Mount Vernon-Lisbon girls, Iowa City West boys rule at Williamsburg cross country Invite

WILLIAMSBURG — Laura Swart’s teachers knew.

“All of my teachers know I’m a runner,” said the junior from Mount Vernon High School. “They were saying, ‘I bet you’re loving this (weather).’”

The heat broke Tuesday and was replaced by a runner’s nirvana -- mid-60s and sprinkles.

Last week’s heat-related cancellations were replaced by favorable conditions. Swart, and her cross country teammates from Mount Vernon-Lisbon, were ready.

“I knew I had to pick up my distance over the summer,” said Swart, a fine middle-distance runner in the spring. “I think I started the race like it was an 800.”

Swart got out fast and hung on to win the girls’ individual title at Tuesday’s Williamsburg Invitational in 20 minutes, 25 seconds. That headlined a 1-3-8-10 attack that allowed the Mustangs to win the team title, convincingly and a bit surprisingly.

Mount Vernon-Lisbon registered 39 points. Host Williamsburg was second with 75.

Iowa City West’s boys were a fairly late addition to the field after their meet Saturday at Cedar Rapids Prairie was “heated out.” Alex McKane’s individual title — he won by 58 seconds — led the Trojans to the team crown.

West tallied 55 points; Mount Vernon-Lisbon (71) and Williamsburg (93) were next.

“We really wanted to get a 5K under our belts before Saturday (the Trojans run at Pleasant Valley),” McKane said. “I’m pretty happy with it, but as a team, we have some things to fix.”

McKane was clocked in 16:15; Davis County’s Patrick DeRonde was the runner-up at 17:13, then West’s Seth Cheney finished third in 17:16.

“It’s a good starting point,” McKane said. “I’d like to break the school record and some course records this year.”

Asher Overholt added a 10th-place finish to West’s winning effort.

Like McKane, Swart built a sizable early lead and won by 12 seconds over runner-up Greenlee Smock of Lynnville-Sully.

“I was hoping somebody was going to go out fast, but nobody did,” Swart said. “So I just decided to go for it.”

Mount Vernon-Lisbon’s Anna Hoffman was third, Emrie Johnson was eighth and Abbie Moss was 10th. Johnson and Moss are freshmen.

WILLIAMSBURG CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL

Girls Results

Teams -- 1. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 39, 2. Williamsburg 75, 3. Newton 107, 4. Davis County 113, 5. Benton Community 125, 6. Oskaloosa 143, 7. Montezuma 144, 8. Monroe PCM 189, 9. Lynnville-Sully 204, 10. Vinton-Shellsburg 219.

Individuals -- 1. Laura Swart (MVL), 20:25; 2. Greenlee Smock (LS), 20:37; 3. Anna Hoffman (MVL), 20:47; 4. Jaida Lyons (BC), 20:57; 5. Ruth Jennings (Wmsbg), 21:03; 6. Alyssa Shannon (Newton), 21:27; 7. Ashley Flansburg (Springville), 21:52; 8. Emrie Johnson (MVL), 22:00; 9. Paige Steenhoek (PCM), 22:08; 10. Abbie Moss (MVL), 22:10.

Boys Results

Teams -- 1. Iowa City West 55, 2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 71, 3. Williamsburg 93, 4. Newton 114, 5. Oskaloosa 148, 6. South Tama 153, 7. Davis County 214, 8. Benton Community 218, 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 225, 10. Lynnville-Sully 269, 11. Isaac Newton Christian Academy 311, 12. Alburnett 323, 13. Montezuma 360.

Individuals -- 1. Alex McKane (ICW), 16:15; 2. Patrick DeRonde (Osky), 17:13; 3. Seth Cheney (ICW), 17:16; 4. Carson Shively (DC), 17:32; 5. Harrison Garber (Wmsbg), 17:43; 6. Treycen Garton (Newton), 17:45; 7. Jackson Maynard (Newton), 17:55; 8. Tommy Tyynismaa (STC), 17:55; 9. James Brant (STC), 17:58; 10. Asher Overholt (ICW), 17:58.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com