RED OAK — The area schools of Creston, East Union and Southwest Valley ran on the hills at Red Oak Country Club Monday in the fourth annual Paul Fish invitational.
Clarinda and Riverside took the top two spots in the girls race, and in the boys race, the script was flipped with Riverside taking first and Clarinda taking second.
The one constant on the team podium was Creston, who finished third in both races.
“It was a beautiful night in Red Oak for a meet,” Creston head coach Maggie Arnold said. “The kids competed well.”
Panther Emma Pantini was the highest placing local finisher with a placement of 10th and a time of 25:44.72.
“(She) led the way for the Panthers on the night,” Arnold said. “Autumn Stafford (11th, 26:02.65), Sydney Strunk (14th, 26:43.53) and Tristen Rice (19th, 27:37.15) also medaled on the night.”
The Panthers boys ran an average time of 21:00.95 and showed marked improvement per coach Arnold.
“The boys team ran really well,” She said. “It was their best meet top to bottom. Riley Wipperman led the way with the seventh place finish (19:54.06), followed by Owen Weis (14th, 20:19.31) and Carson Smith (16th, 20:51.06) as fellow medalists for the Panthers.”
Creston hosts the Panther Invitational on Sept. 20. CNA area teams that will be in attendance include the host Panthers, Diagonal, East Union, Lenox, Mount Ayr, Nodaway Valley, Orient-Macksburg and Southwest Valley.
Timberwolves run in Red Oak
The Timberwolves ran a full boys squad and finished sixth in the team race with 181 points. The girls ran four for so did not post a team score. The Timberwolves saw four of their six veteran runners post course best times with one new career personal record.
On the boys side, freshman Ashton Boswell led the way for the Timberwolves with a 36th place finish. Ethan James placed 45th and improved his time by 1:19 from last season. Brandon Cox placed 46th and Matthew Means placed 50th with a new career personal record of 24:54.14 and an impressive 6:40 improvement on his course time from last season. Rounding out the boys squad was Lucas James in 60th place.
The girls were led by junior Kya Newton in 29th place. Karissa Richey finished 31st, improving her course time by 3:10. Victoria Fletchall finished 32nd with an awesome 7:03 improvement from her time last year.
“The times were very impressive tonight,” Hults said. “I was very excited to see the progress from last season, and the improvement our runners are showing already this early in the season. If we can continue to stay healthy, we will see some great things from these young Timberwolves as the season moves on.”
The Timberwolves will be back in action on Thursday when they host their Timberwolves Invitational at Lake Icaria.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1. Clarinda 19; 2. Riverside 49; 3. Creston 70; 4. Shenandoah 111; 5. Red Oak 118.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Leaders — 1. Mayson Hartley, Clarinda, 20:19.50; 2. Raenna Henke, Clarinda, 21:14.75; 3. Maya Hunter, Clarinda, 22:41.34; 4. Bailey Richardson, Riverside, 23:55.34; 5. Callie King, Clarinda, 23:59.
Creston — 10. Emma Pantini, 25:44.72; 11. Autumn Stafford, 26:02.65; 14. Sydney Strunk, 26:43.53; 19. Tristen Rice, 27:37.15; 22. Mallory Wilson, 28:39.59; 25. Payton Davis, 29:17.56; 27. Aileen Villalpando, 29:37.90.
East Union — 17. Hayden Waigand, 26:56.66; 33. Jillian Valencia, 32:29.31; 34. Abbie Wubker, 32:37.66; 42. Neh Nkenti, 34:55.78.
Southwest Valley — 29. Kya Newton, 31:04.65; 32. Karissa Richey, 31:35.78; 33. Jillian Valencia, 32:05.94
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1. Riverside 31; 2. Clarinda 35; 3. Creston 79; 4. Shenandoah 91; 5. East Mills 147; 6. Southwest Valley 181; 7. Bedford 183.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Leaders — 1. Treyton Schaapherder, Clarinda, 17:38.34; 2. Kyle Wagoner, Clarinda, 17:59; 3. Mason McCready, Riverside, 19:05.78; 4. Brody Henderson, Riverside, 19:18.40; 5. Jacob Driskill, East Union, 19:26.78.
Creston — 7. Riley Wipperman, 19:54.06; 14. Owen Weis, 20:19.31; 16. Carson Smith, 20:51.06; 22. Anthony Eblen, 21:32.46; 27. Gabe Hopkins, 22:27.84; 31. Christian Ahrens, 23:07.33; 33. Jesh Villalpando, 23:25.93.
East Union — 5. Jacob Driskill, 19:26.78; 47. Peyton Long, 24:32.14.
Southwest Valley — 36. Ashton Boswell, 23:38.02; 45. Ethan James, 24:10.02; 46. Brandon Cox, 24:22.18; 50. Matthew Means, 24:54.14; 60. Lucas James, 31:38.75.