NORWALK — Monday was the final tune-up for the Newton boys and girls cross country teams before next week's Little Hawkeye Conference meet, as the Cardinal squads took part in an invitational on the fields of Norwalk's McAninch Sports Complex.
 

Newton had polarizing results. The Cardinal boys continued a very successful season by placing third out of nine teams, while a depleted girls team finished eighth out of 10.
 

BOYS
The only teams to finish ahead of the Newton boys are two of the best in the state, as first-place Pella is ranked third in Class 3A and runner-up Grinnell is sixth. The Dutch won the meet with 44 points and the Tigers had 65, while the Cardinals had 76. Newton's in-season progression was apparent once again. It finished a full 100 points behind Grinnell at the Tigers' home invite back on Sept. 4, was 21 points behind it at the Cardinal Invite on Sept. 18, and closed that gap to 11 points Monday.