COLFAX — Lynnville-Sully was not scheduled to run a cross country meet at Colfax-Mingo this season.
But heavy rains and inclement weather forced several postponements and cancellations the past 10 days.
The Hawks took advantage of their invitation to the Tigerhawk Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 10. Three runners earned medals for top 10 finishes, Lynnville-Sully was second overall in the girls’ team standings.
“It wasn’t a meet we were supposed to go to, but we had to change things around due to the rain,” Lynnville-Sully coach Darin Arkema said. “It worked out well to go to Colfax instead of Pleasantville because most of our girls ran on this course twice last year.”
Sophomores Megan Van Zante, Meleisha Vos and Caitlin Alberts all brought home medals and junior Abby Gruver also found her way into the top 20 as the Hawks scored 69 points in second place.
Collins-Maxwell won the meet with 41 after placing its five scoring runners in the first 17 positions.
Lynnville-Sully edged Class 2A PCM by five points. The Mustangs’ had two finishers in the top 10, and their top runner from last year, senior Kirstin Ives, is still working her way back from an injury she suffered in the spring.
Central Decatur was a distant fourth behind PCM with 100 points. Mount Ayr was next with 113 points, Colfax-Mingo was sixth with 118 points and Ogden finished seventh with 177 points. Interstate 35, Martensdale-St. Marys, Melcher-Dallas and Saydel all had incomplete teams.
Colfax-Mingo continued to rely on its consistent senior Ilia Hostetter while junior Abbey McConeghey works her way back from a hip injury she sustained during basketball season last winter.
Hostetter led the Tigerhawks on Monday, and she earned another medal with a 10-place finish. McConeghey competed for the first time this season and was 14th overall.
“She’s our rock. She’s constant and stable,” Colfax-Mingo co-head coach Jake Crouse said about Hostetter. “We have faced some battles trying to get Abbey back and ready and to get her confidence up. Today was just about getting the race done, and getting that mental victory.”
McConeghey was a state qualifier last year and finished a few positions off a state medal. She still has plenty of time to get into shape for this year’s postseason run.
“Anytime you have a serious injury, there’s always a worry of a re-injury so we took it slow and are progressing in the right direction,” Crouse said. “She told us tonight that she had a lot left afterward so that’s a huge weight off her shoulders. She’s way ahead of schedule. We are taking it slow and will keep progressing.”
Hostetter claimed another medal with a 10th-place finish. She crossed the finish line in 24:11. McConeghey was 14th with a time of 24:27.
The other three scoring runners were senior Payton Rhone, sophomore Daytin Chadwick and senior Delaney Underwood. Rhone placed 37th in 27:13, Chadwick was 38th in 27:15 and Underwood ended up 40th in 27:28.
Senior Colbee Cunningham, who played volleyball for the Tigerhawks less than an hour after the high school cross country race, finished 48th and junior Chelsey Atwood was 51st as the final varsity runners.
Sophomore Crystal Lincoln was 54th, senior Jordan Atwood ended up 55th, sophomore Jodine Woods finished 59th and freshman Brennan Rhone was 74th.
“We had some good senior performances all around,” Crouse said. “There are a lot of moving parts from runners four to eight. We have to figure out those moving parts and figure out whose going to be in the top five positions. I like where we are at overall though.”
Lincoln was expected to be a top-five Tigerhawk runner when the season started, but she’s been hampered by an injury and then an illness. She competed for the first time Monday.
Colfax-Mingo goes to Lynnville-Sully at 4:30 p.m. Thursday as the Hawks and Tigerhawks compete at Diamond Trail Golf Course in Lynnville. PCM competes at 5 p.m. Thursday in Pleasantville.
Fitch, Green lead Tigerhawk boys at home meet
COLFAX — Prairie City-Monroe cross country coach Eric Karr is happy with the way his top two boys runners are progressing during the early stages of the season.
Karr expected junior Jason Stafford and sophomore Beau Webb to once again lead his deep roster, and they haven’t disappointed.
On Sept. 10, in a meet that was scheduled to help counter several canceled meets last week, Stafford and Webb both claimed top-10 finishes to lead the Mustangs to a fourth-place finish.
Stafford was the top runner for the second straight meet, and his seventh-place medal helped the Mustangs score 141 points on the night. Webb ended up 10th as the top 10 finishers on the night earned medals.
“Jason and Beau ran really well again. They ran close to their times at Iowa State, and this was a much tougher course,” Karr said. “When you run a course like this and aren’t physically struggling afterward, it’s a good sign.”
Stafford’s seventh-place finish was clocked at 19 minutes, 22 seconds. Webb was eight seconds behind in 10th.
Ogden put three runners in the top 10 and won the meet with 57 points. Saydel was next at 84, followed by Mount Ayr at 89. PCM (141) was four points better than fifth-place Martensdale-St. Marys (145). Central Decatur (150), Southeast Warren (153), host Colfax-Mingo (175), Collins-Maxwell (184) and Interstate 35 (220) rounded out the 10-team field.
Lynnville-Sully and Melcher-Dallas also competed but did not have complete teams.
The top finisher for Colfax-Mingo was senior Cauy Fitch, who finished 23rd with a time of 20:30. Tigerhawk junior Hunter Green was next in 30th with a time of 21:06.
“Hunter Green is a huge find for us,” Colfax-Mingo co-head coach Jake Crouse said. “He started on the first day of school. He had some success in track and we were able to move him over to cross country.”
Crouse likes his Tigerhawk boys team, but several runners were running for the first time or are still working their way into shape.
Junior Noah Strohmeyer is someone Crouse and C-M co-head coach Zach Tomas thought could be one of the top runners on the team, but Monday was his first meet of the season after dealing with shin splints and an illness in the first two competitions.
“Our boys can be really competitive. We don’t have as much depth as last year, but we are better as a team for sure,” Crouse said.
After Fitch and Green for the Tigerhawks were freshman Coleman Craig, junior Cyden Fitch and Strohmeyer. Craig finished in 42nd with a time of 22:26, Cyden Fitch was 44th in 22:31 and Strohmeyer’s first official 5K of the season was clocked at 22:52 as he finished 48th.
The rest of the Tigerhawks included sophomore A.J. Gibson in 57th and sophomore Avery Lees in 75th.
