Mount Vernon-Lisbon’s duo of Lourdes Mason and Laura Swart: ‘We’re a good mix’

CEDAR RAPIDS — One is from Lisbon. The other, from Mount Vernon.

One is a mega-mile trainer. The other, a converted middle-distance runner and hurdler.

“(Laura Swart) smokes me in the sprint workouts,” Lourdes Mason said. “We’re a good mix.”

Very good.

Mason set a girls’ course record at Seminole Valley Park on Thursday, winning the individual title of the Cedar Rapids Invitational cross country meet in 18 minutes, 8 seconds.

“I switched coaches for offseason workouts, and we prioritized recovery,” Mason said. “That enabled me to get the miles up, to about 50 per week for the last three or four months.

“I didn’t step on the track once all summer. I want to do 10Ks in college, so I capitalized on the long workouts.”

Mason, a senior, ran cross country last season for Cedar Rapids Prairie, her last two track seasons at Lisbon. She stayed put in southeast Linn County this fall, overjoying Swart in the process.

“It’s awesome having her here. It helps our team so much,” said Swart, who placed fourth. “With her at Lisbon, I figured she would shuffle right in. With her, we have a lot of potential.”

Mount Vernon-Lisbon is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A. The Mustangs were second in the girls’ team race Thursday. Ankeny Centennial had five runners in the top 12 and scored 31 points; Mount Vernon-Lisbon was next with 85, followed by Iowa City Liberty (117).

As expected, the boys’ individual race with a speedy Metro duel between Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Miles Wilson (ranked No. 3 in 4A) and Marion’s Jedidiah Osgood (No. 1 in 3A).

Wilson pulled away just before the 2-mile mark and won it in 15:19. Osgood was second in 15:27.

“After seeing (Osgood’s) times so far, I knew that he was running great times and hadn’t even been on a fast course yet,” Wilson said.

Wilson finished 2 seconds off the course record, and reset the Kennedy mark for the second time this fall.

“I had a really good junior season, and I think I’ve improved a lot this year,” Wilson said. “I was nervous about how I was going to top last year, but now I know I can do anything if I really work hard.”

Kennedy placed three runners in the top eight, had all five of its scorers in the top 18 and topped 3A No. 1 Marion, 51-62, for the boys’ title.

“We have tons of amazing freshmen that came in. They’re going to help us get to the next level,” Wilson said.

One of those freshmen, Adam Gray finished seventh. Henry McMahan was eighth.

Cooper Cook and Jakob Regennitter were fifth and 10th for Marion. Mount Vernon-Lisbon’s Grady Olberding was fourth, pacing the Mustangs to third in the team competition.

Girls Results

Teams — 1. Ankeny Centennial 31, 2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 85, 3. Iowa City Liberty 117, 4. North Scott 121, 5. Iowa City West 142, 6. Marion 201, 7. C.R. Kennedy 236, 8. Davenport Central 241, 9. Dubuque Wahlert 248, 10. C.R. Washington 252, 11. Clinton 258, 12. Bettendorf 274, 13. C.R. Prairie 283, 14. Davenport North 385, 15. Muscatine 389, 16. C.R. Jefferson 459.

Individuals — 1. Lourdes Mason (MVL), 18:08 (course record); 2. Rondi Quass (AnkC), 18:53; 3. Anika Mohrhauser (AnkC), 18:57; 4. Laura Swart (MVL), 19:18; 5. Bella Hodges (AnkC), 19:30; 6. Bailey Boddicker (NS), 19:32; 7. Dylan Moeller (DavC), 19:45; 8. Kylie Daily (DavW), 20:09; 9. Peyton Madison (NS), 20:18; 10. Cori Mac (ICL), 20:26.

Boys Results

Teams — 1. C.R. Kennedy 51, 2. Marion 62, 3. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 98, 4. Bettendorf 120, 5. Ankeny Centennial 136, 6. North Scott 170, 7. Waterloo West 170, 8. C.R. Prairie 208, 9. Davenport Central 210, 10. Clinton 302, 11. C.R. Washington 318, 12. Davenport West 328, 13. C.R. Jefferson 337, 14. Davenport North 373, 15. Muscatine 400, 16. Waterloo East 485.

Individuals — 1. Miles Wilson (CRK), 15:19; 2. Jedidiah Osgood (Marion), 15:27; 3. A.J. Schermerhorn (AnkC), 16:23; 4. Grady Olberding (MVL), 16:26; 5. Cooper Cook (Marion), 16:31; 6. Nik Davis (NS), 16:34; 7. Adam Gray (CRK), 16:43; 8. Henry McMahan (CRK), 16:43; 9. Presley Berns (WatW), 16:59; 10. Jakob Regennitter (Marion), 17:12.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com