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It’s a City High sweep at Noelridge
Sep. 24, 2015 9:42 pm, Updated: Sep. 24, 2015 11:39 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS - The back of Mary Arch's left hand revealed a series of Bible verses.
She's running for her God. She's running for her coach. And Thursday afternoon, she ran the time of her life.
The junior from Iowa City High bested her previous 5,000-meter career standard by 20 seconds, winning the girls' race at the Eastern Iowa Classic cross country meet in 18:35 at Noelridge Park.
'I just want to run to praise God; he gives me strength,” Arch said after City High swept the team titles. 'And I'm running for Coach (Tom) Mittman. He means a lot to me.”
Mittman, a longtime fixture for City High girls' cross country and track, has been diagnosed with lymphoma and is undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
Beneath Arch's list of Bible verses - her favorite is Isaiah 41:10 - on her hand was the figure '18:55,” her previous career-best.
She shattered it Thursday.
Arch ran to a convincing lead immediately and held it throughout. Cedar Rapids Washington's Reagan Gorman was second in 18:50.
'The whole time, I thought (Gorman) was right behind me,” said Arch, ranked 11th in Class 4A. 'I knew I just couldn't let her catch me.”
City High's girls won convincingly, placing all five of their scorers in the top 10 and compiling 27 points. Cedar Rapids Prairie was second with 66.
The boys' race was much closer. The Little Hawks edged Waterloo West, 32-43, behind Matthew Dodge's individual crown.
Dodge, a junior, finished in 16:18. Cedar Rapids Xavier's Steven Culpepper was next in 16:25.
'I wanted to get out and lead from the beginning,” Dodge said. 'I wanted to really push that second mile, then kick as hard as I could at the end.
'My previous best was 16:33, so this was a nice progression, and us winning the team title like this gives us the confidence to go forward. We're trying to move up in the rankings, and this will help.”
Ry Threkeld-Wiegand, Tom McDowell and Michael Taylor ran 6-7-8 for the City High boys. Anna Lindower, Emily Bywater and Mollie Hansen were third, sixth and seventh for the girls.
Hannah Fusselman of Cedar Rapids Kennedy was the fourth girl; Xavier's Jenny Dickes was fifth.
EASTERN IOWA CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC
At Noelridge Park
Girls Results
Teams - 1. Iowa City High 27, 2. C.R. Prairie 66, 3. C.R. Washington 92, 4. C.R. Xavier 108, 5. C.R. Kennedy 110, 6. Iowa City Regina 137, 7. Waterloo West 164.
Individuals - 1. Mary Arch (ICH), 18:35; 2. Reagan Gorman (CRW), 18:50; 3. Anna Lindower (ICH), 19:32; 4. Hannah Fusselman (CRK), 19:37; 5. Jenny Dickes (CRX), 19:45.
City High - 1. Arch, 3. Lindower, 6. Emily Bywater, 19:52; 7. Mollie Hansen, 20:05; 10. Aly Hecker, 20:38.
Prairie - 9. Alissa Neubauer, 20:27; 11. Cayla Renwick, 20:41; 14. Victoria Enyart, 21:03; 15. Avery Henderson, 21:10; 17. Eady Forrest, 21:26.
Washington - 2. Gorman, 8. Sarah Altemeier, 20:18; 20. Brett Visser, 21:39; 22. Serena Eck, 21:41; 40. Mekela Spence, 23:03.
Xavier - 5. Dickes, 19:45; 18. Megan Lenss, 21:30; 27. Emiko Coffey, 21:46; 28. Kiana Stanek, 21:54; 30. Annie Sigmon, 22:09.
Kennedy - 4. Fusselman, 23. Emily Manders, 21:43; 24. Hannah Ratzer, 21:45; 26. Ali Meyer, 21:46; 33. Hannah Peterson, 22:17.
Regina - 12. Molly Blondin, 20:58; 21. Mary Graff, 21:39; 32. Natalie Shank, 22:14; 34. Sara Brulage, 22:19; 38. Elizabeth Klesner, 22:27.
Boys Results
Teams - 1. Iowa City High 32, 2. Waterloo West 43, 3. C.R. Xavier 88, 4. C.R. Kennedy 95, 5. Iowa City Regina 128, 6. C.R. Washington 148.
Individuals - 1. Matthew Dodge (ICH), 16:18; 2. Steven Culpepper (CRX), 16:25; 3. Clayton Streed (WW), 16:41; 4. Spencer Odekirk (WW), 16:43; 5. Cody Samuelson (WW), 16:49.
City High - 1. Dodge, 6. Ry Threkeld-Wiegand, 16:51; 7. Tom McDowell, 16:51; 8. Michael Taylor, 16:54; 10. Russel Martin, 17:04.
Xavier - 2. Culpepper, 9. Jonathan Francois, 16:57; 22. Nicholas Lyon, 17:43; 26. John Pape, 18:01; 29. Nolan Pithan, 18:14.
Kennedy - 14. Andrew Solsrud, 17:15; 15. Derek Girling, 17:16; 20. Jackson Foley, 17:37; 21. Jacob Ciabatti, 17:39; 25. Jackson Middlekauff, 17:58.
Regina - 12. Emilio Tovar, 17:15; 17. Nathan Meyer, 17:25; 27. Nate Green, 18:08; 33. Nick Schnoeblen, 18:26; 39. Nicholas Yowell, 20:14.
Washington - 19. Khory Nobles, 17:34; 28. Ian Klopfenstein, 18:11; 32. Josh Sauer, 18:25; 34. Josiah Lydon, 18:31; 35. Kaleb Kleman, 18:34.
l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com
Iowa City High's Mary Arch runs the final stretch of the Eastern Iowa Invitational cross country meet at Noelridge Park on Thursday. Arch won in 18:35. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)
Iowa City High's Anna Lindower (from left), Cedar Rapids Washington's Reagan Gorman, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Hannah Fusselman run together during the Eastern Iowa Invitational cross country meet at Noelridge Park on Thursday. Gorman placed second in 18:50, Lindower third at 19:32, and Fusselman fourth at 19:37. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)
Iowa City High's Matthew Dodge is pumped up as he crosses the finish line during the Eastern Iowa Invitational cross country meet at Noelridge Park on Thursday. Dodge won in 16:18. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)
Cedar Rapids Xavier's Steven Culpepper pushes to the finish line during the Eastern Iowa Invitational cross country meet at Noelridge Park on Thursday. Culpepper placed second in 16:25. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)
Cedar Rapids Washington junior Alex Karamitros (from left) and senior Ryan Miller wear shark costumes and cheer on runners during the Eastern Iowa Invitational cross country meet at Noelridge Park on Thursday. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)
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