Evans beats bout of self-doubt

 CEDAR RAPIDS -- Early to bed. Eat right.Those self-made commandments are part of a list Josh Evans has scribbled on a sheet of paper in his bedroom.He knows where he wants to go this season. He has a good idea on how to get there."I'm beyond motivated," Evans said after pulling away late to win the boys' individual title at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational cross country meet Saturday morning.Motivated, but certainly not overconfident. Unable to shake Mitch Pritts of Prairie and Isaac Steffensmeier of Fort Madison for much of the race, Evans felt a rare twinge of self-doubt."We were together for the longest time," said the junior from Linn-Mar and the 2011 Class 4A state runner-up. "I was kind of doubting myself. I thought maybe I didn't have it as much as last year."Evans got it together, though, and finished in 15:51, which ended up being a healthy 13-second cushion over Steffensmeier.That helped Linn-Mar capture the Black Division team title. The Lions compiled 36 points to claim the crown in the six-team "big school" class. Iowa City West was second with 49 points.Pella claimed the Orange Division; Monticello won the Gold Division. Had the teams not been separated, Monticello would have been third overall, behind Linn-Mar and West.Cedar Rapids Kennedy took top girls' honors, edging West, 52-53, for the Black Division title. Cedar Falls (65) and Linn-Mar (71) followed."We came in here knowing we wanted to get in the top three," Kennedy senior Katie Wampole said. "Winning, that's way more awesome."Cedar Falls' Allison Gregg (14:32) and Brianna King (14:48) were the top two individuals. Wampole was the best of the rest, in 14:58."That surprised even me," said Wampole, who compiled 405 miles throughout the summer. "I have a habit of going out fast and dying at the end. Today, I started at the back of the pack a little more, put in some surges and moved up."Five runners score in a cross country meet, and Kennedy's fifth was a difference maker. Carolyn Stone passed three runners in the final 10 meters, and those three points proved critical."We've got good depth," Kennedy Coach Mark Jensen said. "We're good through our top nine or 10 runners."We had a lot of girls run a lot of miles this summer. A lot of smart miles."Solon's girls won the Orange Division; Monticello took the Gold.Evans is making steep sacrifices for his junior season with a hope of running 14:45 at the state meet in late October. But he's not miserly about it."I went to the football game Friday night. I had fun," he said. "I'm taking Sundays off. I realized the hard way that you have to do that."Sometimes you just have to relax and have fun."

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE INVITATIONAL

Black Division Girls

Teams -- 1. C.R. Kennedy 52, 2. Iowa City West 53, 3. Cedar Falls 65, 4. Linn-Mar 71, 5. C.R. Washington 161, 6. C.R. Prairie 164, 7. Southeast Polk 180, 8. Davenport West 224.

Individuals -- 1. Allison Gregg (CF), 14:32; 2. Brianna King (CF), 14:48; 3. Katie Wampole (CRK), 14:58; 4. Ashlynn Yokom (ICW), 15:06; 5. Shannon Gorman (CRW), 15:11; 6. Molly Leveille (ICW), 15:16; 7. Allison Culver (CRK), 15:20; 8. Amber Decker (LM), 15:22; 9. Maddie Saville (LM), 15:24; 10. Ashlynn Averhoff (CRK), 15:30.

Orange Division Girls

Teams -- 1. Solon 36, 2. Fort Madison 68, 3. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 89, 4. C.R. Xavier 97, 5. Pella 98, 6. Marion 128, 7. West Delaware 216, 8. Maquoketa 221.

Individuals -- 1. Lauren Benzing (Sol), 15:08; 2. Alex Smith (Sol), 16:02; 3. Sarah Steffensmeier (FM), 16:07; 4. Alyssa Stickfort (FM), 16:29; 5. Gabi Meririck (Pella), 16:32.

Gold Division Girls

Teams -- 1. Monticello 20, 2. Anamosa 43, 3. Columbus Junction 64.

Individuals -- 1. Mariah Kauder (Cascade), 15:48; 2. Bailey Sams (Ana), 17:13; 3. Mandi Miles (Monti), 17:13; 4. Jazmine Reynolds (Monti), 17:23; 5. Kally Blake (Monti), 17:40.

Black Division Boys

Teams -- 1. Linn-Mar 36, 2. Iowa City West 49, 3. C.R. Washington 66, 4. C.R. Prairie 73, 5. C.R. Kennedy 144, 6. Davenport West 149.

Individuals -- 1. Josh Evans (LM), 15:51; 2. Isaac Jensen (ICW), 16:21; 3. Daniel Murphy (LM), 16:21; 4. Mitch Pritts (CRP), 16:23; 5. Etienne Nzoyisaba (CRW), 16:32; 6. Daniel Gardarsson (ICW), 16:36; 7. Tanner Rathje (LM), 16:41; 8. Bailey Wetherell (ICW), 16:47; 9. Kyle Read (LM), 17:08; 10. Adrian Ortega (DW), 17:08.

Orange Division Boys

Teams -- 1. Pella 25, 2. Fort Madison 67, 3. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 73, 4. Solon 126, 5. Marion 128, 6. C.R. Xavier 142, 7. West Delaware 191, 8. Maquoketa 194.

Individuals -- 1. Isaac Steffensmeier (FM), 16:04; 2. Keegan Fitzsimmons (Pella), 16:53; 3. Evan Jones (Pella), 17:07; 4. Matthew Klein (Pella), 17:37; 5. Jacob Schmitt (CRX), 17:41.

Gold Division Boys

Teams -- 1. Monticello 19, 2. Anamosa 58, 3. Valley Lutheran 77, 4. Columbus Junction 84.

Individuals -- 1. Michael Melchert (Monti), 16:33; 2. Dain Gerber (Ana), 16:58; 3. J.J. Frawley (Monti), 17:01; 4. Ben Ahlrichs (Monti), 17:06; 5. Anthony Kinley (Monti), 17:14.