12 years later, Iowa City Regina returns to the summit in 1A boys’ cross country

FORT DODGE — Chad Swope called them “jaw-dropping moments,” and they happened at practice last year.

“I challenged them a lot. I worked them hard,” said Swope, cross country coach at Iowa City Regina.

“This year, they accepted it a lot more. Every challenge they got, they accepted it.”

And this year, it was the Regals that opened some eyes.

A former dynasty in boys’ cross country, Regina struck gold Saturday morning, for the first time in 12 years.

Led by sixth-place finisher Aidan O’Neil, the Regals handily won the Class 1A boys’ title. They compiled 102 points to unseat last year’s champion, Guthrie Center ACGC (126 points). Woodbine was third with 132.

“I’ll take a team title over an individual title every day of the week,” said O’Neil, a junior. “Next year, I’m going to push for an individual title. But today, I’m just going to celebrate this with the guys.”

Regina stockpiled eight championships between 1993 and 2010 under the late Bob Brown, then Swope. The latter stepped away from coaching for a while, then returned.

“When you’ve got a coach with experience like him, it’s just a matter of buying in,” O’Neil said. “When most teams were tapering, right after the district meet, we had a day when we ran six hard 800s.”

Senior twins Dan Maley and Joe Maley were 29th and 32nd to complement O’Neil’s top-10 finish.

Woodbine junior Landon Bendgen was the individual champion, escaping the lead pack shortly before the 2-mile mark. He won by 15 seconds, in 15:58.

Calamus-Wheatland sophomore Noelle Steines repeated as the girls’ champion, outkicking Sibley-Ocheyedan’s Madison Brouwer and finishing in 18:39. Brouwer came across in 18:42.

An accomplished baton twirler, Steines suffered a dislocated kneecap Aug. 1 during a twirling practice. Saturday’s race was only her fourth of the year, and she nailed it.

“My leg was stuck out of place for three hours, and it was more pain than I’ve ever had in running,” Steines said. “At first, the doctor told me it would be three months before I could be cleared, and I started bawling.

“He asked what I did, and I said I was a cross country runner. He said I could be ready to start running again in three weeks.”

A sixth-place finisher last year, North Linn’s Meghan Wheatley settled for eighth Friday.

“My place, my time (19:26) ... it wasn’t what I wanted,” Wheatley said. “The start was really fast. I got boxed in. It took a lot of energy just to get up to the front pack.”

Earlham won the girls’ title with 101 points. Last year’s champion, South Winneshiek was second Friday with 116, followed by Sibley-Ocheyedan (151).

North Linn was eighth.

MFL MarMac’s Jacob Schellhorn was ninth in the boys’ race.

Class 1A Girls Results

Teams — 1. Earlham 101, 2. South Winneshiek 116, 3. Sibley-Ocheyedan 151, 4. Logan-Magnolia 151, 5. Hudson 176, 6. Alta-Aurelia 178, 7. Fort Dodge St. Edmond 196, 8. North Linn 215, 9. Pekin 245, 10. Madrid 246, 11. IKM-Manning 254, 12. Woodbine 260, 13. Iowa City Regina 268, 14. Cascade 269, 15. North Iowa 285, 16. North Tama 337.

Individuals — 1. Noelle Steines (Calamus-Wheatland), 18:39; 2. Madison Brouwer (Sibley-Ocheyedan), 18:42; 3. Nora Peterson (Alta-Aurelia), 19:02; 4. Maddy Childs (Grand View Christian), 19:06; 5. Mackenzie Harger (Earlham), 19:17; 6. Madison Marco (Sibley-Ocheyedan), 19:21; 7. Alyssa Richman (Manson-NW Webster), 19:243; 8. Meghan Wheatley (North Linn), 19:26; 9. Jolee Mesz (Lawton-Bronson), 19:26; 10. Kadence Huck (Nashua-Plainfield), 19:27; 11. Katelyn Brandhorst (Madrid), 19:28; 12. Ava Campbell (ACGC), 19:44; 13. Billie Wagner (South Winneshiek), 19:46; 14. Addison Murdock (Woodbine), 19:46; 15. Hallie Kelchen (Cascade), 19:49; 16. Madison Sporrer (Logan-Magnolia), 19:50; 17. Lauren Hillesland (North Iowa), 19:56; 18. Tyra Schupbach (West Bend-Mallard), 20:00; 19. Greenlee Smock (Lynnville-Sully), 20:02; 20. Rylee Dunkin (Twin Cedars), 20:02.

Class 1A Boys Results

Teams — 1. Iowa City Regina 102, 2. Guthrie Center ACGC 126, 3. Woodbine 132, 4. Bellevue 164, 5. IKM-Manning 181, 6. Ogden 190, 7. Council Bluffs St. Albert 198, 8. Fort Dodge St. Edmond 205, 9. Cascade 206, 10. East Marshall 218, 11. Lake Mills 263, 12. Madrid 283, 13. Clayton Ridge 283, 14. North Mahaska 290, 15. Sioux Central 311, 16. North Linn 315.

Individuals — 1. Landon Bengden (Woodbine), 15:58; 2. Caden Keller (IKM-Manning), 16:13; 3. Payton Griebel (Bellevue), 16:15; 4. Patrick Heffernen (Boyer Valley), 16:21; 5. Ethan Loutezenheiser (Madrid), 16:23; 6. Aidan O’Neil (Iowa City Regina), 16:26; 7. Justin Rygh (Lake Mills), 16:32; 8. Colin Lillie (Council Bluffs St. Albert), 16:35; 9. Jacob Schellhorn (MFL MarMac), 16:37; 10. Aaron Lursen (Fort Dodge St. Edmond), 16:39; 11. Ryan Kelly (Mason City Newman), 16:42; 12. Justin Reinhart (ACGC), 16:43; 13. Carson Van Sickle (Ogden), 16:43. 14. James Gruver (Lynnville-Sully), 16:49; 15. Marcus Blount (Clinton Prince of Peace), 16:50; 16. Brady McWhirter (Pekin), 16:50; 17. Ben Byers (Sibley-Ocheyedan), 16:52; 18. Aiden Onken (Bellevue), 16:53; 19. Alejandro Bernal (Sibley-Ocheyedan), 16:55; 20. Owen Almeilan (North Butler), 16:59.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com