CPU boys claim first Wamac cross country championship

 CENTER POINT — Not too long ago, the Center Point-Urbana boys cross country team was about as far from a conference championship as a program could get.

As recently as four years ago, Coach Lew Paine had instituted what he called a 'Varsity Standard' — a competitive time threshold which was the line for whether or not a runner deserved to be in the varsity race — and his runners weren't meeting it, forcing CPU to go without a varsity squad for several meets.

Fast forward to Thursday, when the Stormin' Pointers not only fielded a full team, but one that claimed its first-ever WaMaC Conference cross country championship.

'In our gymnasium, there's banners that list the years of conference championships, and of course ours was blank. It won't be blank anymore, and that's a pretty big deal, I think,' Paine said. 'More than anything, I'm happy for the boys. It's something they can look at and say, 'Hey, I was a part of that.' I'm very proud. Very proud. I started to get teared up when I was talking to them before they even ran.'

CPU won the meet by 10 team points ahead of Vinton-Shellsburg, Mount Vernon-Lisbon and Marion, which finished fourth, and was paced by the overall winner, Josh Yeager.

Yeager, who ran the 3.1 mile course in 16:24, was obviously happy for himself, but went out of his way to heap praise on his teammates and remark at how far the program had come.

'We've come a long way since last year. A lot more dedication, a lot of focus,' Yeager said. 'I've been told, that over the years — back when I was in eighth grade — half the year we didn't even have a varsity. So to come that far really amazes me. It's great.'

Paine said what's brought the Stormin' Pointers to this level of success is a change in commitment from the runners.

Building from the ground up takes time, but, Paine said, things got better because of having the right kids on the team and their willingness to work harder.

'Through the commitment, and people changing their commitments and summer running, the program got stronger,' Paine said. 'With the summer running, a few years ago we'd have one or two kids show up. This year on certain days we'd have 10 or 12. And even junior high kids would show up. That's what causes the big successes and overall champions.'

Though Paine and his runners were thrilled with the program's first conference championship, it's just one of many goals they've laid out for themselves.

After a sixth place overall finish in Class 2A at the 2012 state meet, the boys have their eyes set on Fort Dodge again this season. Yeager said the conference win 'really boosts our confidence,' and that 'after a day like this, I think we're that much closer.'

But no matter how new CPU might be to the cross country party, the Stormin' Pointers definitely aren't scared.

'Have you ever seen the movie, 'Hoosiers'? They talk about measuring the (height of the) rim, it's the same size. Well, the course is the same length,' Paine said. 'Guys don't get rattled that much. Running is pretty simple, you put one foot in front of the other. People can psyche themselves out in big stages like that, but my guys are pretty mentally strong. We did it last year as a team (in 2A), and most of the team ran their best races at state. If we do what we're supposed to do, we should be in Fort Dodge again, and hopefully when we do that we'll be ready.

'In the girls' race, Vinton-Shellsburg's Lily Horst once again dominated, en route to yet another individual race win, finishing in 15:01, ahead of teammate Bristi Gerber. Gerber finished in 15:29, just ahead of Marion's Madison Bach, who ran a 15:31.Mount Vernon-Lisbon took the girls' team title with 66 points, led by junior Shaw McEnany, who finished sixth overall in 15:39. Solon was second, with 84, and Vinton-Shellsburg third with 103.

 WAMAC CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Center Point 

GIRLS RESULTS

Teams – 1. Mount Vernon-Lisbon - 662. Solon - 843. Vinton-Shellsburg - 1034. Williamsburg - 1155. Western Dubuque - 1316. West Delaware - 1707. Central Clinton-DeWitt - 2078. Center Point-Urbana - 2479. Benton Community - 24910. Marion - 24911. Anamosa - 29312. Clear Creek-Amana - 33013. Maquoketa - 35014. Independence - 38115. Beckman Catholic - 412 

Individuals – 1. Lily Horst, so., Vinton-Shellsburg - 15:012. Bristi Gerber, so., Vinton-Shellsburg - 15:293. Madison Bach, so., Marion - 15:314. Alex Smith, jr., Solon - 15:395. Cassie Kenney, fr., Vinton-Shellsburg - 15:396. Shaw McEnany, jr., Mount Vernon-Lisbon - 15:397. Haley Corkin, fr., Mount Vernon-Lisbon - 15:438. Katie Folkerts, jr., Solon - 15:449. Tavia Hansen, sr., Solon - 15:4610. Bailey Sams, jr., Anamosa - 15:51

BOYS RESULTS

Teams – 1. Center Point-Urbana - 832. Vinton-Shellsburg - 933. Mount Vernon-Lisbon - 954. Marion - 1095. Clear Creek-Amana - 1216. Solon - 1267. Williamsburg - 1438. Western Dubuque - 1569. Benton Community - 25510. West Delaware - 25611. Central Clinton-DeWitt - 25812. Maquoketa  - 33913. Independence - 39114. Beckman Catholic - 453 

Individuals – 1. Josh Yeager, jr., Center Point-Urbana - 16:242. Kyle Marti, sr., Central Clinton-DeWitt - 16:303. Colton Forster, jr., Marion - 16:354. Michael Marshall, jr., Center Point-Urbana - 16:435. Jack Murray, sr., Clear Creek-Amana - 16:496. Cullen Turner, sr., Williamsburg - 16:497. Ty Appleget, jr., Solon - 16:518. Jordan Evans, jr., Vinton-Shellsburg - 17:029. Patrick McGill, sr., Solon - 17:0610. Alex Behnke, jr., Western Dubuque - 17:08