GHV runners capture west division conference titles

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura cross country team has been racking up some impressive placings this season and that includes an impressive outing at the Top of Iowa Conference meet.

Forest City Meet

On Monday, Oct. 12, the Cardinals faced some tough competition at the Forest City meet held on Monday, Oct. 12.  The boys team finished in third place with 70 points.  Osage won the meet with 33 points, followed by Newman Catholic with 67 points.  The girls finished in fourth place with 102 points.  Newman Catholic won the girls meet with 35 points.

“I though that the girls and boys teams both ran great.  They have shown progression throughout the year and they continue to drop their time, which we strive for,” said Coach Jeff Short.

Jacob Meier  and Ezra Marroquin led the boy’s team with a ninth and 10th place finish.  Meier finished in 18:40, while Marroquin clocked an 18:23.  Mason Wirts finished 21st with a time of 18:08, while Andrew Schreur was 22nd with a 19:23.  Rounding out the varsity runners was Parker Schneiders, 28th, 19:00; Derek Anderson, 32nd, 20:01; and Nathan Larson, 37th, 19:27.

Rebekah Larson led the girls team a 13th place finish in 23:08.  Nicole Upmeyer was 17th with a time of 25:10.  Kaylee Hudspeth, Morgan Graham and Hannah Wellik finished in the 23rd, 24th and 25th spots.  Hudspeth ran a 23:07, while Graham clocked a 23:05 and Wellik finished in 24:08.  Emma Whelan and Rachel Sokol also ran varsity.  Whelan finished 33rd with a time of 25:47 and Sokol was 39th with a tim of 24:55.

GHV did not run their top runners in preparation for the Top of Iowa meet later in the week.

Top of Iowa Meet

It was a great day to be a GHV cross country runner on Thursday, Oct. 15, when the team competed at the Top of Iowa Conference Meet held on the NIACC campus.  Both the boys and the girls claimed the West Division championships.  The boys team finished with 17 points, while the girls had 35 points.  The boys also claimed the overall title, while the girls were fifth with 137 points.

GHV’s Chase Smith won the individual title with a time of 16:36.  Smith’s teammates were right behind him, with four runners placing in the top 10.  Reece Smith was second in 16:27, while Logan Dambeck was third in 16:54 and Ray Cataldo was fourth in 17:15.  Rounding out the top 10 was Derek Brown, who ran the race in 17:03, good for eighth place.  Also claiming varsity spots was Austin Siegrist, 16th, with a time of 17:58 and Jacob Meier, 21st, 18:20.

On the girl’s side, Maria Gonzalez also claimed the individual title for the Western Division with a time of 21:19.  Kayla Hudspeth was fifth with a time of 22:46, followed by Nicole Upmeyer who was eighth with a time of 23:22.  Morgan Graham took the final spot in the top 10 with a time of 23:30.  Rounding out the varsity squad was Rebekah Larson, 11, 23:31; Hannah Wellik, 16th, 23:52 and Emma Whelan, 24th, 25:07.

“The girls and boys are both heading to a tough Regional Qualifying Meet on Thursday, Oct. 22, but the success of this past week should motivate them the rest of the season,” said Coach Jeff Short.