L-S girls edge Collins-Maxwell in battle of ranked teams at Center Grove Orchard

CAMBRIDGE — It took one meet for the Lynnville-Sully girls cross country team to climb the Class 1A rankings.

The Hawks opened their season with a championship performance at the Collins-Maxwell Spartan Invitational on Thursday.

The host Spartans had the top two individual finishers, but the Class 1A No. 6 Hawks secured five spots in the top 11 and scored 29 points at the top of the standings.

L-S began the season ranked eighth, and Collins-Maxwell opened at No. 14. Both teams moved up two spots in the latest rankings released on Monday.

“They were a state qualifying team a year ago just like us,” L-S head cross country coach Darin Arkema said. “Their top girl pulled away from the pack pretty early and their No. 2 runner finished runner-up overall, but then the pack of Hawks came in close pursuit and were pretty tightly spaced together.”

The Hawks edged No. 12 Collins-Maxwell (34) by five points and the rest of the 1A field featured Colfax-Mingo (65) and BGM (86). Baxter and Colo-NESCO had incomplete teams.

The top 15 finishers in each varsity race received medals. The Hawks were given T-shirts and a trophy after claiming the team win.

Mandeesa Vos of Lynnville-Sully led the area runners in third. She posted a time of 22 minutes, 1.9 seconds.

Vos had no idea she started the season in the 1A rankings at No. 22.

“I haven’t even looked at them yet,” Vos said. “Now that I know, it won’t change my running. I run how I feel.

“It was really hot and really hilly. I think everyone’s time took a hit because of that, but it makes us better. It’s the first time out. I just run as fast as I can and then I always want to finish hard. That’s important to me.”

Lynnville-Sully’s Breah Lowry (22:15.5) placed fourth in the girls’ 5K race and Colfax-Mingo’s Ashlynn Hosbond (22:23.1) was fifth.

Emma Parkinson (22:36.3), Peyton Sharp (23:05.9) and Katelyn Nikkel (24:19.9) were the other scoring runners for the Hawks in sixth, eighth and 11th, respectively. It was the varsity debut for Nikkel.

“I felt good at the beginning, but it got really hot,” Lowry said. “I slowed down a little bit at the end. It was pretty good for the first race.”

Hosbond led five Tigerhawks in their season debut. Ivy Anderson (26:37.5) and Jessica Gibson (27:07.1) made their varsity debuts in 13th and 17th, respectively, while Lilyan Hadsall (28:56.7) and Mallory Sipma (28:59.7) were 20th and 21st, respectively.

“I’m pretty happy with it because my first race last year was in the 24s,” Hosbond said. “This year is off to a better start. I was super nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m really happy.”

Collins-Maxwell’s Jayden Peters, who is ranked 18th in 1A, won the race in 20:37.4. Her teammate, Cypress Erickson, was the runner-up in 21:55.2.

Baxter’s only runner so far this year is Elsie Hauser. Her prep debut time was clocked in 26:58.3 in 16th.

“She ran a really solid race,” new Baxter head cross country coach Ian Thomson said. “The first 5K is always a learning experience, and it’s even harder when you’re the only one out there competing. She learned a lot about the distance, went out and battled and was right on the cusp of making the top 15.”

Arkema was happy with his first four runners being separated by about a minute. He thinks the order in meets could change throughout the season.

“If they all stay focused on training and racing hard for each other regardless of their finish order on the team, they will have a very successful season,” Arkema said.

Hosbond likes to get out front during the early stages of the race. It’s what she’s done since junior high.

New Colfax-Mingo head cross country coach Michaela Graffunder wants her to stay out front longer as the season progresses.

“She’s been training for that first mile to be a little bit faster,” Graffunder said. “We talked about her trying to stay with the front pack for as long as she can and then as the season progresses she should be able to stick with them for the whole race.”