Local trio just miss state

PELLA — Three Creston runners contended for state qualifying berths but came up short in a strong field at the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet Wednesday in Pella.

The top three teams and 15 individuals in each race qualified for the state meet next week in Fort Dodge. Creston boys placed 10th in the 13-team field with 219 points. Creston had an incomplete scoring team in the girls competition with four runners.

Two Panther girls made a strong run for one of the 15 state spots in a race featuring five runners from team champion Pella in the top five for a perfect score of 15. The other two Pella runners placed 10th and 12th for the state’s top-ranked team.

At least five runners must qualify for state as individuals from teams other than the three qualifying teams, and that was the case Wednesday, so Creston did not get an at-large berth. Sophomore Cora Smith placed 18th in 20:52.87, a margin of 44 seconds behind the 15th and final qualifying runner.

Creston junior Reese Strunk, who qualified for state last year as the 15th runner at the qualifying meet, took 20th place on Wednesday in 21:06.92.

At the 3-kilometer point in the 5K race (3.1 miles), Smith was running in 15th place and Strunk in 22nd. A half-mile from the finish line the pack of 15 leaders had separated itself, with Smith in 18th and Strunk 20th, their final positions.

“There was a pack in front of me that kind of got away in the last mile,” Smith said.

“Coach said to let the first five go, and just try to contend with the next 10,” Strunk said. “I was able to work my way up a little bit, but not the (top 15).”

Head coach Maggie Arnold said the two Panther leaders ran strong races in a field of six individually-ranked runners topped by Pella senior Marissa Ferebee, who won by 30 seconds over teammate Elsie Brenneman in a time of 17:44.18.

“We just knew that in the girls race the first two or three teams were going to pack in there pretty good up front,” Arnold said. “The first five spots weren’t even attainable. We wanted to fight for one of the last 10 spots. Unfortunately, we didn’t get ourselves in a good enough position at the two-mile mark. We were hoping to still be in that 10-15 pack at that point. This is a challenging course and obviously a very strong field.”

Seniors Abby Freeman and Grace Keeler placed 71st and 72nd in times of 24:49.18 and 25:09.31, respectively.

Boys race

Pella also dominated the boys race with five runners in the top 12 and a team score of 28. Creston freshman Ryder Baird contended for a state spot, finishing 22nd in 17:31.11. The 15th-place time was 16:54.43 by Oskaloosa’s Blake Herny.

Baird was 19th at the 3K mark, then slipped to 21st during the final 1,000 kilometers.

“Off the start everyone was getting out really competitive and strong,” Baird said. “Around the one mile mark I kind of found myself in a pack and kept progressing forward trying to pick people off.”

Baird said it was the strongest field of runners he’s competed against during his freshman campaign.

“I learned that everyone here is as competitive as you think they are, so you have to be strong,” he said.

Another freshman, Mathhew Warner, was Creston’s second runner in 39th place in 18:17.62.

“Ryder was the first freshman to cross the finish line today,” Arnold said. “He has incredible talent for a freshman. This state qualifying race is a tremendous learning experience for both Ryder and Matthew. They’ll figure it out and grow as runners.”

Other scoring runners for the Panther boys were Merrick Wieland, 42nd in 18:27.71; senior Hector Suazo, 52nd in 19:06.51; and junior Wyatt Goodenberger, 64th in 19:44.55. Goodenberger was running with Baird in the top 20 until the final mile.

“Wyatt got sick a couple of weeks ago and we haven’t seen him fully recover from that,” Arnold said. “He did everything right in the offseason and he was right there. Even today the first two mile splits were perfect. It’s that last mile that he’s been falling off since he got sick. My heart breaks for him.”

With Susazo the only senior on the boys squad, Arnold said prospects are bright for the team to contend among the top squads in the Hawkeye Ten next year.

Class 3A Boys

Team standings (3 state qualifiers) — 1. Pella 28; 2. ADM 91; 3. Clear Creek-Amana 103; 4. Carlisle 123; 5. Cedar Rapids Xavier 141; 6. Oskaloosa 172; 7. Knoxville 196; 8. Newton 201; 9. Saydel 212; 10. Creston 219; 11. Fairfield 314; 12. Clarke 359; 13. Boone 366.

Individual state qualifiers — 1. Canaan Dunham, Pella, 15:13.69; 2. Carson Meskimen, CC-A, 16:08.72; 3. Mason Gaulke, Pella, 16:20.25; 4. Jonah Ebersole, Pella, 16:223.42; 5. Isaac Rankin, Knoxville, 16:24.12; 6. Kael Streeter, Carlisle, 16:30.36; 7. Ty Landphair, ADM, 16:30.94; 8. Porter Carlton, Pella, 16:31.68; 9. Lane Smith, Oskaloosa, 16:36.99; 10. Gage Moreno, Saydel, 16:44.01; 11. Jacob McPherren, Saydel, 16:46.30; 12. Noah Schuknecht, Pella, 16:47.49; 13. Andrew Allen, Xavier, 16:48.27; 14. Lance Mueggenberg, Xavier, 16:50.41; 15. Blake Herny, Oskaloosa, 16:54.43.

Creston (219) — 22. Ryder Baird, 17:31.11; 39. Matthew Warner, 18:17.62; 42. Merrick Wieland, 18:27.71; 52. Hector Suazo, 19:06.51; 64. Wyatt Goodenberger, 19:44.55; 76. Austin Jondle, 20:29.34; 86. Johnathon Henry, 21:52.00.

Class 3A girls

Team standings (3 state qualifiers) — 1. Pella 15; 2. ADM 92; 3. Cedar Rapids Xavier 93; 4. Boone 111; 5. Newton 137; 6. Clear Creek-Amana 148; 7. Carlisle 172; 8. Oskaloosa 173; 9. Fairfield 241.

Individual state qualifiers — 1. Marissa Perebee, Pella, 17:44.18; 2. Elsie Brenneman, Pella, 18:14.25; 3. Lizy Vande Voort, Pella, 18:41.86; 4. Ruth Dunham, Pella, 18:59.37; 5. Carleigh Altwine, Pella, 19:16.73; 6. Mia Deegan, Xavier, 19:23.93; 7. Tierney Carter, Oskaloosa, 19:30.33; 8. Alison Seidl, Clear Creek-Amana, 19:41.21; 9. Raleigh Barton, Xavier, 19:49.66; 10. Dana McCulla, Pella, 19:53.48; 11. Whitney Chesnut, Boone, 19:54.55; 12. Lizzie Newmann, Pella, 20:07.27; 13. Alexis Sorensen, Newton, 20:07.27; 14. Elliotte Von Roden, ADM, 20:08.09; 15. Emmalyn Thomas, Boone, 20:08.54.

Creston — 18. Cora Smith, 20:52.87; 20. Reese Strunk, 21:06.92; 71. Abby Freeman, 24:49.18; 72. Grace Keeler, 25:09.31.