Middle of the race no longer is an issue for Washington’s Micah Rees

IOWA CITY — Micah Rees starts strong and has confidence in his kick.

The middle, though?

“Last year, I had a second-mile problem,” said Rees, a senior at Washington (Iowa) High School. “But I found out that it doesn’t matter how much pain I feel, I can still close pretty well.”

So he became willing to deal with the mid-race discomfort. A 13th-place Class 3A state finish was the reward.

And now, with that bit of self-discovery, senior Micah has picked up where junior Micah left off.

Rees blistered the boys’ field at the Bob Brown Invitational cross country meet Thursday afternoon at Kickers Soccer Complex; his 16-minute, 10-second effort led the field by 32 seconds.

“I wanted to put as much distance between myself and everybody else and go for even splits,” he said. “I’m already close to last year’s PR, which is super exciting.”

Rees led Washington to the boys’ team title; the Demons had four runners in the top 11 and compiled 65 points. Solon (81) and Clear Creek Amana (95) rounded out the top three in the 16-team boys’ field.

Tyler Alderton, Andrew Rees and Lane Schrock were eighth, 10th and 11th for the Demons.

Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman (16:42) and Solon’s Brick Kabela (16:51) placed second and third..

Clear Creek Amana wins girls’ team race

Clear Creek Amana’s girls won with depth; no Clippers placed in the top 10, but all five scorers were in the top 21, led by Kira Barker at 11th.

CCA edged Solon, 73-76, for only its second girls’ invitational title in 19 years. Monticello was third with 88.

“On any given day, we have four or five girls that could be our No. 1,” CCA Coach Ben Robison said. “They’ve tightened up at practice and are going to be a tight pack all year.”

Reigning 1A state champion Noelle Steines of Calamus-Wheatland was the individual girls’ champion in 20:08. Alyssa Klein of Western Dubuque (20:50) and Hallie Kelchen of Cascade (20:53) were next.

Girls results

TEAMS

1. Clear Creek Amana 73, 2. Solon 76, 3. Monticello 88, 4. Tipton 103, 5. Washington (Iowa) 111, 6. Marion 121, 7. Western Dubuque 159, 8. Iowa City Regina 175, 9. Anamosa 240.

INDIVIDUALS

1. Noelle Steines (Calamus-Wheatland), 20:08; 2. Alyssa Klein (WDbq), 20:50; 3. Hallie Kelchen (Cascade), 20:53; 4. Ava Remley (Anamosa), 21:10; 5. Iris Dahl (Wash), 21:13; 6. Leah Koehler (Monti), 21:15; 7. Laura Owen (Tipton), 21:17; 8. Addison Dabroski (Marion), 21:28; 9. Alivia Edens (Tipton), 21:43; 10. Audry Ella Meyer (Marion), 21:52.

Boys results

TEAMS

1. Washington (Iowa) 65, 2. Solon 81, 3. Clear Creek Amana 95, 4. Marion 136, 5. Waukon 142, 6. Monticello 150, 7. Tipton 183, 8. Western Dubuque 198, 9. Iowa City Regina 212, 10. Anamosa 248, 11. Springville 296, 12. Calamus-Wheatland 306, 13. Cascade 412, 14. North Cedar 432, 15. Clinton Prince of Peace 433, 16. West Liberty 472.

INDIVIDUALS

1. Micah Rees (Wash), 16:10; 2. Quentin Nauman (WDbq), 16:42; 3. Brick Kabela (Solon), 16:51; 4. Cooper Cook (Marion), 17:02; 5. Brock Hilsman (CCA), 17:22; 6. Clay Bohlmann (Tipton), 17:34; 7. Jordan Fischer (Marion), 17:46; 8. Tyler Alderton (Wash), 17:48; 9. Isaac Reisinger (Waukon), 17:55; 10. Andrew Rees (Wash), 17:57.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com