May 08, 2024

Newton boys finish sixth in strong LHC field

Cards edged by ranked Eagles at conference meet

By Troy Hyde

Newton senior Leo Friedman, left, junior Presley Arnold, center, and senior Collin Buchli run in the Little Hawkeye Conference meet in Dallas Center on Tuesday. (Andrew Schneider/KRLS Radio

DALLAS CENTER — Facing four ranked programs and three squads sitting in the current top 10 of their respective classes, Newton’s boys’ cross country team placed sixth in the Little Hawkeye Conference Cross Country Championships on Monday.

The Cardinal boys ran a 5K around the Burnett Sports Complex and Landon Menninga and Leo Friedman placed inside the top 25 in one of the most challenging meets of the season.

“Finishing sixth in a conference as impressive as this one is still quite an achievement,” Newton boys cross country coach Steve Weeks said. “We got the chance to run against some of the toughest teams and top individuals in the state.”

The No. 1 ranked team in Class 3A and the second-ranked squad in 4A were part of the field. Newton scored 168 points in sixth. The Cardinals were edged out by five points by 2A No. 9 Pella Christian.

Newton junior Javin Doland competes in the Little Hawkeye Conference meet on Tuesday in Dallas Center. The Cardinals were sixth as a team. (Andrew Schneider/KRLS Radio)

Class 4A No. 2 Norwalk won the team title with 30 points. The Warriors went 2-4-7-8-9, putting all five scoring runners in the top 10.

Class 3A No. 1 Pella was the runner-up with 42 points. The Dutch finished 1-3-5-16-17.

The rest of the eight-team field included 4A No. 19 Dallas Center-Grimes (62), Indianola (120), 2A No. 9 Pella Christian (163), Newton (168), Grinnell (181) and Oskaloosa (186).

Class 3A No. 5 Chase Lauman of Pella won the boys’ race in 16 minutes, 6.5 seconds. Norwalk’s Donovan Card, who is ranked 12th in 4A, was the runner-up in 16:17.5.

“Although the course is very flat, it has so many sharp 90-degree turns that often makes keeping a race pace difficult,” Weeks said. “It was a joy to see Landon (Menninga) and Leo (Friedman) finish so close together at the finish, despite running two very different races with their pacing.”

Menninga and Friedman finished one full second apart. Menninga was 24th in 17:45.5 and Friedman finished 25th in 17:46.5.

Javin Doland (18:40.1) in 37th, Presley Arnold (18:44.7) in 39th and Christian Buchli (18:51) in 43rd were the final three scoring runners.

Collin Buchli (19:13.7) in 51st and Jesus Murillo (19:15.4) in 52nd were the two non-scoring Cardinals.

Next up for Newton is the 3A state qualifying meet at 4 p.m. on Oct. 19 at the Pella Sports Complex in Pella.

“For us to make some noise at the district meet next week we need (Menninga and Friedman) pushing each other and for Javin to stay up with them,” Weeks said. “The rest of the pack runs so solid that if they can get into the low 18s, we could see an excellent race next week.”

Notes: The two personal records for Newton on Monday were Joel Lewis (20:36) and Kenny Skinner-Havens (20:35) from the junior varsity race. “The boys all ran well and represented our school, town and families well tonight,” Weeks said.