Wash boys 2nd at Eastern Iowa Classic
DUBUQUE - The Kennedy girls cross country team began winning major races four weeks ago when they captured the Prairie Invitational.
They haven't stopped since.
The Cougars made it 5-for-5 Thursday by running away with top honors at the Eastern Iowa Classic on a sunny, breezy day at the Dubuque Soccer Complex.
The Soccer Complex is located on JFK Road in Dubuque, and the girls from JFK High School in Cedar Rapids felt right at home.
Allison Culver won the 4-kilometer race for Kennedy in 14:28 as the Cougars claimed the top four spots in the individual standings. Katie Wampole placed second, Lauren Meyer was third and Alyssa Averhoff finished fourth.
Carolyn Stone took 12th for Kennedy, giving the Cougars 22 points and an impressive 30-point victory over Iowa City High.
Kennedy began the season by winning the Prairie Invitational on Aug. 25 and has captured the Bob Brown Invitational in Iowa City, the Cedar Rapids Invitational, the Engel Classic in Cedar Falls and now the Eastern Iowa Invitational.
Five races, five victories.
"That's amazing," said Culver. "Our team is doing really well this year.
"We've been working real hard this summer, so it doesn't really surprise me too much. But yeah, I'm a little bit surprised."
Kennedy won several events last year and the girls have improved, so Coach Mark Jensen is not totally surprised by his club's success this season -- for the most part.
"The Cedar Rapids Invitational, that's a big powerhouse meet. That was a nice surprise," he said. "Hopefully we can keep it going and go for a conference and a district title."
The Cougars had a different leader in their first four races this season. Wampole led them at Prairie, Meyer won the Bob Brown title, Averhoff led them at the Cedar Rapids Invy and Culver paced them in Cedar Falls.
"We've been trading," said Culver. "It just happens. We're all pretty close to the same skill level."
The Cougars added another trophy to their collection Thursday as their string of success continued with an impressive win.
"I'm pretty pleased with it," said Wampole, a senior, "because I remember my freshman year we couldn't even win a race. And now we have four runners who are always finishing in the top 10 in every race."
Jensen said he has a mature group of highly motivated runners.
"They're not really friends outside of cross country. They all kind of do their own thing," he said. "But once they put their running shoes on they're a tight-knit group."
Kennedy is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, but a possible showdown with No. 4 Linn-Mar did not materialize Thursday. The Lions have a big race in Aurora, Ill., on Saturday and rested most of their top runners.
The most important races are on the horizon with the Mississippi Valley Conference meet on Oct. 4, the regional meet on Oct. 18 and the state meet on Oct. 27.
"I think we can be top-5 for sure," said Culver. "I think we've got a shot at maybe winning state. We're pretty excited."
Iowa City High won the boys race with a nine-point victory over Washington. Etienne Nzoyisaba placed fourth for the Warriors and Joe Berry was seventh.
The Linn-Mar boys, also prepping for Saturday's race in Aurora, Ill., entered a junior varsity lineup Thursday in Dubuque. Linn-Mar junior Josh Evans, the top-ranked Class 4A runner in the state, will not run Saturday due to tightness in the upper part of his right leg.
He said he is taking a week off as a "precautionary" measure, but expects to be recovered soon.
Shannon Gorman of Washington placed fifth in the girls race and Beth Heims of Prairie was 10th.
EASTERN IOWA CLASSIC
At Dubuque Soccer Complex
GIRLS RESULTS
4K
Team Standings
1. Kennedy 22, 2. Iowa City High 52, 3. Dubuque Wahlert 114, 4. Xavier 135, 5. Dubuque Hempstead 139, 6. Iowa City Regina 151, 7. Prairie 152, 8. Linn-Mar 211, 9. Washington 227, 10. Clinton 271.
Top 10 Individuals
1. Allison Culver, Kennedy 14:28
2. Katie Wampole, Kennedy 14:33
3. Lauren Meyer, Kennedy 14:37
4. Alyssa Averhoff, Kennedy 14:40
5. Shannon Gorman, Washington 14:53
6. Lindsey Bruns, IC High 15:06
7. Molly Shepherd, IC High 15:09
8. Ellen Carman, IC High 15:15
9. Alesha Duccini, Hempstead 15:22
10. Beth Heims, Prairie 15:23
Kennedy - 1. Allison Culver 14:28, 2. Katie Wampole 14:33, 3. Lauren Meyer 14:37, 4. Alyssa Averhoff 14:40, 12. Carolyn Stone 15:29, 23. Tara Mittelberg 15:56, 23. Sarah Manders 15:57.
Xavier - 11. Jenny Dickes 15:26, 18. Marinna Schroud 15:47, 30. Allison Pitz 16:12, 34. Madeline Bailey 16:20, 42. Sarah Chicchelly 16:40, 51. Lauren Smith 16:57.
Prairie - 10. Beth Heims 15:23, 28, Maddie Rainey 16:08, 33. Katie Costigan 16:15, 40. Anna Rubsam 16:33, 41. Amanda Weyer 16:39, 49. Holly Wisnousky 16:52, 55. Hope Steimel 17:01.
Linn-Mar - 19. Caitlin Novak 15:48, 43. Brooke Almasi 16:42, 44. Bryce Jones 16:45, 48. Kelsey Brandt 16:51, 57. Taylor Robertson 17:05, 58. Lauren Bisgard 17:06, 60. Bella Feller 17:15.
Washington - 5. Shannon Gorman 14:53, 50. Morgan Stuckenschneider 16:55, 54. Kristin Mackenburg 17:00, 56. MJ Kamin 17:02, 62. Sarah Witt 17:34, 63. Megan Muller 17:39.
BOYS RESULTS
5K
Team Standings
1. Iowa City High 42, 2. Washington 51, 3. Dubuque Hempstead 70, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 130, 5. Kennedy 137, 6. Xavier 154, 7. Linn-Mar 171, 8. Clinton 183, 9. Iowa City Regina 281.
Top 10 Individuals
1. Brook Price, IC High 15:42
2. Brien Nugent, Wahlert 15:49
3. Jon Specht, Hempstead 15:52
4. Etienne Nzoyisaba, Wash 16:00
5. Ryan Dorman, IC High 16:02
6. Emmanuel Marcos-Teles, Clinton 16:09
7. Joe Berry, Wash 16:12
8. Chris Ohrt, IC High 16:16
9. Zach Freund, Hempstead 16:22
10. Mohamed Traore, IC High 16:28
Washington - 4. Etienne Nzoyisaba 16:00, 7. Joe Berry 16:12, 11. Trevor Luebe 16:34, 14. Jon Rockwell 16:46, 15. Matt Wittman 16:48, 22. Finbar Berry 17:05, 33. Sam Eck 17:28.
Kennedy - 12. Ryan Walker 16:37, 21. Addison Furry 17:04, 25. Matt Stevens 17:10, 37. Austin Trotter 17:29, 42. Reece Linder 17:41, 46. Andrew Solsrud 17:50, 50. Ethan Williams 18:04.
Xavier - 23. Jacob Schmitt 17:06, 24. Luke Koechner 17:09, 33. Grant Hunt 17:18, 36. Evan Gradoville 17:29, 38. Steven Culpepper 17:31, 52. Zach Schowalter 18:08, 54. Evan Bednar 18:19.
Linn-Mar - 26. Atakilti Berhe 17:11, 27. Jonathan Tripp 17:12, 34. Ian Frana 17:21, 41. Andrew Schuring 17:39, 43. Aaron House 17:42, 45. Joe A'Hearn 17:47, 55. Tyler Annis 18:20.
