A striking debut for Solon's Benzing (VIDEO)

CEDAR RAPIDS -- She arrived with no experience and no strategy.But Lauren Benzing looked everything like a seasoned runner who knew exactly what she doing. The sophomore from Solon High School not only won the individual girls' championship at the Prairie Invitational cross country meet Saturday morning, she did it by an astonishing 31 seconds."I just told myself, it's my first meet, I'm going to go out and have fun," said Benzing, who played volleyball last fall and had never run in a cross country competition in her life. "I felt good and strong. I didn't feel tired at all."Benzing's performance was a shocker. The team races were not.Cedar Rapids Prairie's boys and Iowa City West's girls lived up to their Class 4A No. 1 hype. Prairie easily defended its home turf, scoring 35 points and winning by 37.Individual champion Matt Stocker was one of four Hawks that finished in the top nine."We were supposed to go out in a pack, but some of us started pushing the pace," Stocker said. "But it turned out OK."Stocker took the lead early and finished in 16:24, 22 seconds ahead of Linn-Mar's Chase Grabau. Kyle Stocker, Matt's twin, was third, followed by Jordan Burns (eighth) and Jacob Aune (ninth).The Women of Troy compiled 41 points to outduel runner-up Cedar Falls (57). Brett Guerra's runner-up finish led West's 2-6-7-8 cavalry that also featured Molly Leveille, Taylor Fehlberg and Pombie Silverman.But the story of the day was Benzing, who came with no experience and no strategy. She left with a brief, but impressive, resume."My goal was to be in the top 10," she said after finishing in 15:10. "I went out for track last spring, and I realized how much I love running."This meet had traditionally been held on a weekday afternoon during the first week of school and was notorious for participants collapsing to heat exhaustion. Hence, the move to a Saturday morning."I'm glad they didn't have to bring out the fire department this year," Stocker said.GIRLS RESULTS

Teams -- 1. Iowa City West 41, 2. Cedar Falls 57, 3. Linn-Mar 65, 4. C.R. Washington 98, 5. Solon 136, 6. C.R. Kennedy 168, 7. C.R. Prairie 181, 8. C.R. Xavier 194, 9. Monticello 281, 10. Marion 297, 11. Anamosa 298.

Individuals -- 1. Lauren Benzing (Sol), 15:10; 2. Brett Guerra (ICW), 15:41; 3. Brooklyn Kascel (LM), 15:42; 4. Allison Gregg (CF), 15:42; 5. Hannah Savage (CF), 15:48; 6. Molly Leveille (ICW), 16:01; 7. Taylor Fehlberg (ICW), 16:02; 8. Pombie Silverman (ICW), 16:09; 9. Morgan Uridil (LM), 16:10; 10. Kristin Rogers (CRW), 16:11.

BOYS RESULTS

Teams -- 1. C.R. Prairie 35, 2. Iowa City West 72, 3. Linn-Mar 102, 4. Marion 109, 5. Monticello 143, 6. C.R. Washington 147, 7. C.R. Kennedy 160, 8. C.R. Xavier 200, 9. Solon 213, 10. Anamosa 274.

Individuals -- 1. Matt Stocker (CRP), 16:24; 2. Chase Grabau (LM), 16:46; 3. Kyle Stocker (CRP), 16:51; 4. Bailey Wetherell (ICW), 16:58; 5. Robert Hogg (CRW), 16:59; 6. Isaac Jensen (ICW), 17:05; 7. Lukas Mees (Mar), 17:15; 8. Jordan Burns (CRP), 17:18; 9. Jacob Aune (CRP), 17:19; 10. Brenice Ndayizeye (CRW), 17:21.