Five runners medal in Winterset

WINTERSET — With more than 100 varsity runners competing Tuesday afternoon in Winterset, the Panthers came away with five medalists. The boys placed third in the competitive nine-team field while the girls fell to seventh place without senior Maylee Riley in the lineup.

Girls

Sophomore Cora Smith once again led the Panther girls, finishing 12th in 21:10.06. The time knocks off almost a minute from her course time last season.

Despite taking first and second place with Karson Oberender (19:08.11) and Maclaine German (19:37.19), Martensdale St. Marys fell to fourth place.

Host Winterset came away with a narrow win over Ballard, scoring 53 compared to the Bombers’ 57.

Junior Reese Strunk finished second for the Panthers, claiming a medal in a 15th place finish. Strunk ran 21:40.36, narrowly beating Ellie Vander Werf from I-35. Strunk’s time comes in 20 seconds faster than her previous course record.

“Cora and Reese continue to medal for us which is where they should be,” coach Maggie Arnold said. “We are working on getting their first 2-mile splits a little more even than they are right now. That will come with experience and them feeling their pace. It has been an expectation all year for those two to medal for our team.”

Without Riley in the lineup, senior Abby Freeman filled the third-runner spot, running 25:22.55 and finishing 39th. The time is a new course best for Freeman, beating her previous time by 20 seconds.

Freshman Sarah Siders was just behind in 41st place. She ran a 25:29.67.

Rounding out the girls team was senior Grace Keeler, placing 46th in 26:52.19.

“Abby and Grace have improved tremendously from last season,” Arnold said. “I am so proud of their progress. Abby has put in a lot of summer miles- more than she has in any of her previous seasons. This has paid off for her big time.”

On Monday, the girls look to defend their title at the Paul Fish Invitational in Red Oak, where a year ago, the Panthers placed all five runners in the top-12.

Boys

With three in the top 20, the boys came away with a trio of medals and a third-place finish. Bondurant-Farrar and Ballard took gold and silver with 41 and 63 points, respectively.

The Panthers claimed bronze in Winterset with 101 points, Freshman Ryder Baird led the charge, finishing fourth in 17:19.54 after a patient race, moving up throughout the course.

“Ryder was awesome,” Armold said. “He beat two ranked opponents in this race.”

Junior Wyatt Goodenberger ran 18:13.91, finishing 14th. The time was a minute faster than his course best from last year.

The final medalist was sophomore Merrick Wieland whose time of 18:33.27 was good for 19th place.

The last two scorers were Matthew Warner (18:50.26) in 22nd and Austin Jondle (21:12.63) in 42nd.

“Merrick and Matthew had really solid races for us as well,” Arnold said. “Those guys have continued to improve every week. There were a lot of talented individuals in the boys race. Earning a medal is no easy feat.”

The final runner, Johnathon Henry, ran 22:42.21, placing 51st.

The boys also race in Red Oak Monday afternoon.

View race photos here.