Back on top: Iowa City High wins MVC boys’ cross country title

WATERLOO — Last year, this class of runners “put us back on the map,” in the words of Coach Jayme Skay.

This year, in terms of the Mississippi Valley Conference — back on top.

Iowa City High won the boys’ championship of the MVC cross country Super meet Thursday at Irv Warren Golf Course, in just about the most dramatic fashion possible. The Little Hawks edged Dubuque Hempstead 58-59 for the crown.

“This is the most focused group of individuals I’ve had in years,” said Skay, who has piloted the Little Hawks to three state titles, most recently in 2000. “On hard days, they work hard. On easy days, they relax — sometimes.”

Thursday was a hard day. And they didn’t relax.

Led by individual runner-up Ford Washburn, the Little Hawks planted all five of their scorers in the top 20. Ammon Smith was eighth, Truman Thompson 12th. All three are juniors.

“They didn’t race like sophomores last year,” Skay said. “They got us back on the map.”

That was just enough to nudge Hempstead. Cedar Falls was third with 82 points.

Iowa City West’s Alex McKane, ranked No. 2 individually in Class 4A by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches, is likely to move to the top spot after his course- and school-record run of 15 minutes, 14 seconds. Washburn was next in 15:29; No. 1 Derek Leicht of Dubuque Hempstead finished third in 15:37.

Twitter

“I was excited to be coming up that last hill in the lead,” said McKane, who started pumping his arms in celebration with about 20 meters to go. “I’ve always loved the Super meet. This competition is the best. Running three 1-mile laps is different, but it made the race go faster.

“I’ve put in a lot of hard work, but I still have some work to put in.”

Iowa City Liberty’s Ashlyn Keeney set a course record of her own, pulling away in the final half-mile and finishing in 18:17 for her third girls’ Super title.

Twitter

“Throughout the race, I thought I could win it,” Keeney said. “That last stretch, I kept sprinting.”

Keeney outran Dubuque Hempstead’s Julia Gehl at the end after alternating at the front for the first 2 miles. Gehl finished in 18:25; Hempstead’s Keelee Leitzen — the 2020 4A state champion — was third in 18:41.

“I’m really good friends with those Hempstead girls,” Keeney said. “It’s nice to have friends to run with. They’re good girls, good competition.”

Hempstead had three runners in the top five, four in the top nine, and scored 49 points to capture the girls’ team title. Cedar Rapids Prairie was a surprising runner-up with 78 points. Linn-Mar (108) was third.

Prairie’s Gabby Cortez, Lourdes Mason and Keirra Hess were fourth, sixth and seventh.

“We’ve had a lot of people out, but they’ve been back for the last two weeks,” Mason said. “Everybody on this team has somebody close that we can run with, and it helps you push each other. We’re able to run in small packs.”

Western Dubuque’s Eli Naumann and Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Miles Wilson were fourth and fifth in the boys’ competition.

MVC CROSS COUNTRY SUPER MEET

At Waterloo (Irv Warren Golf Course)

GIRLS RESULTS

Teams — 1. Dubuque Hempstead 49, 2. C.R. Prairie 78, 3. Linn-Mar 108, 4. Dubuque Senior 127, 5. Iowa City High 133, 6. Iowa City West 147, 7. Iowa City Liberty 160, 8. Western Dubuque 171, 9. Dubuque Wahlert 213, 10. Cedar Falls 230, 11. C.R. Kennedy 246, 12. C.R. Xavier 399, 13. C.R. Jefferson 406.

Individuals — 1. Ashlyn Keeney (ICL), 18:17 (course record); 2. Julia Gehl (DH), 18:25; 3. Keelee Leitzen (DH), 18:41; 4. Gabby Cortez (CRP), 18:48; 5. Brooke O’Brien (DH), 18:48; 6. Lourdes Mason (CRP), 18:53; 7. Keirra Hess (CRP), 19:03; 8. Iris Wedemeyer (ICH), 19:07; 9. Evie Henneberry (DH), 19:09; 10. Cori Mac (ICL), 19:11; 11. Leah Klapatauskas (DS), 19:15; 12. Bethany Smeed (CRK), 19:21; 13. Ally Buck (LM), 19:23; 14. Lilly Boge (WDbq), 19:24; 15. Elly Shipley (LM), 19:26.

BOYS RESULTS

Teams — 1. Iowa City High 58, 2. Dubuque Hempstead 59, 3. Cedar Falls 82, 4. C.R. Prairie 147, 5. Iowa City Liberty 158, 6. Iowa City West 169, 7. C.R. Kennedy 180, 8. Linn-Mar 205, 9. Western Dubuque 208, 10. Dubuque Senior 320, 11. C.R. Jefferson 323, 12. Waterloo United 343, 13. Dubuque Wahlert 374, 14. C.R. Xavier 398, 15. C.R. Washington 400.

Individuals — 1. Alex McKane (ICW), 15:14 (course record); 2. Ford Washburn (ICH), 15:29; 3. Derek Leicht (DH), 15:37; 4. Eli Naumann (WDbq), 15:40; 5. Miles Wilson (CRK), 15:42; 6. Brayden Burnett (CF), 15:46; 7. Hayden Kuhn (LM), 15:49; 8. Ammon Smith (ICH), 16:06; 9. Luke Hartman (CF), 16:08; 10. Seth Cheney (ICW), 16:08; 11. John Maloney (DH), 16:08; 12. Truman Thompson (ICH), 16:09; 13. Johnathan O’Brien (DH), 16:11; 14. Caleb Kass (DH), 16:13; 15. Bryson Canton (CRP), 16:14.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com