VanDraska survives a tight pack, runs to 2nd

FORT DODGE - Tysen VanDraska doesn't shy away from contact. He's a hockey player, after all.

'Nah,” he said. 'I'm used to it. There was a little jostling out there, the pack was so tight.”

VanDraska weaved his way toward the front of that pack and earned Class 4A runner-up honors at the state cross country meet Saturday morning at Lakeside Golf Course.

The senior was clocked in 15 minutes, 49 seconds. Ryan Schweizer of West Des Moines Dowling won the race in 15:45, and that propelled the Maroons to the 4A boys' team championship.

Dowling scored 69 points, Cedar Falls was second with 79, and VanDraska led Prairie (100) to third.

'You know, it was good, but it wasn't our best,” Prairie Coach Bill Schwarz said. 'The top four teams ... any other year, any of us would have been state champs. To get a (top-three) trophy here, it's a testament to all the hard work the kids have put in.

'It's bittersweet, I guess. The kids got in such a big pack, a lot of traffic. By the time the pack broke up a little, they were 2 1/2 miles into the race.”

That pack claimed one victim, Johnston's Patrick Bose, who went down and finished 23rd.

'One of the other guys hurdled him,” VanDraska said. 'I slowed down and went around him.”

Schweizer and VanDraska both are kickers, and VanDraska used his closing speed at the end to pass Cedar Falls' Sam Schillinger and climb into second place.

'Finishing second to (Schweizer), I'll take that any time,” VanDraska said. 'I was closer to him than last year.”

Prairie's Jake Moore was 10th. Linn-Mar's Ryan Murphy and Michael Mather finished sixth and 11th, leading the Lions - last year's champions - to seventh place.

Urbandale captured the 4A girls' title with 64 points. Pleasant Valley was second with 83. Iowa City High (150) and Iowa City West (151) were fourth and fifth.

Pleasant Valley's McKenzie Yanek earned her second individual crown, pulling away in the final two miles and finishing in 17:55. Yanek won as a sophomore, then didn't run last year; the Spartans were victims of a team-wide food poisoning epidemic.

Julia Noah of Urbandale was second in 18:21.

Iowa City West's Bailey Nock was the top area individual, finishing seventh in 18:41.

'The middle of the race was tough,” said Nock, who missed much of the season while recovering from a stress fracture in her leg. 'But I kept going and didn't give up. The last 400 yards, I went for it, went as hard as I could.”

Mary Arch of Iowa City High was ninth. Reagan Gorman of Cedar Rapids Washington led Metro competitors, placing 18th.

STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET

Saturday, at Fort Dodge (Lakeside Golf Course)

CLASS 4A GIRLS

Teams - 1. Urbandale 64, 2. Pleasant Valley 83, 3. Bettendorf 139, 4. Iowa City High 150, 5. Iowa City West 151, 6. Muscatine 154, 7. Johnston 155, 8. Waukee 180, 9. West Des Moines Dowling 228, 10. Ames 242, 11. Cedar Falls 246, 12. Linn-Mar 272, 13. Dubuque Hempstead 280, 14. Ankeny Centennial 316, 15. Indianola 395.

Individuals - 1. McKenzie Yanek (Pleasant Valley), 17:55; 2. Julia Noah (Urbandale), 18:21; 3. Claire Dupuis (Ames), 18:26; 4. Elysa Prescott (Urbandale), 18:36; 5. Haley Humphrey (Bettendorf), 18:37; 6. Mallory Lafever (Pleasant Valley), 18:40; 7. Bailey Nock (Iowa City West), 18:41; 8. Mickey Cole (Urbandale), 18:42; 9. Mary Arch (Iowa City High), 18:46; 10. Jessica McKee (Johnston), 18:50; 11. Rachel Brush (Waukee), 18:53; 12. Emily Poss (Johnston), 18:56; 13. Sierra Mitchell (SE Polk), 18:56; 14. Maddy Minard (Pleasant Valley), 18:58; 15. Neanagit Malow (Urbandale), 19:00.

CLASS 4A BOYS

Teams - 1. West Des Moines Dowling 69, 2. Cedar Falls 79, 3. Cedar Rapids Prairie 100, 4. Pleasant Valley 112, 5. West Des Moines Valley 184, 6. Indianola 195, 7. Linn-Mar 195, 8. Iowa City West 202, 9. Dubuque Senior 238, 10. Waukee 256, 11. Johnston 281, 12. Iowa City High 284, 13. Ankeny Centennial 303, 14. Urbandale 305, 15. Dubuque Hempstead 307.

Individuals - 1. Ryan Schweizer (WDM Dowling), 15:45; 2. Tysen VanDraska (C.R. Prairie), 15:49; 3. Sam Schillinger (Cedar Falls), 15:50; 4. Trevor Kirk (WDM Valley), 15:50; 5. Karson Sommer (Pleasant Valley), 15:57; 6. Ryan Murphy (Linn-Mar), 15:58; 7. Nicholas Yanek (Pleasant Valley), 15:58; 8. Isaac Smith (Cedar Falls), 15:59; 9. Matthew Carmody (WDM Dowling), 16:01; 10. Jake Moore (C.R. Prairie), 16:02.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com