IOWA CITY- Heat and humidity took its toll.
Facing 90-degree late afternoon temperature, meet officials rolled back the start times and combined the fields at the Sept. 4 Bob Brown Classic in Iowa City. The mercury was closer to 80 by the 6 p.m. varsity and junior varsity girls 4 kilometer race, and when the boys stepped to the line for their combined 5k race about 35 minutes later on the University of Iowa’s Ashton Cross Country Course.
D?ster paces Solon boys
Even with the heat, Simon D?ster kept up the pace to finish 10th overall, the top place for the Spartans. At the mile, D?ster was in 15th. “I kept passing people as the race (went on). I felt pretty good. The heat was okay; you get used to it,” he said, after his 18:33 clocking.
“Simon had a strong race and is figuring out how to run with that top pack,” noted coach Emy Williams. “I was proud of all our runners for staying positive and running hard even with the heat.”
Teammate Keegan Paisley (43rd, 20:29) was next across for Solon, with the rest of the team close by; Joe Regan (45th, 20:35), Josh Prybil (49th, 20:40), Keegan Hess (52nd, 21:00) combining for 170 points and a sixth-place finish in the 12-team field. Adam Smith (53rd), and Carl Richey (61st, 21:22) were right behind. “The boys are getting stronger and need to close the gap between Simon and them,” observed Williams.
Eric Lenz of Tipton was the overall boys winner, crossing at 16:35, a minute and 13 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Boys Team Results
Cedar Rapids Kennedy (37), Monticello (47), Clear Creek-Amana (81), Regina (119), Tipton (122), Solon (170), Durant (234), Wilton (246), Anamosa (252), North Cedar (268), Calamus-Wheatland (295), West Liberty (319).
Girls fourth in 13-team field
Adriana Kammerer of Iowa City Regina took medalist honors, running 15:51 over the grassy, rolling hills of the Ashton course. Solon’s eighth-ranked Class 3A girls hit the finish chute with the five scoring runners between 15th and 24th on a hot, muggy day.
Katie Folkerts was first across for Solon at 17:41. “We had a short warm up (after a bus breakdown on the way there), but with the heat, we were loosened up in time,” Folkerts said.
Knowing the weather conditions ahead of time, coaches preached to the runners to stay hydrated. “Even drinking lots of water the day before,” said Folkerts. “It felt pretty good on the course. I’d rather run in this than have it be windy, rainy and 40 degrees.”
Just behind Folkerts came Sophie Nicol (16th, 17:43), then Trisha Coberly (22nd, 17:57), Taylor Weetman (23rd, 17:57 also), Carlyn Haas (24th, 18:00), Molly Walkner (30th, 18:18) and Mileah Mesch (40th, 18:50). All but Nicol and Coberly are seniors.
Expect to see that pack running throughout the year. “That’s kind of the way (both) teams are built. We do run as a pack,” outlined coach Emy Williams. “We’re not going to have one girl way out in front. We’ll have five or six together. Our one, two and three runners are not set in stone. That’s helpful. They’ll be pushing each other.” Williams said the task now is to work on moving that whole pack up. “The seniors are great leaders in showing the underclassmen what to do at meets,” said Williams.
Girls Team Results
Monticello (56), Regina (62), Cedar Rapids Kennedy (81), Solon (100), Durant (181), Anamosa (184), Tipton, (184), Calamus-Wheatland (212), Wilton (234), Clear Creek-Amana (287), North Cedar (287), Columbus (294), West Liberty (331).
After the Tuesday (Sept 9) Tipton Invitational, both boys and girls run Saturday in Atkins at the Benton meet.