Iowa City West’s Bailey Nock caps girls’ cross country career with runner-up finish at state

FORT DODGE — There was no repeat, but Bailey Nock still capped her brilliant girls' cross country career in fine fashion.

The Iowa City West senior finished second overall at the Class 4A girls' cross country state championships Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course.

'It wasn't the way I wanted it to go at all,' Nock said. 'You always imagine you ending your four years with the big triumph. It can't happen to everybody, but I'm definitely happy with how the season went. I had the best season I've ever had.'

Nock closed her four-year career with four top-seven placements at the state meet. After placing third as a freshman and seventh as a sophomore, Nock claimed the crown last season.

This year, Johnston sophomore Paige Horner bested Nock by 15 seconds in 18:04 for the title, one of three Dragons in the top four (Jessica McKee, 18:31; Brooke McKee, 18:44).

'I'm happy for her,' Nock said. 'I'm happy that she gets to kind of feel the feeling that I got to feel for a whole year.'

Johnston also won the team title for the third year in a row with 74 points over runner-up Dubuque Senior (118). Iowa City West was fifth (181).

Nock will now turn her attention to selecting a college destination. She has yet to take any official visits, but finding a school that will allow her to run both cross country and track is essential.

'I love both way too much to only do one,' Nock said.

A pair of Metro freshmen — Laurdyn Meyer of Cedar Rapids Prairie (18:50) and Lilly Geelan of Linn-Mar (18:53) — finished seventh and 10th, respectively.

Cedar Rapids Washington junior Reagan Gorman was eighth in 18:51.

Pleasant Valley won the boys' team title with 61 points over Dubuque Hempstead and West Des Moines Dowling, which were tied for second with 106 points.

Cedar Rapids Prairie finished fifth with 148 points, its fifth top-5 finish in a row.

'I really felt like there were five fantastic teams and it could have finished in any order,' Prairie Coach Bill Schwarz said. 'We had a couple of things that didn't go our way and that's competition.'

Ankeny junior Tim Sindt claimed individual honors in 15:23, less than a second better than Dowling senior Matthew Carmody.

Cedar Rapids Washington sophomore Max Locher was ninth in 15:54.

Prep cross country

Saturday

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Fort Dodge

(Lakeside Golf Course)

CLASS 4A BOYS

Teams —

1. Pleasant Valley 61, 2. Dubuque Hempstead 106, 3. West Des Moines Dowling 106, 4. Johnston 140, 5. C.R. Prairie 148, 6. West Des Moines Valley 157, 7. Linn-Mar 195, 8. Dubuque Senior 236, 9. C.R. Kennedy 241, 10. Iowa City West 243, 11. C.R. Washington 244, 12. Ankeny 283, 13. Sioux City North 297, 14. Waukee 338, 15. Ames 338

Individuals —

1. Tim Sindt (Ankeny), 15:23.7; 2. Matthew Carmody (Dowling), 15:24.6; 3. Camden Cox (Ankeny Centennial), 15:36.7; 4. Konnor Sommer (Pleasant Valley), 15:42.5; 5. Merga Gemeda (Sioux City North), 15:47.2; 6. Addison Kalb (Hempstead), 15:47.6; 7. Habibu Moise Habineza (WDM Valley), 15:52.2; 8. Ben Hermiston (Hempstead), 15:53.5; 9. Max Locher (CRW), 15:54.2; 10. Payton Marrs (Urbandale), 15:54.8

C.R. Prairie (148):

15. Robert Laue 16:08.6; 22. Jack Pendergast 16:17.3; 29. Max Laue 16:25.3; 30. Colton LaGrange 16:26.1; 52. Elijah Vlasek 16:48.4

Linn-Mar (195):

14. Colin Johnston 16:08.1; 31. Dylan Dolezal 16:27.1; 33. Brycen Snell 16:28.5; 46. Trent Long 16:44.8; 71. Tye Skilang 17:08.2

C.R. Kennedy (241):

16. Jacob Green 16:10.6; 34. Jackson Foley 16:29.0; 59. Lucas Middlekauff 16:57.0; 62. Ricardo Calderon 16:59.1; 70. Matt Knox 17:07.9

Iowa City West (243):

27. Kolby Greiner 16:20.8; 36. Ken Wilbur 16:32.3; 54. Ethan Goers 16:49.5; 58. Will Conrad 16:53.9; 68. Kyle Sulwer 17:04.2

C.R. Washington (244):

8. Locher 15:54.2; 19. Paul Schneidermann 16:15.2; 60. Khory Nobles 16:57.3; 69. Caleb Kleman 17:05.8; 88. Bryan Ennis 17:31.5

CLASS 4A GIRLS

Teams —

1. Johnston 74, 2. Dubuque Senior 118, 3. Waukee 154, 4. Dubuque Hempstead 168, 5. Iowa City West 181, 6. Urbandale 191, 7. Linn-Mar 198, 8. Des Moines Roosevelt 203, 9. Cedar Falls 207, 10. Pleasant Valley 220, 11. Iowa City High 222, 12. West Des Moines Dowling 228, 13. Ankeny Centennial 242, 14. Ottumwa 255, 15. Southeast Polk 308.

Individuals —

1. Paige Horner (Johns), 18:04; 2. Bailey Nock (ICW), 18:19; 3. Jessica McKee (Johns), 18:31; 4. Brooke McKee (Johns), 18:44; 5. Kylie Latham (Ottumwa), 18:48; 6. Helen Gould (West Des Moines Valley), 18:50; 7. Laurdyn Meyer (CRP), 18:50; 8. Reagan Gorman (Cedar Rapids Washington), 18:51; 9. Peyton Kelderman (Wauk), 18:52; 10. Lilly Geelan (Linn-Mar), 18:53.

Iowa City West (181):

2. Nock 18:19.9; 24. Kiara Malloy-Salgado 19:28.0; 41. Deniz Ince 19:48.5; 51. Colleen Bloeser 19:57.4; 63. Erica Buettner 20:08.3

Linn-Mar (198):

7. Geelan 18:53.5; 12. Micah Poellet 19:11.0; 37. Chloe Skidmore 19:45.9; 47. Rachel Bohnenkamp 19:53.7; 95. Abby Van Rheenen 20:54.5

Iowa City High (222):

23. Amelia Morrow 19:27.6; 39. Aly Hecker 19:47.6; 40. Esti Brady 19:48.2; 58. Kinsee Brands 20:05.6; 62. Bridget Brown 20:07.2

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