Ryon, Sobaski on to Ft. Dodge

SOLON - It was a bitter-sweet day for the Union area's big school cross-country stars. Two of the area's hopefuls will continue their season at the state meet in Ft. Dodge next weekend, the rest of the big school runners saw their seasons come to an end at the district meets.

The biggest favorite from the Union's three big schools was sixth-ranked Abby Ryon. The Mt. Pleasant senior took second place in the girlss race at Solon, finishing in 19:01.7. Adrianna Katcher, the second-ranked girl in 3A was the only runner to cross the finish line ahead of her.

'I felt pretty good. It was nice and cool, the sun was shining, 45 degrees. It was a beautiful day to run,” said Ryon. 'I really just went out with Katcher, made her my focus, and then just kept my eyes up, eyes on her and tried to keep the gap the same.”

As a team, the Panther girls put six runners in the top 30, meaning all five scorers finished in the top 29. It wasn't enough, however, to get them into state as a team. Mt. Pleasant scored 98 points, but were out-done by four other teams, including qualifiers Solon (68), Center Point-Urbana (78) and Grinnell (81). Washington took 11th in the girls' standings, with 306, led by Grace Voss, who finished 49th.

Washington's Lance Sobaski will make his state debut after a 13th-place finish in the boys race. Sobaski finished the race in 17:19, making the top 15 by over six seconds.

'It was definitely the hardest mentally tough race I've ever ran,” said the Demon sophomore. 'In my opinion, it's the perfect tempurature for running. It's a little chilly but everyone feels it.”

But with joy comes disappointment. Much like Ryon held hopes out for the Panther girls to qualify as a team, Sobaski had hopes he'd be joined by senior teammate Evan Horak, who finished a fantastic career with a 32nd-place finish 17 spots out of the qualifying 15.

'I wish Evan was up here with me,” said Sobaski. 'It's hard because he's always beat me, and it's hard to soak it in. I couldn't have done it without him. He's my running buddy. He's my bro for life. It's just hard.”

The Washington boys took seventh place as a team, scoring 190. Mt. Pleasant was ninth, at 219, led by Logan White's 39th-place finish.

In Pella, the Fairfield boys took seventh, with 67 points, and the Trojan girls were 10th, with 244.

The Trojan boys had two runners in the top 26, but neither could crack the top 15. Alex Forrest finished 23rd, in 17:58.54, and Bryan Wilkins placed 26th, in 18:19.31.

Fairfield's girls team was paced by Makenzie Kraemer, who crossed the tape in 39th.

Now, Mt. Pleasant's Ryon sets up for her final state meet, and Washington's Sobaski gets ready for his first. The meet will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. The Class 4A races will kick things off, followed by Classes 3A, 2A and 1A.

'It'll be exciting,” Sobaski says. 'It's Halloween week. I know I still can't eat any candy yet, but we'll get there and be at state, ready on Saturday.”

Listed below are the full results for the area's big school teams.

Mt. Pleasant girls (at Solon): 2. Abby Ryon, 19:01.7; 20. Abby Blint, 21:02.1; 23: Monroe Swain, 21:19; 24. Kendall Dascher, 21:20.7; 29. Maggie Jennings 21:28.1; 30. Cristina Carthey, 21:28.5; 50. Belle Meador 22:23.3.

Washington girls (at Solon): 49. Grace Voss, 22:21.8; 59. Tori Hinson 22:46.8; 63. Hannah Rees 22:53.3; 68. Abby Voss 23:31.9; 73: Cloe Telleen 23:57.3; 77. Josie Tanner 25:50.8; 79. Ellie Anderson 26:32.

Fairfield girls (at Pella): 39. Makenzie Kraemer, 2254.58; 47. Amiritha Kumar, 23:48.71; 50. Tisha Brinkschroeder, 23:55.59; 51. Hailey Pohren-Gevock 24:05.54; 68. Mahayla Mellott, 26:45.75; 71. Destiny Gridley 27:50.35; 72. Claire Epperson 29:22.22

Fairfield boys (at Pella): 23. Alex Forrest 17:58.54; 26. Bryan Wilkins 18:19.31; 44. Gavin Van Veen 18:52.18; Blake Holden 19:29.26; Brecken Courtright 19:45.77; 68. Logan Adam 20:09.82; 69. Jakob Watson 20:23.88.

Washington boys (at Solon): 13. Lance Sobaski 17:10; 32. Evan Horak 18:20; 38. Elijah Morris 18:30.6; 55. Matt Collett 19:00.6; 56. Justin Simmering 19:02.6; 66. Peyton Snakeburg 19:48.8; 72. Michael Kimball 20:03.2

Mt. Pleasant boys (at Solon): 39. Logan White 18:31.2; 41. Nick McCormick 18:36; 47. Logan Lee 18:48; 48. Nate McWilliams 18:48.3; 49. Luke Ryon 18:51.1; 57: Gabe Feldmann 19:18; 69. Levi Mills 19:56.2.