MOUNT AYR — Nodaway Valley’s run of dominance in the Pride of Iowa remains unrivaled, as the Wolverines boys team ran away with their ninth consecutive conference championship and 18th since 1997.
Nodaway Valley registered 18 team points, well in front of second-place Martensdale-St. Marys’ 79 and third-place host Mount Ayr’s 84.
“Brycen Wallace and Skyler Rawings, our two seniors and returning all-state runners, have had some great practices and keep on pushing the pace,” Nodaway Valley coach Darrell Burmeister said.
After Wallace took home his first POI title in a time of 16:55, Rawlings came in closely beind in second among the POI runners competiting in the race. Tyler Breheny grabbed third, Joshua Baudler was fourth, Ben Breheny took eighth.
Burmeister noted he was also pleased with how ninth-place Joel Blazek and 11th-place Austin Lundy have closed the gap in recent weeks. A major point of emphasis with state cross country nearing.
Mount Ayr came up just short of second place, but did benefit from the familiar surroundings after the meet was postponed Tuesday from Greenfield and moved to Mount Ayr on Thursday due to weather.
Four Raiders medaled with top 20 finishes.
Chase Smith led the Mount Ayr boys in seventh, while Isaac Timmerman (13th), Will Hunt (16th) and Scott Driskill (19th). Driskell ran a personal best and broke the 20-minute barrier for the first time.
“I think we ran better here than we could have at Nodaway Valley because of the course and mentality,” Larsen said.
But to grab third-place finishes on both the boys and the girls sides was a satisfying showcase for the hosts.
Southwest Valley came in eighth as a team with 236 points.
“The boy’s team also ran hard and competed with a sense of urgency. I was proud to watch each runner compete aggressively and try their hardest,” Southwest Valley coach Josh Sussman said. “We look forward to having the opportunity to run even faster at the district meet next week, which is at Mount Ayr again. As a young team, we all look forward to putting in a lot work over the off season and improving next year.”
Cole Nelson of East Union took 23rd.
Non-POI local teams Orient-Macksburg and Diagonal also competed in the Invitational, as did Savannah (Missouri), Maryville (Missouri) Southwest Iowa, and Northwest Nodaway.
POI results
Team Scores 1. Nodaway Valley 18, 2. Martensdale-St. Marys 79, Mount Ayr 84, Interstate 35 84, 5. Wayne 140, 6. Southeast Warren 153, 7. Central Decatur 158, 8. Pleasantville 186, 9. Southwest Valley 236.
Individuals — 1. Brycen Wallace, NV, 16:55; 2. Skyler Rawlings, NV, 17:30; 3. Tyler Breheny, NV, 17:41; 4 Joshua Baudler, NV, 17:44; 7. Chase Smith, MA, 18:16; 8. Ben Breheny, NV, 18:18; 9. Joel Blazek, NV, 18:23; 11. Austin Lundy, NV, 18:39; 13. Isaac Timmerman, MA, 19:08; 16. Will Hunt, MA 19:20; 19. Scott Driskill, MA, 19:45; 23. Cole Nelson, EU, 20:12; 33. Tyler Jones, MA, 21:13; 41. Trent Newton, SWV, 22:13.41; 43. Camren Solari, SWV, 22:15.00; 44. Will Young, MA 22:34.00; 45. Connor Eaton, MA, 22:38; 53. Blake Wuebker, EU, 23:27; 56. Blake Rychonovsky, Len, 24:03; 58. Kade Hutchings, SWV, ; 60. Sean McCormick, SWV, 24:39; 62. Frank Cruz, Len, 24:48; 63. Jesse Lawson, Len, 24:49; 65. Chris Froit, EU, 27:43; 66. Christopher Ulrich, SWV, 28:35.00; Brayden Avila, SWV, 29:24.