Reigning-champion Tipton boys return to state cross country meet

MONTICELLO — For a defending state champion, the Tipton Tigers feel a bit short-changed.

“I think the people that do the state rankings (for the Iowa Association of Track Coaches) are overlooking us a little bit,” sophomore Clay Bohlmann said. “We just have to show up and do our jobs.”

They were done Thursday, and done quite well.

Ranked fourth in Class 2A, the Tigers topped No. 2 Waukon to win the boys’ title at a state-qualifying meet at Monticello High School.

The Tigers accumulated 50 points; Waukon scored 58. Mediapolis edged Monticello for the third qualifying spot, 71-76.

“Individually, I’m not very happy,” Bohlmann said. “(Mediapolis’ Solomon Zaugg) outworked me. He ran better than I did, and there’s no excuse for it.

“But as a team, I’m a lot more happy. I feel like we’re ready (for state). There’s definitely work to be done, but we’re coming to play.”

The 2A and 1A state championships are next Friday at Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge.

Zaugg pushed past Bohlmann shortly after the 1 1/2-mile mark and won going away, in 16:09. Bohlmann was second, 19 seconds later.

Ty Nichols, Maxson Fogg and Caleb Bohlmann were fifth, 10th and 11th for Tipton.

Nathan O’Neill led a Waukon pack that ran 7-9-13-14-15.

“We played a game that if there was a black shirt and orange shorts ahead of us, we had to get ahead of them,” Bohlmann said.

In the girls’ race, top-ranked Monticello had its hands full with Tipton and Dyersville Beckman.

The Panthers tallied 56 points; the Tigers and Blazers scored 59 apiece. All three advanced comfortably.

“This isn’t at all what we had in mind,” said Emma Althoff, the Panthers’ leader, placing sixth. “We need to pick up the pieces before state. We didn’t run the times or the places we wanted to run today.”

Sumner-Fredericksburg’s Hillary Trainor was the girls’ individual champion, in 18:59. Jesup’s Mackenzie Wilson (19:08) and Clare Wright (19:33) ran 2-3.

Then it was Beckman’s Julia Mertz, who has helped in the Blazers’ swift rise the past two seasons.

"I gained 10 pounds since last season, and I’m a lot stronger,“ she said. ”I’d never been good at running, at all. The first mile, I stay back, then start to pull back up.

“I think people are going to be surprised by us at state.”

Althoff, Leah Koehler and Marisa Kehoe ran 6-7-8 for Monticello.

“We’ve got to focus more on mental toughness,” Althoff said. “We need to fight back after somebody passes us. I know I do.”

Alivia Edens led Tipton’s bid with a fifth-place finish, and the Tigers’ top five runners all finished in the top 18.

Girls Results

Teams (top 3 qualify) — 1. Monticello 56, 2. Tipton 59, 3. Dyersville Beckman 59, 4. Sumner-Fredericksburg 108, 5. Jesup 108, 6. Northeast 145, 7. Waukon 164, 8. Mediapolis 241, 9. Louisa-Muscatine 248.

Individual state qualifiers — 1. Hillary Trainer (S-F), 18:59; 2. Mackenzie Wilson (Jesup), 19:08; 3. Clare Wright (Jesup), 19:33; 4. Julia Mertz (Beckman), 19:38; 5. Alivia Edens (Tipton), 19:49; 6. Emma Althoff (Monti), 19:57; 7. Audra Coss (Wilton), 20:04; 8. Leah Koehler (Monti), 20:07; 9. Marisa Kehoe (Monti), 20:08; 10. Madelyn Reiter (Beckman), 20:11; 11. Cenady Soenksen (NE), 20:18; 12. Abby Knepper (Beckman), 20:26; 13. Laura Owen (Tipton), 20:28; 14. Gretchyn Fairlie (Camanche), 20:42; 15. Madison Hellman (Waterloo Columbus), 20:52.

Boys Results

Teams (top 3 qualify) — 1. Tipton 50, Waukon 58, 3. Mediapolis 71, 4. Monticello 76, 5. Jesup 159, 6. Northeast 190, 7. Waterloo Columbus 200, 8. Dyersville Beckman 225, 9. Louisa-Muscatine 236, 10. Wilton 259, 11. Sumner-Fredericksburg 283, 12. Camanche 324.

Individual state qualifiers — 1. Solomon Zaugg (Mepo), 16:09; 2. Clay Bohlmann (Tipton), 16:28; 3. Owen Schmidgall (Mepo), 16:48; 4. Chesney Capron (Monti), 16:50; 5. Ty Nichols (Tipton), 16:54; 6. Jeff Campbell (Mepo), 17:10; 7. Nathan O’Neill (Waukon), 17:14; 8. Nathan Pint (Jesup), 17:14; 9. Connor Cahoon (Waukon), 17:14; 10. Maxson Fogg (Tipton), 17:14; 11. Caleb Bohlmann (Tipton), 17:15; 12. Logan Rosas (Mepo), 17:15; 13. Isaac Reisinger (Waukon), 17:17; 14. Wyatt Gulla (Waukon), 17:26; 15. Skylar Dugan (Waukon), 17:26.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com