Late charge nets Iowa City West's Bailey Nock a cross country state title

FORT DODGE — Though she trailed for much of the race, Bailey Nock decided that even a second-place finish just would not provide a satisfying feeling.

So she made hay in the final mile.

The fourth-ranked Iowa City West junior used a late charge to overtake top-ranked Jessica McKee of Johnston and claimed her first individual state title at the Class 4A girls' cross country state championships Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course.

'At the end, I knew that I just had to give it everything I had,' said Nock, whose finish was clocked at 18:06. 'I knew that points mattered, if I was here in first or in 50th. Points mattered, so just in the end I gave it all I could.'

Nock finished seventh last season and was third as a freshman two years ago. McKee grabbed an early lead that lasted until the final mile. In the end, it was Nock who made the turn and appeared from the clearing with a lead of nearly four seconds.

'I just saw her and I knew that she was right there and I was like, 'I've just got to give everything, no matter if my body is completely dead,'' Nock said. 'I just had to run as hard as I could.'

McKee and freshman sister Brooke McKee placed second and third, respectively, and helped Johnston claim the team title with an all-time low score of 26 points. Dubuque Hempstead was a distant second (91 points).

Nock's Iowa City West teammate Gabby Skopec – who entered the meet ranked second in 4A – placed fourth overall in 18:38.

'She helped me so much this season,' Nock said. 'I am so thankful and glad that I had a teammate like her because she really pushed me this season and she really showed me how it is. She won six in a row, so I learned a lot from her.'

Cedar Rapids Kennedy freshman Ella Popenhagen closed a strong varsity debut with a sixth-place finish in 18:52. Iowa City High senior Mary Arch placed 10th in 18:59 for the third-place Little Hawks (121 points).

West Des Moines Dowling won its sixth boys' team title and fourth in the last six years with 100 points, just two better than runner-up Pleasant Valley.

The Cedar Rapids Prairie boys finished third for the second year in a row (140 points). Without the star power that helped the Hawks win the 2013 title and place second a year later, Prairie utilized a solid, consistent core of performers for its fourth top-3 finish in a row.

'That did make this team a little different than the past few teams we've had,' Prairie Coach Bill Schwarz said. 'We had a fantastic pack led by Cam Steffens, he's been so steady all year. The rest of them, training runs and races all year long. It's been the pack. We were hoping for a top-five and to come out with a trophy, we're just ecstatic.'

Iowa City West finished fifth (163) in the boys' team standings, led by a seventh-place individual performance from senior Ali Ali (16:00).

Cedar Rapids Washington was seventh overall (192 points), while Linn-Mar senior Ryan Murphy placed fifth as an individual in 15:54 for the eighth-place Lions (209 points).

CLASS 4A GIRLS

Teams —

1. Johnston 26, 2. Dubuque Hempstead 91, 3. Iowa City High 121, 4. Cedar Falls 137, 5. Iowa City West 166, 6. WDM Dowling 199, 7. Waukee 211, 8. Ankeny Centennial 214, 9. Dubuque Senior 236, 10. Pleasant Valley 237, 11. North Scott 246, 12. Ames 267, 13. Linn-Mar 305, 14. Muscatine 306, 15. Ankeny 392

Individuals —

1. Bailey Nock (ICW), 18:06; 2. Jessica McKee (John), 18:10; 3. Brooke McKee (John), 18:30; 4. Gabby Skopec (ICW), 18:38; 5. Emily Poss (John), 18:50; 6. Ella Popenhagen (CRK), 18:52; 7. Paige Horner (John), 18:54; 8. Trinity Borland (Bett), 18:55; 9. Kylie Latham (Ott), 18:58; 10. Mary Arch (ICH), 18:59; 11. Helen Gould (WDMV), 19:00; 12. Mackenzie Gaherty (DS), 19:00; 13. Presley Case (NS), 19:02; 14. Josie Hovey (John), 19:02; 15. Ally Gallagher (Bett), 19:03

3. Iowa City High (121):

7. Mary Arch 18:59, 15. Emily Bywater 19:15, 28. Bridget Brown 19:33, 34. Kinsee Brands 19:41, 37. Annie Rummelhart 19:46

5. Iowa City West (166):

1. Bailey Nock 18:06, 4. Gabby Skopec 18:38, 46. Claire Ronnebaum 19:58, 49. Deniz Ince 20:00, 66. Jessie Skopec 20:23

13. Linn-Mar (305):

17. Maddie Mann 19:23, 57. Rachel Bohnenkamp 20:10, 59. Maddie Genskow 20:12, 80. Abby Van Rheenen 20:46, 92. Jaclyn Simons 21:04

CLASS 4A BOYS

Teams —

1. WDM Dowling 100, 2. Pleasant Valley 102, 3. C.R. Prairie 140, 4. WDM Valley 147, 5. Iowa City West 163, 6. Johnston 190, 7. C.R. Washington 192, 8. Linn-Mar 209, 9. Iowa City High 211, 10. Dubuque Hempstead 223, 11. Waukee 231, 12. Indianola 249, 13. Ankeny 259, 14. Dubuque Senior 307, 15. Cedar Falls 320

Individuals —

1. Patrick Bose (Johnsoton), 15:37; 2. Sam Schillinger (Cedar Falls), 15:43; 3. Matthew Carmody (WDM Dowling), 15:47; 4. Camden Cox (Ankeny Centennial) 15:51; 5. Ryan Murphy (Linn-Mar), 15:54; 6. Moise Habineza (WDM Valley), 15:57; 7. Ali Ali (ICW), 16:00; 8. Tim Sindt (Ankeny), 16:00; 9. Matt Fraizer (WDM Dowling), 16:01; 10. Nicholas Yanek (Pleasant Valley), 16:01; 11. Kolby Greiner (ICW), 16:05; 12. Jackson Lewis (Waukee), 16:08; 13. Trevor Kirk (WDM Valley), 16:09; 14. Alex Bautista (Muscatine), 16:09; 15. Jack Fink (WDM Dowling), 16:10

3. C.R. Prairie (140):

18. Cam Steffens 16:22, 27. Robert Laue 16:36, 29. Max Laue 16:38, 32. Elijah Vlasek 16:39, 34. Luke Huedepohl 16:40,

5. Iowa City West (163):

6. Ali 16:00, 10. Kolby Greiner 16:05, 24. Andrew Murley 16:29, 55. Ethan Goers 17:00, 68. Ethan Trepka 17:12,

7. C.R. Washington (192):

19. Sam McDermott 16:23, 21. Max Locher 16:24, 31. Paul Schneidermann 16:39, 60. Lewis Kleman 17:03, 61. Patrick Gorman 17:04

8. Linn-Mar (209):

4. Murphy 15:54, 14. Dalton Gosch 16:15, 46. Colin Johnston 16:53, 57. Johnny Seitz 17:01, 88. Brycen Snell 17:36

9. Iowa City High (211):

20. Matthew Dodge 16:23, 28. Michael Berg 16:38, 49. Robbie Strange 16:56, 56. Quenton Max 17:00, 58. Lucas Firmstone 17:02

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