State champion IMS boys, Pekin girls lead all-GTNS team

A dominant cross-country season by more than a handful of area runners has stacked the 2009 all-Golden Triangle News Service cross-country team.

Not only did they control the pace in and around southeast Iowa, but also challengers from the entire state. One team state title, one runner-up and one more individual champ highlight this year?s squad with more than enough state-meet tested talent to fill in the rest.

Leading the way on the boys? side is the IMS trio of coach Marty Gingerich, individual state champ Bill Spencer and sixth-place runner Truman Shetler that helped IMS to its first Class 1A title since 1995.

Coming off a second-place finish at last year?s state meet, Gingerich ? recently selected as the Class 1A boys? coach of the year by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches ? set his sights on winning. His squad did just that, winning the 1A title by 26 points to go along with conference and district titles and not a single loss to a 1A school the entire fall.

Gingerich?s received a big boost from the junior Spencer throughout the year and capitalized on his seventh-place finish from a season ago to claim the 1A title. At the state meet, Spencer weathered a slow start to rocket past the leaders and win the race by 17 seconds and post his third top-20 finish in as many seasons for IMS.

Backing up Spencer is the senior Shetler, who wrapped up his IMS career with a sixth-place finish at the state meet and top-seven places at both the conference and district meets.

There was one thing that could stop IMS however, and it took the form of Columbus? Sam Chaney. The senior won all 10 races he ran this year, including the SEISC and the district championship while running on a broken toe.

The state?s top-ranked runner looked unstoppable all season, set seven course records and likely would have won the Class 2A state championship if that broken toe on his right foot hadn?t kept him from running at state. It marked the second straight year that Chaney?s cross country season has ended in disappointment as an unfinished race and trip to a local hospital concluded his run at the 2008 state meet.

Behind Chaney was fellow Wildcat Jake Kellar, and even though Keller played second fiddle to Chaney all year long, he would have been the No. 1 runner on a lot of teams. In just his second season of cross country, the senior placed in the top five seven times this year, and came home with an 11th place finish in the Class 2A state meet, missing his goal of earning an all-state spot by just six seconds.

Winfield-Mount Union coach Cody Wolfe describes Glen Morgan as ?a kid who just loves to run,? and they had to try to control his running on days off from practice to keep him fresh for meets. The Senior combined that love with talent to take eighth place at the Class 1A state meet despite fighting bronchial spasms for the second half of the season.

Keota?s Kalen Greiner posted an individual victory at the South Iowa Cedar League meet on his way to helping his team to its first-ever SICL championship in September. The senior went on to place fourth at the district meet and 20th at the Class 1A state meet.

Rounding out the 2009 boys? squad is more state-meet talent in Van Buren senior Ben Moews. While injuries limited the Warriors? team potential, Moews didn?t have a problem with individual success posting an eighth-place finish at the stacked Class 1A district meet in Wapello. In his first-ever state meet appearance, Moews ended up 26th.

Pekin leads girls? team for second-straight year

After posting a Class 1A title on the girls? side in 2008, Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl kept the Panthers as dominant as ever in 2009. While a move to Class 2A forced Pekin to settle for second-place at this year?s state meet, Eidahl led the Panthers to state performances that would have resulted in both 1A and 3A titles had the opportunity presented itself.

With a year of experience to begin 2009, sophomore twins Celsey and Brenna Conger battled through injuries and illness for much of the fall to ultimately lead Pekin to that runner-up finish. Celsey once again turned out to be Pekin?s top-runner for much of the season leading up to a fantastic finish that included a third-place district finish and overall seventh-place finish at the state meet.

Brenna followed up with a 15th-place finish while junior Kaitlin Spilman ran herself up into the top of the Pekin lineup. Spilman?s improvement from a season ago became evident as she poured it on towards the end of the year. Spilman took fourth-place at the district meet and just missed all-state recognition with an 11th-place finish at the state meet.

With those top-three duking it out on a weekly basis, the Panthers once again showed they are here to stay with the emergence of freshman Maleaha Earnest. Earnest stepped into the Pekin lineup without missing a beat keeping pace with Brenna Conger at the state meet with a 16th-place result.

Rounding out the Pekin runner-up squad is senior Kristen Freeman, whose 37th-place finish kept the Panthers in second-place and a convincing 56 points ahead of third-place Iowa City Regina at the state meet.

While Pekin has made itself a mainstay at the state meet, Fairfield?s Jessica Lamb is trying to do the same thing for the Trojans. The freshman has already become the undisputed leader of the program turning in one of the best seasons in FHS history. Lamb won four meets this fall and became the first Fairfield runner to qualify for the state meet since 1995 and first-ever freshman. Lamb concluded her 2009 season with a sixth-place district finish and a 29th-place result at the state meet.

Also making a name for herself is Mid-Prairie?s Sofia Chmaruk. The sophomore bested all other all-GTNS runners at the regional meet in Columbus Junction and wrapped up the fall with a 20th-place finish at the state meet.