CL cross country teams compete at IF-A meet

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake boys and girls cross country teams opened up their season Thursday at a meet hosted by Iowa Falls-Alden.  The Lion boys, as well as the junior varsity boys team, came away with second place finishes, while the girls were sixth.

Humboldt, helped by four runners placing in the top 10, claimed the boys title with 26 points.  Clear Lake was runner-up with 60 points and Newman Catholic was third with 85.  The remainder of the field included: East Marshall (96), Eagle Grove (141), Hampton-Dumont-Cal (144), Iowa Falls-Alden-AGWSR (182) and Aplington-Parkersburg (225).

“I think we have the right recipe to be a great team with a solid front runner in Justin Wright and then seven or eight younger guys behind him that could be in our top five on any given day,” said first year Head Coach Tyler Havens. “They do a great job of supporting and pushing one another as teammates, which certainly makes coaching them much easier. “I was not at all concerned about times, as temps were in the 90s and this was just the first meet of the season.”

Wright, a senior, placed third to lead the Lions in the varsity race.  He posted a time of 18:09.9.  Also finishing in the top 10 was sophomore Leo Tolentino.  He claimed ninth place in 19:44.4.  Sophomores Andrew Mixdorf and Jack Crane, and junior Tanner Reimann crossed the finish line in 15th, 16th and 17th place with times of 19:59.5, 20:03.1 and 20:07.1.  Christopher Molander, was close behind and placed 19th in 20:12.6, while Jaden Wright was 23rd in 20:22.9.  Molander and Wright are also sophomores.

“The boys did a great job of working together and staying tough the last mile of the race,” said the coach.  “This is a team that loves to work hard and is willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, so I am really excited to see how they progress throughout the season as we get more fit. We are looking forward to our second meet on Tuesday hosted by Newman Catholic in Mason City. I believe we will be poised to have another great finish after making a few minor adjustments.”

Girls results

Coach Havens said the Lion girls team is also very young and were competing in the first meet without varsity runner Emily Roberts due to a minor injury.

“So, we can’t read too much into the results. I think in general the girls were a little disappointed in their races, but with it being the first meet of the season and having such high temps it was nothing more than a meet to shake the dust off,” he added.

Sophomore Jadyn Heesch was the top finisher for the Lions, placing 20th in 25:58.5.  The remainder of the Lion team ran as a pack, with sophomore Ella Nielsen coming in 32nd in 28:55.5.  Senior Jillian Enke placed 34th in 30:36.9; Olivia Fausnaugh, a sophomore, was 36th in 31:08.1; Emily Benitz, sophomore, was 37th in 31:18.5; junior Haley Jackson placed 38th in 31:35.9; and sophomore Kristina Miller was 39th in 33:18.5.

“This team is ready to get to work to improve their performances and I have no doubt they will do just that each week,” said Coach Havens.  “I am still excited about the young talent in this group. We just need to get on the right track and race a little smarter.”

Humboldt also won the girls title with 40 points, 10 better than runner-up Newman Catholic.  IFA-AGWSR rounded out the top three with 75 points.  The remainder of the field included: A-P (91), East Marshall (110) and Clear Lake (159).

Junior varsity

Clear Lake JV runners finished second among four teams competing in the junior varsity race at IF-A Tuesday.  Humboldt was the low team with 16 points.  Clear Lake was next with 48, followed by IFA-AGWSR with 73 and Eagle Grove with 86.

Ethan Zickefoose and Easton Goeman placed fifth and seventh respectively for the Lions in times of 19:08.0 and 19:50.7. The trio of Conner McKibben, Ethan Evelsizer and Cabot Neuberger placed 11th, 12th and 13th in 21:44.7, 21:51.1 and 21:57.6.  Mitchel Conway ran a time of 23:39.6 to finished 20th.

The Lions were slated to compete at the Newman Catholic Invitational Tuesday in Mason City.  On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the teams will run at the Belmond Country Club.