Pekin teams win final tuneup before districts

The Pekin girls have been flirting with cross country?s idea of perfection all season long.

On Thursday, the Panthers took another step in that direction at their regular season finale at Waterworks Park in Fairfield.

The Pekin girls scored just 18 points ? three points shy of a ?perfect? 15 ? for a 74-point win at their home meet. Anchored by freshman Gwynne Wright?s tape-breaking time of 15:08, the Panthers packed their top five into the top seven spots. All seven of Pekin?s varsity runners finished top 10.

?Right now the girls are competing against themselves to see who are the fourth, fifth, sixth runners,? said Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl. ?If we?re going to do well at state we need to make sure those runners are up there.?

After Wright, senior Maleaha Earnest finished second with a time of 16:11, and ninth-grader Taylor Lock completed the course third in 16:28. One IMS runner separated Lock from Sloan Reighard, who finished fifth in 16:48, and another separated Reighard from Sam Wright (seventh, 17:10).

Payton Lock (eighth, 17:16) and Hannah Robison (10th, 17:33) were alternates.

Unity Daugherty just missed the top 10 for the Warriors, who finished fourth as a team. Daugherty was 12th in 17:46, while teammate Sydney Atwood finished 17th in 18:20.

In the boys? race, Pekin edged Van Buren by 10 points with a final tally of 40. Pekin freshman Austin Fariss was second individually in 17:14, and Chase Earnest finished fifth in 18:10. Clayton Essary (10th, 18:44), Chris Little (11th, 18:48) and Avery Bennett (12th, 19:05) rounded out the team score.

?We didn?t run too well, but as a group we did,? Eidahl said of the boys. ?We?re bunching together, and if we get the whole pack up there I think we have an outside chance at getting into state next week.?

The Warriors also received three top-10 finishes. Seth Dickinson was fourth with a time of 17:57, Thomas Fitzsimmons finished eighth (18:25) and Dalton Haynes was ninth (18:30).Tyler Runyon (14th, 19:14) and Nolan Lydolph (15th, 19:16) also scored for Van Buren.

Both the Panthers and Warriors will be at Wildwood Park in Ottumwa for the 26-team state-qualifying meet next Thursday.

Final Team Scores ? Girls

1. Pekin 18, 2. IMS 92, 3. Lone Tree 93, 4. Van Buren 123

Pekin Individual Results

1. Gwynne Wright (15:08), 2. Maleaha Earnest (16:11), 3. Taylor Lock (16:28), 5. Sloan Reighard (16:48), 7. Sam Wright (17:10), 8. Payton Lock (17:16), 10. Hannah Robison (17:33)

Van Buren Individual Results

12. Unity Daugherty (17:46), 17. Sydney Atwood (18:20), 30. Jessie Cassens (22:04), 31. Steph Woodruff (22:30), 33. Crystal Grimm (23:03), 35. Jacinta Wenke (23:21), 36. Faith Murphy (23:25)

Final Team Scores ? Boys

1. Pekin 40, 2. Van Buren 50, 3. Winfield-Mount Union 75, 4. IMS 91, 5. Lone Tree 133, 6. Harmony 150

Pekin Individual Results

2. Austin Fariss (17:14), 5. Chase Earnest (18:10), 10. Clayton Essary (18:44), 11. Chris Little (18:48), 12. Avery Bennett (19:05), 44. Joel Swanson (24:33), 46. Dylan Burgdorf (25:02)

Van Buren Individual Results

4. Seth Dickinson (17:57), 8. Thomas Fitzsimmons (18:25), 9. Dalton Haynes (18:30), 14. Tyler Runyon (19:14), 15. Nolan Lydolph (19:16), 17. Drew Nolting (19:20), 22. Collin Robison (20:00)