Second-mile surge sends Evans to another title

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Josh Evans was in complete command, no matter what he says.

"No, no. I was dying out there," said the sophomore from Linn-Mar High School. "I thought somebody was going to blow by me."

Not a chance. Not this day.

Evans continued to stamp himself as a potential state-championship contender Thursday afternoon, blazing to an insurmountable lead in the second mile and claiming the boys' individual title at the Cedar Rapids Invitational at Noelridge Park.

He was timed in 15:44, 24 seconds ahead of the field.

"I was trying to stay conservative early, and if the pack slowed up, I figured it might be a good time to pick up my pace," Evans said.

Evans is ranked third in Class 4A (according to the Iowa Association of Track Coaches) and looking forward to a meeting with No. 1 Cole Decker of West Des Moines Dowling next weekend.

Ames' boys and Iowa City High's girls were team champions.

The boys' race was tight; Ames (81) edged Cedar Rapids Washington (89), Iowa City West (90) and Linn-Mar (103) for the title.

Washington's Etienne Nzoyisaba and Robert Hogg were second and third, both in 16:08.

"We have high expectations for the season," Hogg said. "We had some great weeks of training, and we hope to peak at the end of the season."

City High had four girls in the top 12 and tallied 49 points. Linn-Mar was second with 61, followed by Iowa City West (91).

"This makes us really ecstatic," said Meg Richardson, who paced the Little Hawks in fourth place. "We want to keep climbing the ladder."

Before she spoke, Richardson was untying the shoe of a teammate.

"That's what a captain does," she said.

Bettendorf's Anna Peer (14:42) and Mahnee Watts (15:03) were the top two runners. Carolyn Newhouse of Linn-Mar was third in 15:09.

CEDAR RAPIDS INVITATIONAL

At Noelridge Park

GIRLS RESULTS

Teams -- 1. Iowa City High 49, 2. Linn-Mar 61, 3. Iowa City West 91, 4. Bettendorf 98, 5. C.R. Kennedy 107, 6. Ames 164, 7. C.R. Washington 195, 8. C.R. Prairie 207, 9. Dubuque Wahlert 216, 10. C.R. Xavier 289, 11. Muscatine 318, 12. Davenport West 386, 13. Marion 414, 14. North Scott 436, 15. C.R. Jefferson 440.

Individuals -- 1. Anna Peer (Bett), 14:42; 2. Mahnee Watts (Bett), 15:03; 3. Carolyn Newhouse (LM), 15:09; 4. Meg Richardson (ICH), 15:19; 5. Ashlynn Yokom (ICW), 15:20; 6. Molly Leveille (ICW), 15:23; 7. Morgan Uridil (LM), 15:27; 8. Courtney Bruns (ICH), 15:27; 9. Harper Beasley (ICH), 15:28; 10. Brooklynn Kascel (LM), 15:29; 11. Courtney Martin (Ames), 15:30; 12. Erin Danielson (ICH), 15:32; 13. Pombie Silverman (ICW), 15:34; 14. Katie Wampole (CRK), 15:40; 15. Bree Gaster (CRP), 15:42.

BOYS RESULTS

Teams -- 1. Ames 81, 2. C.R. Washington 89, 3. Iowa City West 90, 4. Linn-Mar 103, 5. Bettendorf 159, 6. C.R. Prairie 175, 7. Dubuque Wahlert 210, 8. Iowa City High 212, 9. Waterloo West 261, 10. C.R. Kennedy 286, 11. Muscatine 295, 12. Davenport Central 337, 13. C.R. Xavier 338, 14. Marion 352, 15. C.R. Jefferson 403, 16. Davenport West 427, 17. Pleasant Valley 459, 18. Davenport North 548, 19. North Scott 593.

Individuals -- 1. Josh Evans (LM), 15:44; 2. Etienne Nzoyisaba (CRW), 16:08; 3. Robert Hogg (CRW), 16:08; 4. Matt Butler (Bett), 16:17; 5. Jack Espeset (Ames), 16:18; 6. Isaac Jensen (ICW), 16:25; 7. Daniel Gardarsson (ICW), 16:30; 8. Anthony Ohl (WW), 16:31; 9. Michael Hart (ICH), 16:35; 10. Lukas Mees (Marion), 16:36; 11. Chase Grabau (LM), 16:40; 12. Jacob Aune (CRP), 16:41; 13. Ben Forney (Ames), 16:42; 14. Trevor Oates (CRK), 16:45; 15. Mitch Pritts (CRP), 16:55.