Bob Brown Invitational: Solon girls win in a tiebreaker, Marion boys in a landslide

IOWA CITY — With a temperature hovering around 80 sunny degrees and a course that was believed to measure long, it wasn’t an optimal day to post a memorable time.

But with stacked fields of teams — 11 ranked boys’ teams, for instance — it was a perfect day to learn where you stood among your peers.

The girls from Solon and Monticello and the boys from Marion stood tallest.

Led by dominant performances by individual champions Kayla Young (the girls’ winner by 32 seconds) and Jedidiah Osgood (a mere 29 seconds), Solon and Marion captured the team titles at the Bob Brown Invitational cross country meet Thursday afternoon at Kickers Soccer Complex.

“I tried to stay mentally strong, especially in this heat,” said Young, a senior. “I’m happy to see where I’m at — where we’re at — for this point of the season.”

The defending champion and top-ranked girls’ team in Class 3A, Solon prevailed by the slimmest of margins over 2A No. 3 Monticello. Both teams scored 64 points, with the Spartans claiming the tiebreaker.

“We’re working on keeping our gap close,” Monticello’s Emma Althoff said after finishing third. “We want to have all seven of our runners in before most teams get their No. 5 in.

“We want to do well for each other.”

Running in a lead pack of four for the first mile, Young pulled away and finished in 20 minutes, 15 seconds. Haidyn Barker of Clear Creek Amana was the runner-up in 20:47; Althoff third in 20:48.

“We got out to a fast start,” said Young, who has recovered nicely from summer bouts of IT-band syndrome and COVID-19. “I really wanted this race and was able to keep an even pace.”

Osgood did the same. The state’s top-rated 3A runner, competing for the state’s top-rated 3A team, he escaped a challenge from Western Dubuque’s Isaiah Hammerand midway through the race and won in 15:58.

“I had a little surge on the rolling hills to go ahead by about 5 meters, then on the second loop, I hit the hills hard and kind of sealed the deal,” Osgood said.

Hammerand was second in 16:27, followed by Micah Rees of Washington (Iowa), in 17:00.

Osgood’s time was a bit slower than he was at Cedar Rapids Prairie on Saturday, but his GPS provided a reason why.

“My watch had the course at 3.26 miles,” he said.

A “regulation” course is 5,000 meters, or 3.1 miles.

Aided by seventh- and eighth-place finishes by Jakob Regennitter and Cooper Clark, Marion tallied 50 points. Western Dubuque was second with 86, followed by 2A No. 1 Tipton (103).

Girls results

Teams — 1. Solon 64, 2. Monticello 64, 3. Iowa City Liberty 83, 4. Clear Creek Amana 107, 4. Tipton 119, 6. Washington (Iowa) 137, 7. Marion 159, 8. Cascade 230, 9. Iowa City Regina 251, 10. Anamosa 287.

Individuals — 1. Kayla Young (Solon), 20:15; 2. Haidyn Barker (CCA), 20:47; 3. Emma Althoff (Monti), 20:48; 4. Hallie Kelchen (Cascade), 20:56; 5. Iris Dahl (Wash), 21:11; 6. Kira Barker (CCA), 21:17; 7. Alyssa Klein (WDbq), 21:18; 8. Mary Fiala (Solon), 21:26; 9. Leah Koehler (Monti), 21:35; 10. Cori Mac (ICL), 21:46.

Boys results

Teams — 1. Marion 50, 2. Western Dubuque 86, 3. Tipton 103, 4. Iowa City Regina 131, 5. Monticello 140, 6. Clear Creek Amana 144, 7. Solon 151, 8. Washington (Iowa) 152, 9. Anamosa 201, 10. Cascade 240, 11. Calamus-Wheatland 311, 12. Clinton Prince of Peace 313.

Individuals — 1. Jedidiah Osgood (Marion), 15:58; 2. Isaiah Hammerand (WDbq), 16:27; 3. Micah Rees (Wash), 17:00; 4. Aidan O’Neil (ICR), 17:07; 5. Clay Bohlmann (Tipton), 17:16; 6. Quentin Nauman (WDbq), 17:18; 7. Jakob Regennitter (Marion), 17:27; 8. Cooper Cook (Marion), 17:36; 9. Marcus Blount (CPOP), 17:42; 10. Brick Kabela (Solon), 17:47.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com