Marion boys, Monticello girls rule at North Linn

TROY MILLS - The Marion Indians were late-race movers in this early-morning race.

'That's kind of our philosophy,” said senior Colton Forster. 'We take the first mile a lttle slow, move up in the second mile, then rely on our guts in the third mile.”

Marion edged Wamac Conference rival Center Point-Urbana, 81-85, for the boys championship at the North Linn Invitational cross country meet on a frosty Saturday morning.

The Indians and the Stormin' Pointers are two of the best teams in Class 3A (CPU is rated fourth, Marion sixth), and Saturday's meet is the first in a row of four likely late-season encounters between them.

They are expected to vie for the Wamac title (along with No. 3 Mount Vernon-Lisbon) Thursday at Iowa City, then that trio will battle again the following week at districts at Solon and perhaps again at state Nov. 1 at Fort Dodge.

'Our goal is to win every meet from here on out,” Forster said. 'It's going to be a challenge, but that's our goal.”

The Indians are proof that a cross country race can be a race of patience. They don't blaze out off the starting line, choosing instead to move steadily forward as the competition unfolds.

Forster was third Saturday. Freshmen Jeremy Fopma and Myles Bach finished seventh and 11th.

Center Point-Urbana's Josh Yeager asserted himself early, built a comfortable lead and held it throughout. Yeager won the individual crown in 15:50, seven seconds ahead of Mount Pleasant's Logan Murray. Forster finished in 16:26.

'I was a little sore,” Yeager said. 'We had a hard, long run a couple days ago. I wanted to get out to the lead and (maintain) it. It worked pretty well.”

Long a boys cross country powerhouse, Monticello now has a girls program to match it. With five freshmen on their varsity squad, the Panthers took top honors with 80 points. Williamsburg was second with 96.

'They're coming around,” said Monticello Coach Dan Sauser. '(Freshmen) Paige (Holub) and Taylor (McDonald) are running as well as any twosome in 2A.”

Holub and McDonald were third and eighth, respectively, and four other Panthers joined them in the top 30.

'If we can get our gap from 1 to 6 under 45 seconds, we're going to be competitive with any team out there,” Sauser said.

The girls course was about 90 meters short, triggering some extremely fast times. Iowa City Regina's Adriana Kammerer won in 14:08, 10 seconds in front of Haley Schroeder of Elkader Central.

'I really wanted to run a fast race today,” Kammerer said. 'It was pretty flat, and I used that to my advantage. I did a workout of mile repeats the other day, and I channeled that into my race.”

It was 35 degrees as the meet began Saturday, but the absence of wind made the conditions manageable.

'It really wasn't that bad,” Kammerer said.

NORTH LINN INVITATIONAL

At Troy Mills

GIRLS RESULTS

Teams - 1. Monticello 80, 2. Williamsburg 96, 3. Cascade 123, 4. Iowa City Regina 141, 5. Vinton-Shellsburg 167, 6. Solon 176, 7. Elkader Central 178, 8. Mid-Prairie 202, 9. South Winneshiek 203, 10. Mount Pleasant 255, 11. Marion 267, 12. Starmont 280, 13. North Linn 309, 14. Center Point-Urbana 314, 15. Edgewood-Colesburg 413, 16. Bellevue Marquette 428, 17. Maquoketa Valley 518, 18. Springville-Central City 528.

Individuals - 1. Adriana Kammerer (ICR), 14:08; 2. Haley Schroeder (ElkC), 14:18; 3. Paige Holub (Monti), 14:19; 4. Shelby Reicks (Turkey Valley), 14:20; 5. Julie Hollensbe (Wmsbg), 14:23; 6. Anna Hostetler (MidP), 14:26; 7. Lily Horst (VS), 14:27; 8. Taylor McDonald (Monti), 14:29; 9. Madison Bach (Mar), 14:34; 10. Kylie Kelchen (Casc), 14:37.

Regina - 1. Kammerer, 15. Jacqueline Rapp, 15:02; 40. Christina Hora, 15:46; 43. Elizabeth Klesnar, 15:50; 53. Sara Burlage, 15:59.

Marion - 9. Bach, 50. Andrea Ertz, 15:57; 58. Skylar Dede, 16:14; 69. Sam Livingston, 16:25; 101. Ellie Conzett, 17:12.

BOYS RESULTS

Teams - 1. Marion 81, 2. Center Point-Urbana 85, 3. Monticello 107, 4. Vinton-Shellsburg 134, 5. Williamsburg 134, 6. Mid-Prairie 164, 7. Mount Pleasant 181, 8. Iowa City Regina 213, 9. Bellevue Marquette 277, 10. Cascade 285, 11. Solon 296, 12. Turkey Valley 298, 13. Elkader Central 311, 14. Postville 376, 15. Tipton 396, 16. Starmont 401, 17. Edgewood-Colesburg 470, 18. Independence 523, 19. Maquoketa Valley 567.

Individuals - 1. Josh Yeager (CPU), 15:50; 2. Logan Murray (MtP), 15:57; 3. Colton Forster (Mar), 16:26; 4. Matt Manternach (Monti), 16:29; 5. Michael Marshall (CPU), 16:31; 6. Ryan Izer (TV), 16:32; 7. Jeremy Fopma (Mar), 16:33; 8. Preston Kauder (Casc), 16:34; 9. Jared Draper (MidP), 16:37; 10. Jordan Loes (Monti), 16:56.

Marion - 3. Forester, 7. Fopma, 11. Myles Bach, 17:06; 21. Jacob Manderscheid, 17:27; 39. Austin Yirkovsky, 17:55.

Regina - 18. Emilio Tovar, 17:18; 37. Nate Green, 17:54; 42. T.J. Schott, 17:57; 46. Ben Felderman, 18:03; 70. Nick Schnoeblen, 18:33.

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