Marion boys, Benton girls prevail at North Linn

TROY MILLS - With their heads. With their hearts.That's how the Marion Indians roll.“We let the rabbits go out fast, then we catch them like they're standing still on the second mile,” said junior Lukas Mees.The Indians have settled into the No. 1 spot in the Class 3A boys' state cross country rankings. They solidified their standing Saturday morning at the North Linn Invitational, leading a 20-team pack quite handily.A controlled start and a move-up-in-the-pack philosophy helped the Indians to a 46-point tally. Iowa City Regina was second with 82.

The girls' race was tighter. Benton Community won it with 68 points, followed by Solon (77), Williamsburg (95) and Regina (98).Marion advanced to state last year, placing 13th. This year, the Indians are older, stronger and more savvy. The top four runners ran in a pack through a 5:20 opening mile.“We have a strong top seven,” said Mees, who moved up steadily for a second-place finish in 17:02, 12 seconds behind individual champion Brennan Bogert of Regina. “That's what separates us from other teams.“We try to run with our heads at the beginning, then run with our hearts at the end.”Zach Burhite was third, Jeanba Collet was eighth.Bogert, a sophomore, broke from the pack early and maintained control of the race throughout.“I tend to have the bad habit of starting too fast,” he said. “Today, I kind of ran by instinct.”After he finished, Bogert circled back next to the finish chute and high-fived runners as they passed through.“I think that's important,” he said. “You wouldn't even have this sport if it wasn't for the competition.”Solon's Lauren Benzing remained unbeaten this season. The sophomore rookie - she played volleyball last season - pulled away a little more than a mile into the race and built a 41-second cushion. She won in 14:41.“I focused in on the Gator in front of me. If you think about what's behind you, that doesn't help,” Benzing said. “I really tried to fly down the downhills.“My goal was to break 15 minutes. I hadn't done that all year.”Arden Betzer of Springville-Central City was the girls' runner-up; Mariah Kauder of Cascade was third.Madison Weekly's fourth-place finish staked Benton's title run. Miranda Hammes was eighth.Solon edged Benton at each of the top four spots, but Benton's No. 5 runner beat her Solon counterpart by 15 places. And that's what put the Bobcats over the top.

NORTH LINN INVITATIONAL

At Troy Mills

GIRLS

Teams - 1. Benton Community 68, 2. Solon 77, 3. Williamsburg 95, 4. Iowa City Regina 98, 5. Cascade 176, 6. North Linn 195, 7. Marion 209, 8. Turkey Valley 233, 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 253, 10. Mid-Prairie 277, 11. Mount Pleasant 289, 12. North Fayette 304, 13. Monticello 307, 14. Independence 385, 15. Valley Community 393, 16. Center Point-Urbana 439, 17. Edgewood-Colesburg 454, 18. Maquoketa Valley 489, 19. Belle Plaine 490.

Individuals - 1. Lauren Benzing (Sol), 14:41; 2. Arden Betzer (Springville-Central City), 15:22; 3. Mariah Kauder (Cas), 15:35; 4. Madison Weekly (BC), 15:37; 5. Natasha Bruer (Wmsbg), 15:48; 6. Sofia Chmaruk (Mid-P), 15:51; 7. Bailey Kelsay (Sol), 15:57; 8. Miranda Hammes (BC), 16:01; 9. Katerina Althoff (Cas), 16:05; 10. Cora Claypool (Wmsbg), 16:09; 11. Olivia Reicks (TV), 16:11; 12. Mallory Carr (Sol), 16:12; 13. Jenny Kuennen (TV), 16:12; 14. Abbie Prusha (BC), 16:18; 15. Julia Hunter (ICR), 16:19; 16. Gabby Dutchik (ICR), 16:19; 17. Megan McCusker (ICR), 16:22; 18. Leah Adams (Sol), 16:22; 19. Ashley Mills (BC), 16:25; 20. Hannah Weber (MtP), 16:25.

BOYS

Teams - 1. Marion 46, 2. Iowa City Regina 82, 3. Solon 110, 4. Monticello 111, 5. Mid-Prairie 168, 6. Tipton 198, 7. Dyersville Beckman 214, 8. Benton Community 225, 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 236, 10. Mount Pleasant 271, 11. Edgewood-Colesburg 335, 12. Alburnett 335, 13. Cascade 337, 14. Williamsburg 347, 15. Starmont 386, 16. Valley Community 462, 17. HLV 464, 18. Keota 478, 19. Maquoketa Valley 542, 20. Belle Plaine 569.

Individuals - 1. Brennan Bogert (ICR), 16:50; 2. Lukas Mees (Mar), 17:02; 3. Zach Burhite (Mar), 17:04; 4. Justin Hochstetler (Mid-P), 17:04; 5. David Crompton (ICR), 17:10; 6. Colin Bream (Sol), 17:14; 7. Sam Lehmann (Beck), 17:29; 8. Jeanba Collet (Mar), 17:30; 9. Noah Williams (Monti), 17:30; 10. Tyler Steele (BC), 17:31; 11. Logan Gaul (Tip), 17:35; 12. Jason McVay (Alb), 17:38; 13. Peter Schwartz (Mid-P), 17:38; 14. Austin Wood (Tip), 17:41; 15. Scout Morehouse (Mar), 17:42; 16. Kyle Blake (Monti), 17:44; 17. Liam Hartley (ICR), 17:45; 18. Gregory Sam (Mar), 17:47; 19. Chase Gross (Sol), 17:47; 20. Matt Edeker (ICR), 17:47.