May 25, 2025

Thomas, Bradley, Coy, Horn earn medals at Oskaloosa Invitational

By Jocelyn Sheets

At left, Newton’s Ellis Horn competes in the Sept. 11 Johnston Invitational. Horn ran No. 2 for the NHS girls at Tuesday’s Oskaloosa Invitational in which the girls placed sixth and Horn took the 18th-place medal. Newton’s Jacob Thomas comes up a hill at the Johnston Invitational cross country meet on Sept. 11. Thomas led the NHS boys to a sixth-place finish at Tuesday’s Oskaloosa Invitational, taking fourth individually. (Ben Schuff)

OSKALOOSA — Four Newton High runners earned medals at the 2014 Oskaloosa Invitational cross country meet Tuesday. The Cardinal teams each finished sixth in their respective divisions.

Senior Jacob Thomas turned in the top performance of the day. Thomas ran the 5K boys’ varsity race in 17 minutes, 21.1 seconds to claim fourth. Freshman Mikey Bradley took the 18th-place medal in 18:36.3, edged out of 17th by Caleb Boley of Albia in 18:36.1.

Newton junior Grace Coen was after her third straight win of the girls’ varsity race at Edmundson Park, but she suffered from dehydration and was unable to finish the race.

The Cardinal girls were led by senior Hailey Coy, who ran the 4K distance in 16:54.8 finishing sixth. Ellie Horn was Newton’s No. 2 runner in the race Tuesday, claiming the 18th-place medal in 18:00.9.

“It’s unfortunate that Grace was not able to finish the race, she was sitting in a good position and worked as long as she could,” said Rachelle Tipton, NHS girls’ head coach.

“Fortunately, we have a week before our next meet. The team did amazing. Hailey really broke out tonight. She wouldn’t settle and kept moving up through the race. Ellie really pushed tonight and ran a faster time than she did last year.”

Tessa Keeton, a freshman, and senior Autumn Hunt “ran a smart race together,” Tipton said. Keeton finished 42nd in 19:21.16 and Hunt was 43rd in 19:21.9. Sophomores Michaella Cope and Jordyn Soule placed 50th and 54th, respectively, in 20:03.2 and 20:52.5.

“Michaella kept moving up throughout the race and Jordyn had a strong finish,” Tipton said. “Marisa looked great in the junior race and Annie fought for the finish. She had an injury at the start of the season and missed the first meet, it’s great to see her working her way back.”

Marisa Modlin, a senior, placed 27th in the junior varsity race in 21:27.0. Junior Annie Hurt was 55th in 24:17.5.

Joining Thomas and Bradley in the team scoring were sophomore Justin Fischer in 31st at 19:12.6, freshman Jack Callaghan in 35th in 19:25.1 and senior Harrison McCarey in 19:39.5. McCarey was in a three-way battle for 41st with a Williamsburg runner and a runner from Albia. McCarey placed 42nd.

Senior Chase Dykstra ran 54th in 20:14.9 and freshman Dylan Main took 58th in 20:26.3.

Williamsburg pulled down both the girls’ and boys’ team titles. Newton’s girls scored 148 points to Williamsburg’s 57. The Cardinal boys combined for 126 points to Williamsburg’s 59.

Newton’s junior varsity boys placed third with 88 points led by junior Zach Theis, who finished 13th in 20:18.7. The Cardinals had a pack of four runners to finish 19-21-22-23 led by sophomore Noach Sander in 20:50.8 followed by senior Jarom Williams in 20:55.9, freshman Ross Hull in 20:56.5 and Tyler Dafflitto in 20:59.90. Blake Robson, a freshman, placed 58th in 23:59.7.

Newton’s Berg Middle School girls competed in the Oskaloosa meet also. They finished fifth with 120 points. Here are the Newton girls’ results:

11. Caelyn Briley, 11:13.8; 15. Rachel Rhoads, 11:20.5; 16. Abbie Barr, 11:21.1; 44. Jenna Smith, 13:01.2; 58. Tes Schuster, 13:27.4; 74. Bayleigh Hughson, 14:45.3; 103. Kristi Guzinski, 17:15.9; 104. Madalyn Gamble, 17:21.1.

Next up for the Newton cross country teams is the NHS Cardinal Invitational Tuesday at Westwood Golf Course, starting at 4:15 p.m.

Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.