Pekin girls cruise to another state title

FORT DODGE ? When the dust settled over Fort Dodge?s Lakeside Golf Course Saturday, there was little doubt who deserved the title of best team in Class 1A girls? cross country.

The defending champion Panthers proved every bit as good as their season-long No. 1 ranking, if not better, capturing their second state title in a row and third title in four years.

Pekin put on an even more dominant show than it did in 2010, when it beat the next best team by 42 points. This year, they scored 75 points to easily beat second-place Earlham by 56.

The final tally made the girls? Class 1A team race the most lopsided event of the day, with the next biggest win a 32-point victory from Dowling Catholic in the Class 4A boys? event.

?Winning by over 50 points speaks for itself for the girls,? said coach Davis Eidahl. ?The girls were able to improve each week and then save the best for last. I have never had a better performance by our entire team.?

Pekin?s string of state titles has been thanks in no small part to the efforts of seniors Celsey and Brenna Conger. The Conger twins ran at the state meet all four years since hitting the scene as freshmen in 2008.

Donning the red, white and black one final time as cross country runners, the sisters once again added top-20 individual finishes to their storied careers. Celsey scored second with a third-place overall finish and Brenna scored eighth with a 14th-place overall finish.

?We knew the twins would do great, and we said it?s up to the rest,? said Eidahl, who added he thought several of the runners ran the races of their lives.

The rest at their best included Maleaha Earnest in 35th overall at 15:53 and Samantha Wright checking in at 45th and 16:07. Brandy Millikin, the only other Pekin senior outside of the Congers, finished the four-kilometer race in 48th overall (16:11) to round out the state champion team?s scoring.

?When you start being ranked No. 1 in the preseason, stay No. 1 all year, and then win state, that?s quite a feat for the girls,? added Eidahl.

Alternates were first-timers McKenna Gambell in 89th (17:20) and Monica Cooley in 113th (18:11). Both, along with Wright and Millikin, will be back with plenty of motivation for a three-peat next season.

Winning the Class 1A girls? event was Griswold?s Rebekah Topham, who?s final time of 13:59 proved to be faster than any other girl in the state. Sibley-Ocheyedan?s Leah Seivert dashed into second with a time of 14:31.

In the Class 1A boys? event, Pekin grabbed 14th place out of 15 schools in its first team appearance in seven years.

The Pekin boys edged Earlham by one point, scoring 338 to the Cardinals? 339. Earlham beat the Panthers at the district meet one week ago.

Unlike Pekin?s experienced girls? team, all seven boys were running in Fort Dodge?s John F. Kennedy Park for the first time. As they?ve done all season long, a pack of runners ? rather than one or two stars ? helped them to 14th.

Leading the pack was Chase Earnest, who finished 85th overall (18:19), followed by Cade Millikin in 91st (18:27). Colton Dunning (97th, 18:34), Tim Murray (102nd, 18:44) and Stratton Bond (103rd, 18:45) also scored for the Panthers.

Clayton Essary and Aaron King were 118th and 123rd, respectively.

BCLUW's Levi Storjohann broke the tape in 15:57 to win the individual title. St. Albert was the boys? Class 1A team champion with 78 points to beat out West Lyon?s 89.

Final Team Standings ? Girls

1. Pekin 75

2. Earlham 131

3. Griswold 142

4. Eagle Grove 156

5. North Linn 187

6. Tri-Center 193

7. Bishop Garrigan 202

8. Corning 207

9. Wapello 229

10. South Hamilton 231

11. Prince of Peace 232

12. Grundy Center 243

13. Sioux Central 247

14. Nashua-Plainfield 251

15. Gehlen Catholic 260

Individual Results ? Team (individual)

Pekin Girls

2(3). Celsey Conger (14:42), 8(14). Brenna Conger (15:20), 19(35). Maleaha Earnest (15:53), 22(45). Samantha Wright (16:07), 24(48). Brandy Millikin (16:11), 63(89). McKenna Gambell (17:20), 87(113). Monica Cooley (18:11)

Top 10 ? Girls

1. Rebekah Topham (Griswold, 13:59), 2. Leah Seivert (Sibley-Ocheyedan, 14:31), 3. Celsey Conger (Pekin, 14:42), 4. Audrey Griffin (Prince of Peace, 14:44), 5. Sammie Sproul (Jesup, 14:54), 6. Arden Betzer (Springville, 14:58), 7. Tiffany Christensen (Eagle Grove, 15:07), 8. Abbey Murphy (Earlham, 15:07), 9. Kari Fitzpatrick (Edgewood-Colesburg, 15:07), Jaclyn Rittgers (Prairie Valley, 15:08)

Final Team Standings ? Boys

1. St. Albert 78

2. West Lyon 89

3. St. Edmond 128

4. BCLUW 137

5. Trinity Christian 148

6. Dike-New Hartford 153

7. Riverside 162

8. Alta-Aurelia 228

9. Guthrie Center 234

10. Nashua-Plainfield 244

11. Highland 244

12. Wapello 251

13. Marquette Catholic 320

14. Pekin 338

15. Earlham 339

Individual Results ? Team (individual)

Pekin Boys

57(85). Chase Earnest (18:19), 63(91). Cade Millikin (18:27), 69(97). Colton Dunning (18:34), 74(102). Tim Murray (18:44), 75(103). Stratton Bond (18:45), 89(118). Clayton Essary (19:14), 94(123). Aaron King (19:23)

Top 10 ? Boys

1. Levi Storjohann (BCLUW, 15:57), 2. Cade Cleaveland (Riverside, 16:05), 3. Nate Kolacia (St. Edmond, 16:07), 4. Josh Sindelar (St. Albert, 16:08), 5. Tanner Wanders (North Mahaska, 16:12), 6. Seth Reel (St. Edmond, 16:26), 7. John Gunderson (Riverside, 16:30), 8. Sloan Beninga (Dike-New Hartford, 16:34), 9. Alex Van Ginkel (Trinity Christian, 16:36), 10. Kevin Klobassa (Nashua-Plainfield, 16:41)

Other Individual State Champions

Class 2A

Boys ? Keith Byers, Spirit Lake

Girls ? Sadie Timms, Gilbert

Class 3A

Boys ? Zach Buchheit, Pella

Girls ? Madison Waymire, Dallas Center-Grimes

Class 4A

Boys ? Ben Anderson, Valley

Girls ? Grace Gibbons, Dowling Catholic