Washington, Danville-New London sweep Mt. Pleasant cross-country Invite

MT. PLEASANT — Area teams flocked to Mt. Pleasant for the Panthers’ home cross-country invitational on Thursday night, and it was Washington and Danville-New London who once again took the day.

The Demons and Bears swept the team championships and individual titles in their respective classes. All were in dominating fashion.

The Washington girls flew to victory by 40 points, scoring 25 to second-place Mt. Pleasant’s 65. Once again, the Demons were paced by star freshman Iris Dahl, who crossed the tape in 20:04.96.

“ I felt pretty good,” said Dahl after the race. “A little tired.”

Dahl was one of four freshmen in the Top-5 finishers of both classes behind. All of the Top-5 in the big school standings were underclassmen.

“I really like the girls, and I get to know them on a personal level,” said Dahl. “Especially since I've been running against them since seventh grade.”

Dahl’s sophomore teammate Quincy Griffis finished second, in 20:55.69. Mt. Pleasant freshman Emma Welcher was third, in 21:01.69.

“ I felt pretty good,” Welcher said. “I feel like my body has improved since last week.”

Washington placed all seven runners in the Top 14. Lauren Horak placed fifth. Abigail Kleese was eighth. Angeline Anderson took ninth. Kendall Hinrichsen was 10th, and Alyvia Anderson finished 11th.

Mt. Pleasant’s Isabelle Meador took seventh to give the Panthers two in the Top 10. Audrey Lord crossed the tape in 18th.

Fairfield’s leading runner was Carley Seeley, who finished sixth. Caroline Van Pelt was 15th, and Malena Bloomquiest took 17th.

D-NL topped Columbus by 24 points to win the small school race. The Bears had four runners in the Top-6.

Alaina Gourley won the small school race with a time of 20:32.76. Kamryn Sherwood finished second, at 21:21.15. Ava Orth took fifth, and Ryann Logan was sixth.

Columbus’ Ariana Vergara crossed in third. Naveiah Garza was seventh.

Washington’s Micah Rees picked up another win in the big school boys’ race, taking it in 16:10.86. Washington had two in the Top-3, as Tyler Alderton took third, in 17:38.53. Drew Horak was sixth. Elijah Morris took eighth. Lane Schrock was ninth, and Andrew Rees finished 10th.

After the race, Alderton talked about his squad stacking the top of the list.

“That's just what forges that great time that we have with each other, is just that competition we have with varsity,” Alderton said. “It's so close this year. We've got three or four more that are just fighting for number seven. That's just what brings it all together.”

Mt. Pleasant’s Ben Carthey finished second, in 17:08.18. Jude Dykstra took eighth to give the Panthers two in the Top-10. Jonathan Hough finished 16th.

The Fairfield boys put four in the Top-20. Nate Konczal was 14th. Dayton Mauck finished 15th. Riley Perkins was 18th, and Ben Boatright finished 20th.

D-NL bested second-place Columbus by 45 points in the small school boys race. The Bears had six runners in the Top-10.

AJ Bonnesen was the first across the line for the small school boys, crossing the tape in 16:20.36. Rylan Martin was second, in 17:08.46, and Carter Fesler finished in 17:18.11, for third. Cauy Garrett finished sixth. Jackson Shacklett was eighth, and Talan Whaley took ninth.

Columbus was paced by Damian Vergara, who took seventh. The Wildcats had two more in the Top-12, as Tim Hills-Carrier and Tyler Humiston finished 11th and 12th respectively.

Winfield-Mount Union placed two runners in the Top-5. Gabriel Hemsworth finished fourth, and Kohly Newsom took fifth.

BIG SCHOOL GIRLS STANDINGS: 1. Washington 25; 2. Mt. Pleasant 65; 3. Fairfield 69; 4. Oskaloosa 78

SMALL SCHOOL GIRLS STANDINGS: 1. Danville-New London 20; 2. Columbus 44; 3. Louisa-Muscatine 68; 4. Winfield-Mount Union 101

BIG SCHOOL BOYS STANDINGS: 1. Washington 27; 2. Oskaloosa 45; 3. Mt. Pleasant 68; 4. Fairfield 93

SMALL SCHOOL BOYS STANDINGS: 1. Danville 20; 2. Columbus 65 3. Winfield-Mount Union 76; 4. Louisa-Muscatine 108; 5. Central Lee 128; 6. WACO 133