Ellens wins at PCM Invitational

MONROE — Eric Karr is enjoying all the success PCM senior Chris Ellens has had this season. But if the Mustang cross country coach has one complaint, it’s that Ellens hasn’t had anyone to run with.

There are worse problems to have.

Ellens cruised to another individual title Thursday when he dominated the rest of the field on his home course at the PCM Cross Country Invitational on a hot and muggy night at Gateway Recreation Golf Course.

Ellens won the race in 17 minutes, 16.10 seconds and was 15 seconds ahead of runner-up Grant Dunsbergen of Pella Christian.

“It is great to see him do what he is doing. To almost PR on our hilly course is fantastic,” Karr said. “He has more left, but we need to get someone for him to run with him. He can run with those gators and golf carts and try to catch them, but it is not the same as trying to run with actual runners. We just don’t see enough guys that can run with him on our schedule.”

Ellens was one of three runners to earn individual medals on the night. Colfax-Mingo’s Cameron Warner was 12th, while his teammate, sophomore Cauy Fitch, finished 24th in his season debut. Medals went to the first 25 finishers.

Des Moines Christian won the meet by two points over Knoxville. The Lions put three in the top 15 to finish with 87 points. The Panthers were second with 89 points, while Pella Christian (106), Chariton (148) and West Marshall (154) rounded out the top five.

PCM finished in eighth with 208 points, while Lynnville-Sully (244) was 10th and Colfax-Mingo (264) placed 11th.

Ellens, who moved up to 15th in this week’s Class 2A individual state rankings, has now won five titls this season. His worst finish is third. Ellens wants more though.

“My expectations have changed. I want to be top 20 at state now for sure,” Ellens said. “I can still get faster. We’ll just see how it goes. Our team is improving, too.”

The Hawks’ best finisher was Ty Breeden, who placed 39th overall in 20:15.65. His teammates, Jared Craver and Josh Dunsbergen, were 44th and 46th, respectively.

“I felt good today. It was a great day,” Breeden said. “I probably could have passed a few more at the end, but it was still a good race.

“I feel like I can be a little faster. I am trying to break 20 minutes. That’s my next goal. I need to finish strong every race.”

The other two scoring runners for Lynnville-Sully were Joseph Anderson and Luke Jones, who finished 57th and 63rd, respectively. Cody Gibbs placed 67th and Jim Trettin was 108th as the final varsity runner.

Warner continues to make strides toward becoming the first male state qualifier since C-M coach Zach Tomas took over the program seven years ago. He finished in 19:06.47 in 12th. Fitch ran for the first time this season and crossed the in 19:38.63 for a 24th-place finish.

“I am still getting out too hot. I am an aggressive runner. I am starting to find my pace though,” Warner said. “I want to break 18 minutes by the end of the year. I need to work harder in practice. I’ll have to start being the first one there and the last one to leave.”

The final three scoring runners for the Tigerhawks were Michael Loney in 82nd, KC Huffman in 94th and Cyden Fitch in 98th. The final two varsity runners were Jacob Frier and Mike Martinez, who finished in 121st and 127th, respectively.

“I was impressed with all of our kids,” Tomas said. “We have been working on finishing races lately, and it paid off today.”

Ellens could be on his way to a second straight state berth in late October. Thursday, he was just happy his was able to win in front of his home fans.

“I wanted to go out with a bang. I don’t feel like a senior to be honest. The fact that this is my last home meet hasn’t sunk in yet,” Ellens said. “It feels good though. I want to show the community how much PCM cross country is improving.”

After Ellens for PCM was Jason Stafford in 42nd, Brady North in 48th, Jacob Cox in 59th and Caleb Peter was 61st as the final counting runner. Mark Bruxvoort and Owen Hugen were the final two varsity runners, and they finished 75th and 79th, respectively.

All three area schools return to action at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Knoxville.