Christy, Zaabel lead Newton boys to third at Steve McDermott Invitational

Cooper Christy is a two-time state qualifier. Lance Zaabel hopes all the hard work he’s put in the last four seasons culminates into a state berth in his final year as a member of the Newton boys cross country team.

Both Cardinals fared well against a tough field on Tuesday during the 49th Steve McDermott Invitational.

The field featured two teams ranked in the top 10 of Class 3A and several individually ranked runners, but Christy finished inside the top 10 and Zaabel was just a few spots behind at Maytag Park.

“I’d say my race was pretty good. A lot better than last year,” Christy said. “I wish my time was a little faster but eighth is very respectable with all the good runners there.”

Christy placed eighth in the boys’ 5K race, and the lineup included at least five ranked runners.

Zaabel said he had trouble with the hills and the muddy surface from rain the night before but was still good enough to place 11th. The top 10 finishers earn medals.

Newton was third as a team with 114 points. Class 3A No. 7 Grinnell won the boys’ meet title with 35 points. That was 14 points better than 3A No. 6 ADM, which scored 49 in second.

The rest of the eight-team field included Des Moines Lincoln (122), Knoxville (129), Marshalltown (133), Albia (158) and South Tama County (173).

“The boys ran a fantastically difficult course that can easily add quite a bit of time to a runner’s results,” Newton head boys cross country coach Steve Weeks said. “Overall, it was a great race and it was so good to see so many parents, fans and community members out to support such a fun sport.”

Grinnell, which is coached by Newton alum Casey McDermott, was impressive at the top of the standings. The Tigers placed four in the first seven positions with 3A No. 16 Cadel Conner leading the way in second.

ADM had only one top-five finisher but placed six runners in the first 15 spots. Class 3A No. 22 Ty Landphair led the Tigers in fifth.

Class 3A No. 13 Isaac Rankin won the boys’ race in 17 minutes, 0.7 seconds.

Class 3A No. 23 Barrett Jesina of South Tama County also was in the field. He placed third in 17:13.9. Conner’s runner-up time was clocked in 17:05.9.

Christy also posted a time under 18 minutes. He was eighth in 17:46.8, which was 3.5 seconds faster than 3A No. 26 Ty Miller of ADM.

“I wasn’t aware that I beat a ranked guy, but it is great motivation running with them and now that I’ve caught one, let’s catch even more in the future,” Christy said. “The biggest part of my training right now is to improve my endurance on hills and to get more comfortable in the uncomfortable.”

Zaabel’s 11th-place time was clocked in 18:13.4. Abel Aldama (20:04.3) was 28th, Levi Zaabel (20:19.7) finished 31st and David Wickett (20:32.6) was the final scoring runner in 36th.

Drew Lamont (20:42.3) and Ben Magaña (21:08.3) were non-scoring runners in 40th and 46th, respectively.

“(Christy) and (Lance Zaabel) had fantastic races, and they’ve had fantastic seasons so far, but it was good to see seniors Levi Zaabel, Ben Magaña, Tyler Thompson and Grahm Clark have improved times tonight.

“It was great to give them a last race at Maytag, but also a bit bittersweet for many of those seniors because this was the first home meet of their careers.”

Lance Zaabel wasn’t happy with his race overall. He’s still trying to figure out how to run his best race.

“It’s a really tough course,” said Lance Zaabel, who posted a time similar to last year’s on the same course. “I think this is the second-hardest course we run on probably. I don’t think it was too good today. The hills and some of the mud from the rain last night got to me and the sharp turns got everyone I think.”

Notes: The Newton junior varsity placed fourth as a team. The Cardinals were led by Noah Tremel, who finished 14th in 21:41.9. Chase Lundberg was 29th in 22:47.1. “The JV had a strong showing led by Noah Tremel, who continues to grind away and do all the little things right,” Weeks said. “Chase Lundberg and Hudson Swarts have had a back-and-forth all season and continue to drop their times.” … ADM’s JV took the top six spots and then also placed 8-9-11-12. … Casey McDermott went on to run for Drake University after graduating from Newton Senior High School. Her father is the late Steve McDermott, a former administrator in the district who the meet is now named after. … Lance Zaabel gave credit to Christy for being someone who pushes him every day in practice and in competition. “I’ve always had someone to push me my entire running career,” Lance Zaabel said. “It was great when (Christy) came in. We’re pushing each other every day. When I’m in front of him, he tries to catch me and when he’s ahead of me, I try to get to him.”