It was the first boys title for the D-NL boys with their current lineup, which was once again led by juniors Ty Carr (16:08.80) and Alexander Julian (16:27.61), who took second and third respectively.

'We've been looking forward to this since we were middle schoolers and freshmen,” Julian said. 'It means a lot.”

Carr and Julian ran alongside Millikin for much of the race, but the 2019 SEISC champion won out at the end. Millikin took the lead in the last mile and held off a fierce push by Carr on the final stretch for his second-straight conference title.

'It was one of my individual goals coming into the season,” Millikin said. 'I had a lot of time to think about it because of quarantine.”

Much like Millikin, D-NL's Parrott won in 2019 after a second-place finish in 2018. For the second straight year, she left no doubt, winning the race by just under one-and-a-half minutes. Her final time was 18:57.53, the only girl below 20 minutes.

'I just try to push myself past where I think I can” Parrott said. 'I treat every one like it's my last.”

The Panthers packed the Top-10 to run away with the girls' team race. Pekin scored 29 points, beating D-NL by 27.

Lilly Fariss was the first Panther girl across the finish line, coasting to a time of 20:25.97. Lauren Derscheid took fifth, in 20:56.30. Lauren Steigleder took seventh, in 21:25.67, and Audrey Fariss took 10th, in 21:39.10.

The Columbus boys and Cardinal girls picked up bronze medals to lead other area teams. Columbus' Isaac Acosta took sixth, in 17:31.22 to lead the Wildcats, and Cardinal's Alexia McClure led the girls with a 17th-place finish, in 23:10.91.

Other key area performers in the boys race included Pekin's Zach Wise, who took fourth; D-NL's Oliver Sowell and Rylan Martin, who finished fifth and seventh, and Cardinal's Gavin Grove, who took 10th.

In the girls race, D-NL's Carissa Mackey was sixth. Hillcrest Academy's Leah Bontrager took ninth, and Van Buren County's Faith Neeley placed ninth.

BOYS' TEAM SCORES: Danville-New London 28, Pekin 65, Columbus 91, Louisa-Muscatine 151, Mediapolis 164, Winfield-Mount Union 165, Cardinal 168, Wapello 180, Holy Trinity 213, Central Lee 227, Highland 249. No team score - Hillcrest Academy, Lone Tree, West Burlington-Notre Dame, WACO.

BOYS TOP-15: 1. Brady Millikin (Pek) 16:07.65; 2. Ty Carr (D-NL) 16:08.80; 3. Alexander Julian (D-NL) 16:27.61; 4. Zach Wise (Pek) 17:06.63; 5. Oliver Sowell (D-NL) 17:27.38; 6. Isaac Acosta (Col) 17:31.72; 7. Rylan Martin (D-NL) 17:36.55; 8. Tristin Kauffman (Wap) 17:44.86; 9. Mitchell Pothitakis (HTC) 17:47.69; 10. Gavin Grove (Card) 17:51.08).

GIRLS' TEAM SCORES: Girl team scores - Pekin 29, Danville-New London 56, Cardinal 89, Central Lee 109, Wapello 112, Mediapolis 115. No team score - Columbus, Louisa-Muscatine, Winfield-Mount Union, Highland, Hillcrest Academy, Lone Tree, West Burlington-Notre Dame.

1. Addison Parrott (D-NL) 18:57.53; 2. Lily Fariss (Pek) 20:25.97; 3. Amanda Gilpin (CLee) 20:35.19;4. Hadley Augustine (WBND) 20:50.97; 5. Lauren Dersheid (Pek) 20:56.30; 6. Carissa Mackey (D-NL) 21:07.89; 7. Lauren Steigleder (Pek) 21:25.67; 8. Leah Bontrager (Hill) 21:29.85; 9. Faith Neeley (VBC) 21:31.50; Aubrey Fariss (Pek) 21:39.10.