North Linn’s Meghan Wheatley has the winning kick at the Lynx Invitational

TROY MILLS — Meghan Wheatley was spent.

As she recovered, she used her father as a leaning post. Then her mother.

Then back, then forth.

“I gave everything I had left,” the North Linn junior said after she had adequately caught her breath and warmed up. “I stayed with (Solon’s Kayla Young) the whole race. I figured, I might as well beat her at the end.”

Running together for the entire race, Wheatley edged Young for the girls’ individual title at the Lynx Invitational cross country meet Saturday morning on the North Linn campus.

Wheatley was clocked in 18 minutes, 44 seconds. Young finished in 18:45. It was a duel from start to finish. For 5,000 meters, Wheatley’s view was the lead cart in front, Young to her side.

“She beat me by 9 seconds earlier this season at Anamosa,” Wheatley said. “I thought that if I stayed with her, I could outkick her at the end. I have trust in my kick.”

Wheatley overcame a severe case of Avoidance Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and finished sixth in Class 1A at the state cross country meet as a sophomore.

She’s aiming even higher this year.

“I want to place higher,” she said. “Right now, I’m focused on mental toughness. Your mind gives up before your body does.

“It’s not always the best runner that wins, it’s the most mentally tough.”

While Wheatley and Young provided a dramatic finish, Marion’s Jedidiah Osgood ran away from the boys’ field.

Osgood had a comfortable gap by the half-mile mark and won by 40 seconds, in 15:20.

“I was hoping for a little faster, but I can’t be upset with that,” Osgood said. “I kept trying to push. It was still a good time. I think it was faster than last year here by 50 seconds.”

Osgood — and fourth-place finisher Cooper Cook — paced Marion to the boys’ team title; the Wolves accumulated 73 points. Solon was second with 81, followed by Tipton (120).

Micah Rees of Washington (Iowa) was the runner-up, in 16:00; Charlie Sieck of Starmont-West Central (16:01) placed third.

Four girls’ teams stood out. Solon edged Williamsburg, 57-60, for the title, with Washington (76) and Tipton (87) rounding out the leaders.

Solon and Williamsburg both had four runners in the top 15. Analise DeWitt and Zada Buchholtz were fourth and fifth for Williamsburg; Sydney Dee was eighth for the Spartans.

Washington’s seven varsity girls consisted of five sophomores and two freshmen. One of the ninth-graders, Iris Dahl, was third in 19:50.

Girls results

Teams — 1. Solon 57, 2. Williamsburg 60, 3. Washington (Iowa) 76, 4. Tipton 87, 5. Hudson 137, 6. North Linn 162, 7. Iowa City Regina 178, 8. Marion 186, 9. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 272, 10. Vinton-Shellsburg 329, 11. Benton Community 329, 12. Alburnett 333.

Individuals — 1. Meghan Wheatley (NL), 18:44; 2. Kayla Young (Solon), 18:45; 3. Iris Dahl (Wash), 19:50; 4. Analise DeWitt (Wmsbg), 19:56; 5. Zada Buchholtz (Wmsbg), 19:57; 6. Desarae Lang (Hudson), 20:03; 7. Laura Owen (Tipton), 20:05; 8. Sydney Dee (Solon), 20:14; 9. Mya Whitaker (ICR), 20:16; 10. Alivia Edens (Tipton), 20:16.

Boys results

Teams — 1. Marion 73, 2. Solon 81, 3. Tipton 120, 4. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 124, 5. Iowa City Regina 127, 6. Vinton-Shellsburg 129, 7. Washington (Iowa) 134, 8. Williamsburg 172, 9. North Linn 267, 10. Benton Community 278, 11. Starmont-West Central 292, 12. Maquoketa Valley 293, 13. Hudson 322, 14. Alburnett 393, 15. Independence 433.

Individuals — 1. Jedidiah Osgood (Marion), 15:20; 2. Micah Rees (Wash), 16:00; 3. Charlie Sieck (Star-WC), 16:01; 4. Cooper Cook (Marion), 16:10; 5. Aiden O’Neil (ICR), 16:14; 6. Eli Page (VS), 16:21; 7. Brick Kabela (Solon), 16:23; 8. Kaden Lynch (GCGR), 16:28; 9. Clay Bohlmann (Tipton), 16:31; 10. Mike Yeomans (Solon), 16:33.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com