Washington cross-country sweeps 2nd places at Hillcrest meet

KALONA — The Hillcrest Academy cross-country course was filled with local talent as area squad’s met in Kalona on Monday evening.

The Washington squads led the way for the Union area, taking second in both the girls’ race and the boys’ race. Both races were won by Pella, which currently sits No. 1 in both the boys’ and the girls’ Class 3A rankings.

The Washington girls came the closest. The 12th-ranked Demons scored 42 points, just 18 away from Pella’s first-place total of 24. Fairfield was third, at 94. Mt. Pleasant was fourth, at 95, and Danville finished fifth, at 105.

The Demon boys, currently ranked No. 13 in Class 3A, scored 78 points on the day. Pella won with 25, but Washington nipped third-place Mediapolis by six points.

Danville-New London scored 107 points to finish fourth in the boys’ standings. Mt. Pleasant finished fifth, with 116 points. Fairfield was seventh, with 151.

Washington placed two runners in the Top-7 in the girls’ race. Iris Dahl finished in 20 minutes, 39.46 seconds for second place, and Quincy Griffis was seventh, with a finishing time of 21:47.09.

The Demons placed all five scorers in the Top-12. Angeline Anderson was 10th, Alyvia Anderson took 10th, and Luaren Horak finished 12th.

“I think as a team, we did really great,” Angeline Anderson said after the race. “It’s really tough going up the hills, but once you get past it, it’s an amazing race.”

Fairfield put five runners in the Top-30 to scoop up third place. Melna Bloomquist 1as 13th. Carley Seeley took 15th. Makenzie Kraemer finished 22nd. Caroline Van Pelt was 23rd, and Paige Bisgard took 28th.

The Union area had two other runners in the Top-10. Danville-New London’s Alaina Gourley took third, in 20:42.69, and Mt. Pleasant’s Isabelle Meador finished ninth, in 21:54.02.

Meador was one of five Panthers in the Top-30. Alexis Wagner and Audrey Lord were 20th and 21st. Ella McNamee finished 29th, and Aliyah Graber was 30th.

“We've been working so hard to work together as a team, and to also get better individually,” said Maedor. “To see that pay off feels really great.”

Gourley was the only D-NL runner in the Top-30. Ryann Logan finished 33rd for the next best Bear.

Hillcrest Academy’s lone runner was Delaney Shaw, who finished 43rd.

Micah Rees finished second place, in 16:35.39. His time was just four seconds behind first place Chase Lauman of Pella.

Washington had four runners in the Top-20. Lane Schrock took 17th. Drew Horak was 18th, and Tyler Alderton finished 19th.

After the race, Schrock talked about how much running against the top-ranked team in the class helped his group.

“I feel like it definitely makes us a lot better as a team,” Schrock said. “To be able to have good people we know we're expected to lose to, and just go and try and do our best.”

D-NL’s Rylan Martin finished 10th place. Jackson Shacklett was 16th, and Cuay Garrett finished 22nd.

Mt. Pleasant had two runners in the Top-20, as Ben Carthey finished sixth, and Jude Dykstra was 20th. Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Hough finished 31st and 32nd respectively, and Coleman Mowery was 35th.

Fairfield’s top runer was Dalton Mauck, who finished 25th. Riley Perkins was 28th. Nate Konczal finished 29th. Ben Boatright was 33rd.

Hillcrest Academy’s Micah Gerber was 34th. Jesse Blossom finished 46th. Jeremiah Danker was 58th, and Kyle Neuschwander finished 60th.

GIRLS’ TEAM STANDINGS

1. Pella 24

2. Washington 42

3. Fairfield 94

4. Mt. Pleasant 97

5. Danville-New London 105

6. Mediapolis 170

BOYS’ TEAM STANDINGS

1. Pella 25

2. Washington 78

3. Mediapolis 84

4. Danville-New London 107

5. Mt. Pleasant 116

6. North Mahaska 135

7. Fairfield 151

8. Wapello 236