Earlham dominates I-35 Invite

OSCEOLA — The Creston boys cross country team earned second place at the I-35 Invitational Thursday in Osceola, their second silver finish last week. The girls didn’t have enough runners for a team score.

Earlham swept the boys and girls team and individual races, scoring 27 and 32 team points, respectively. Creston scored 51, a 49-point lead over Des Moines Christian in third place.

Boys

Once again without freshman Ryder Baird, the boys still came away with five top-20 finishes in the 78-man race.

Junior Wyatt Goodenberger finished second overall, running 18:34.58 to lead the Panthers. Last season on this course, Goodenberger ran times of 20:08 and 20:10.

Freshman Matthew Warner and senior Hector Suazo came in back to back at eighth and ninth places, respectively. Warner ran a 19:57.4 while Suazo came away with a 20:09.87, one minute faster than his course time from last season.

Sophomore Merrick Wieland ran 20:25, placing 13th. Austin Jondle rounded out scoring, finishing 20th in 21:46.52, a one-minute course PR.

The last two varsity runners were Johnathon Henry, running 25:27.02, and Aiden Craig, running 33:57.25.

Girls

It was upperclassmen only for the girls, junior Reese Strunk and seniors Abby Freeman and Grace Keeler the only three lacing up their shoes for the Panthers.

Strunk placed third, finishing just behind Mackenzie Harger of Earlham. Strunk ran 22:38.72.

Freeman cracked the top 20 with a 19th-place finish in 26:20. Keeler ran 28:37.46 to finish 28th.

The Panthers return to action at home Tuesday for the Panther Invitational.

TEAM SCORES

Boys

1. Earlham - 27
2. Creston - 51
3. Des Moines Christian - 100
4. Clarke - 108
5. Central Decatur - 115
6. I-35 - 117
7. Southeast Warren - 168

Girls

1. Earlham - 32
2. I-35 - 41
3. Des Moines Christian - 61
4. Mount Ayr - 93