Linn-Mar Boys Cross Country

Josh Evans runs 3rd in X-C rankings

Linn-Mar sophomore Josh Evans has climbed to third in the Class 4A cross country rankings that were released this week by the Iowa Track Coaches Association.

Cole Decker of Dowling tops the list, followed by Ben Anderson of West Des Moines Valley and Evans.

There are seven Metro runners in the top-15 in Class 4A. Etienne Nzoyisaba of Washington is fourth, followed by Robert Hogg of Washington (5th), Chase Grabau of Linn-Mar (9th), Daniel Murphy of Linn-Mar (11th), Jacob Aune of Prairie (13th) and Trevor Oates of Kennedy (14th).

Washington is fifth in the 4A boys team rankings, Linn-Mar seventh and Prairie 15th. Dowling tops the poll.

Marion senior Lukas Mees ranks third in the Class 3A poll and the Indians are 13th in the team standings.

Carolyn Newhouse of Linn-Mar is ranked fifth in the Class 4A girls ratings this week. The Lions have three runners in the top-15 with Morgan Uridil 11th and Brooklyn Kascel 14th. Karissa Schweizer of Dowling is ranked No.1.

Linn-Mar is ranked third in the Class 4A girls poll. Dowling is in first place. Kennedy is ranked 10th and Washington 15th.

Team Rankings

Class 4A Boys
1. Dowling, 2. Cedar Falls, 3. Pleasant Valley, 4. Ames, 5. Washington, 6. Iowa City West, 7. Linn-Mar, 8. Waukee, 9. West Des Moines Valley, 10. Indianola, 11. Dubuque Senior, 12. Bettendorf, 13. Marshalltown, 14. Iowa City High, 15. Prairie.

Class 4A Girls
1. Dowling, 2. Iowa City High, 3. Linn-Mar, 4. Pleasant Valley, 5. Iowa City West, 6. West Des Moines Valley, 7. Des Moines Roosevelt, 8. Cedar Falls, 9. Bettendorf, 10. Kennedy, 11. Ames, 12. Waukee, 13. Johnston, 14. Ankeny, 15. Washington.

Class 3A Boys
1. Wahlert 2, Pella, 3. Boone, 4. Decorah, 5. Mount Vernon/Lisbon, 6. Glenwood, 7. Heelan, 8. Grinnell, 9. Garner-Hayfield, 10. Spencer, 11. Shenandoah Essex 11, 12. Webster City, 13. Marion, 14. MOC/Floyd Valley, 15. Ballard.

Class 3A Girls
1. Solon, 2. Dallas Center-Grimes, 3. Wahlert, 4. Assumption, 5. Williamsburg, 6. Decorah, 7. Pella, 8. Heelan, 9. Garner-Hayfield, 10. Shenandoah Essex, 11. Humboldt, 12. Waverly-Shell Rock, 13. Harlan, 14. Algona, 15. Mount Vernon/Lisbon.

Josh Evans runs away with title at Noelridge

Linn-Mar sophomore Josh Evans is turning the 2011 cross country season into his personal playground.

Evans ran away from the pack and won the Cedar Rapids Invitational by more than 23 seconds Thursday at Noelridge Park for his third major title this year.

He finished first at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational by 18 seconds, captured the Pleasant Valley Invitational by 34 seconds and set a personal best Thursday when he covered the 5 kilometers in 15 minutes, 44.73 seconds.

Evans has established himself as one of the top long-distance runners in the state this season with three convincing triumphs.

"Yeah. It's weird to think about it," he said. "It's a weird thought."

Evans was injured for part of the 2010 cross country season and did not run at the state meet. He placed eighth in the 3200-meter run at the Class 4A state track meet last spring as a freshman and now could have a shot at a state title.

"It would be fun to do that," he said.

Evans stands just 5-foot-7 and maybe 112 pounds, but he's been a tower of strength in the distance races. He toured the opening mile in about 5 minutes Thursday, then pulled away from the field during the second mile and won easily.

"I can keep a pace going pretty good," he said.

With no runners around to push him, he set his sights on the small vehicle that leads the way around the course.

"I was trying to chase down the go-cart," he said, smiling. "It didn't work."

Evans said he did not anticipate winning the race so easily. "I was looking to try and be in the top-2, but I didn't expect it to be like this," he said.

Evans looked a little wobbly after the race as he came through the chutes, but quickly recovered after grabbing a cup of water.

"I was dying there," he said. "I was thinking they were going to blow by me. I guess I just held on.

"All the different people cheering on the course helps a lot, too."

Evans said he's looking forward to a meet in Pella on Sept. 17, when he anticipates racing against Cole Decker of West Des Moines Dowling. Decker finished fourth at the state cross country meet last fall.

"He's an excellent runner," Evans said. "It would be fun to go beat him."

Ames won the team championship in the boys race with 81 points. Cedar Rapids Washington finished second with 89 markers, thanks to a strong 2-3 finish by Etienne Nzoyisaba and Robert Hogg.

Linn-Mar placed fourth in the 19-team field. Prairie was sixth, Kennedy 10th, Xavier 13th, Marion 14th and Jefferson 15th.

Lukas Meeks of Marion finished in 10th place in 16 minutes, 36.88 seconds. Ryan Glanz of Linn-Mar ran 11th, Jacob Aune of Prairie 12th, Trevor Oates of Kennedy 14th and Mitch Pritts of Prairie 15th.

Iowa City High won the title in the girls 4-kilometer race with 49 points. Linn-Mar finished second in the 15-team field with 61 points, placing three runners in the top-10.

Carolyn Newhouse led the Lions in third place, followed by Morgan Uridil in seventh and Brooklynn Kascel in 10th.

Kennedy placed fifth in the girls race, Washington was seventh, Prairie eighth, Xavier 10th, Marion 13th and Jefferson 15th.

Bettendorf runners finished 1-2 with Anna Peer the winner in 14:42.55 and Mahnee Watts second.

Katie Wampole of Kennedy placed 14th and Bree Gaster of Prairie was 15th.

CEDAR RAPIDS INVITATIONAL
At Noelridge Park

BOYS TEAM STANDINGS

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

Top 10 Individuals (5k)

1. Josh Evans (L-M) 15:44.73; 2. Etienne Nzoyisaba (CRW) 16:08.05; 3. Robert Hogg (CRW) 16:08.70; 4. Matt Butler (BETT) 16:17.12; 5. Jack Espeset (Ames) 16:18.82; 6. Isaac Jensen (ICW) 16:25.61; 7. Daniel Gardarsson (ICW) 16:30.14; 8. Anthony Ohl (WW) 16:31.40; 9. Michael Hart (ICH) 16:35.45; 10. Lukas Mees (MAR) 16:36.88.

WASHINGTON: 2. Etienne Nzoyisaba 16:08.05; 3. Robert Hogg 16:08.70; 25. Joe Berry 17:11.47; 26. Laurent Hakizimana 17:14.16; 33. Jon Rockwell 17:20.21.

LINN-MAR: 1. Josh Evans 15:44.73; 11. Ryan Glanz 16:40.10; 20. Daniel Murphy 17:01.91; 31. Keegan Cook 17:18.93; 40. Bryce Poellet 17:31.27.

PRAIRIE: 12. Jacob Aune 16:41.39; 15. Mitch Pritts 16:55.26; 35. Zach Waite 17:21.49; 56. Christian Counts 17:54.02; 57. Walker Thompson 17:54.98.

KENNEDY: 14. Trevor Oates 16:45.44; 19. Ryan Walker 16:58.98 62. Austin Trotter 18:06.40; 88. Seth Kirkegaard 18:40.56; 103. Zach Grobstich 19:00.92.

XAVIER: 22. Ben Schueler 17:05.18; 60. Grant Hunt 18:04.65; 78. Daniel Pape 18:29.70; 81. Connor Marks 18:32.12; 97. Jacob Schmitt 18:50.19.

MARION: 10. Lukas Mees 16:36.88; 52. Cole Kuethe 17:48.75; 74. Peter Rethwisch 18:24.94; 99. Isaac Smith 18:55.86; 117. Colton Forster 19:49.94.

JEFFERSON: 30. Taylor Mueller 17:17.39; 80. Devin Stone 18:31.18; 87. Maverick Guyer 18:39.09; 98. Ky Kramer 18:54.45; 108. Jason Chung 19:22.04.


GIRLS TEAM STANDINGS

1. Iowa City High 49, 2. Linn-Mar 61, 3. Iowa City West 91, 4. Bettendorf 98, 5. Kennedy 107, 6. Ames 164, 7. Washington 195, 8. Prairie 207, 9. Wahlert 216, 10. Xavier 289, 11. Muscatine 318, 12. Davenport West 385, 13. Marion 414, 14. North Scott 436, 15. Jefferson 440.

Top 10 Individuals (4k)

1. Anna Peer (BETT) 14:42.55; 2. Mahnee Watts (BETT) 15:03.49; 3. Carolyn Newhouse (LM) 15:09.86; 4. Meg Richardson (ICH) 15:19.13; 5. Ashlynn Yokom (ICW) 15:20.93; 6. Molly Leveille (ICW) 15:23.40; 7. Morgan Uridil (LM) 15:27.16; 8. Courtney Bruns (ICH) 15:27.86; 9. Harper Beasley (ICH) 15:28.26; 10. Brooklynn Kascel (LM) 15:29.17.

LINN-MAR: 3. Carolyn Newhouse 15:09.86; 7. Morgan Uridil 15:27.16; 10. Brooklyn Kascel 15:29.17; 19. Maddie Saville 15:52.44; 22. Rachel Perry 16:00.13.

KENNEDY: 14. Katie Wampole 15:40.99; 18. Allison Culver 15:50.74; 23. Alyssa Averhoff 16:00.84; 24. Aliza Lichty 16:01.84; 28. Tara Mittelberg 16:10.06.

WASHINGTON: 21. Shannon Gorman 15:58.47; 31. Colby Bjornsen 16:21.74;  38. Katie Karamitros 16:37.11; 51. Morgan Stuckenschneider 16:57.91; 54. Anna Kline 17:02.97.

PRAIRIE: 15. Bree Gaster 15:42.87; 37. Beth Heims 16:36.86; 46. Amanda Weyer 16:47.96; 50. Anastasia Jordan 16:57.06; 59. Maddie Rainey 17:08.62.

XAVIER: 42. Allison Pitz 16:39.22; 56. Sarah Chicchelly 17:07.06; 62. Marinna Schroud 17:14.65; 64. Kim Leskovec 17:15.96; 65. Ann Glavan 17:17.71.

MARION: 71. Alexis Timp 17:35.80; 77. Ellen Cannon 17:58.97; 78. Tara Zumwalt 17:59.62; 92. Sarah Mork 18:50.31; 96. Abby Kolarik 19:09.93.

JEFFERSON:  73. Rachel Sedlacek 17:39.06; 81. Michelle Zikes 18:14.06; 91. Burgart Carson 18:46.72; 94. Bethany Polansky 19:07.25; 101. Rachel Broghammer 19:21.33.

Josh Evans wins, Lions 2nd at PV meet

BETTENDORF - Linn-Mar's Josh Evans was the winner and was one of three Lions to place in the top five Saturday at the Spartan Invitational boys cross country meet.

The Lions tied Pleasant Valley for the team title with 68 points, but was awarded second place by criteria.

Linn-Mar's Chase Grabau finished fourth, Daniel Murphy fifth, Keegan Cook 27th and Bryce Poellet 31st. No. 6 runner Tyler Chlystun, whose placing did not count in the team score, fin ished 48th.

Evans ran the course in 16 minutes, 2 seconds. He was 34 seconds ahead of second place finisher Matt Butler of Bettendorf.

Prairie's Jacob Aune finished eighth and led the Hawks to an eighth-place finish. Xavier was 11th and Jefferson 12th.

SPARTAN INVITATIONAL

Teams - 1. Pleasant Valley 68, 2. Linn-Mar 68, 3. Edina, Minn., 72, 4. Dubuque Senior 117, 5. Waukee 122, 6. Bettendorf 158, 7. Iowa City High 185, 8. CR Prairie 206, 9. Burlington 211, 10. Davenport Central 276, 11. CR Xavier 280, 12. CR Jefferson 311, 13. Davenport West 321, 14. North Scott 398, 15. Davenport North 419.


Top 10 Individuals
1. Josh Evans (Linn-Mar) 16:02
2. Matt Butler (Bettendorf) 16:36
3. Caleb Drake (PV) 16:42
4. Chase Grabau (Linn-Mar) 16:43
5. Daniel Murphy (Linn-Mar) 16:47
6. Matt Lumbar (Edina) 16:48
7. Riley Wattier (Waukee) 16:51
8. Jacob Aune (Prairie) 16:55
9. Dylan Eigenberger (Dubuque Senior) 16:56
10. Michael Hart (IC High) 16:57

LINN-MAR (68)
1. Josh Evans 16:02
4. Chase Grabau 16:43
5. Daniel Murphy 116:47
27. Keegan Cook 17:26
31. Bryce Poellet 17:33
48. Tyler Chlystun 18:10

PRAIRIE (206)
8. Jacob Aune 16:55
32. Zach Waite 17:33
44. Walker Thompson 18:05
57. Christian Choplick 18:27
65. Jeremy Cline 18:57
82. Luke Galloway 19:34
86. Sean Koopman 19:43

XAVIER (280)
35. Ben Schueler 17:40
51. Grant Hunt 18:17
55. Daniel Pape 18:22
66. Connor Marks 18:59
73. Jacob Schmitt 19:20
77. Brian Ropp 19:25
91. Hunter Wille 19:52

JEFFERSON (311)
37. Taylor Mueller 17:46
53. Devin Stone 18:19
62. Reece Suckow 18:48
78. Maverick Guyer 19:26
81. Ky Kramer 19:34
85. Jason Chung 19:36
98. Lucas Vanous 23:02

Bigger, stronger Evans is surprise winner at Prairie

Linn-Mar sophomore Josh Evans has bulked up.

He's no longer the little kid who measured 5-foot-4 and 105 pounds last spring during the high school track season.

He's noticeably bigger now.

"I'd say probably 5-foot-6 1/2, maybe 5-7. Probably 110 to 112 pounds," he said Saturday.

Well, maybe "bulked up" isn't the right description, but he's definitely bigger and stronger.

Evans proved it Saturday morning with a convincing victory at the 28th Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational with a 16-minute clocking for five kilometers.

The Lions placed six runners in the top 20 and edged Iowa City West for the team championship, 59-61.

Daniel Murphy finished ninth for Linn-Mar, followed by Tyler Chlystun (13th), Keegan Cook (17th) and Matt Simon (19th). Bryce Poellet finished 20th, but wasn't needed for the team scoring.

Evans hid in the middle of the pack as the field climbed the first hill at Prairie, then began picking off runners.

"I wasn't really expecting to win. I was hoping to get a good time and hang with some of the better guys here," he said. "I was kind of surprised when I was able to pass them."

Evans passed Etienne Nzoyisaba of Washington, who finished second in 16 minutes, 18 seconds. He passed Isaac Jensen, of Iowa City West who placed third in 16:25 and also passed Conner Smock of Mount Vernon, who was fourth in 16:27.

"I just feel like I've been getting faster and faster," Evans said. "My endurance seems to stay the same. I can tell I can sprint better now."

Evans missed the early part of the 2010 cross country season with a stress fracture in his right shin. He's completely healthy now and prepared for the season with regular 7 or 8 mile runs during the week and 10 or 11 mile jaunts on weekends.

As far as he's concerned, the longer the better. "I don't think marathon yet," he said. "Maybe 8Ks would be kind of fun."

The Washington Warriors finished third out of 16 teams behind Nzoyisaba and Robert Hogg, who placed sixth in 16 minutes, 34 seconds.

Jacob Aune of Prairie claimed fifth place in the individual standings to help the Hawks finish in sixth place on their home course. Prairie won the Class 4A state cross country title last year, but was hit hard by graduation.

Lucas Mees finished in seventh place to help the Marion Indians place seventh in the team standings.

Xavier placed eighth in the team standings and Kennedy was ninth.

PRAIRIE INVITATIONAL
Boys Team Standings

1. Linn-Mar 59, 2. Iowa City West 61, 3. Washington 115, 4. Monticello 118, 5. Mount Vernon 148, 6. Prairie 151, 7. Marion 198, 8. Xavier 205, 9. Kennedy 228, 10. Solon 281, 11. Columbus Community 322, 12. Anamosa 346, 13. Benton Community 350, 14. West Liberty 357, 15. Valley Lutheran 422, 16. Calamus Wheatland 489.

Top 10 Individuals

1. Josh Evans, Linn-Mar 16:00
2. Etienne Nzovisaba, Washington 16:18
3. Isaac Jensen, I.C. West 16:25
4. Conner Smock, Mount Vernon 16:27
5. Jacob Aune, Prairie 16:34
6. Robert Hogg, Washington 16:34
7. Lukas Mees, Marion 16:36
8. Daniel Gardarsson, I.C. West 16:36
9. Daniel Murphy, Linn-Mar 16:43
10. Bailey Wetherell, I.C. West 16:49

LINN-MAR
1. Josh Evans 16:00
9. Daniel Murphy 16:43
13. Tyler Chlystun 17:20
17. Keegan Cook 17:32
19. Matt Simon 17:32
20. Bryce Poellet 17:33
26. Duggan Trenary 17:50

WASHINGTON
2. Etienne Nzoyisaba 16:18
6. Robert Hogg 16:34
32. Joe Berry 18:07
35. Matt Wittman 18:08
40. Trevor Luebe 18:22
43. Jon Rockwell 18:39
54. Devin Dills 19:06

PRAIRIE
5. Jacob Aune 16:34
27. Zach Waite 17:54
29. Walker Thompson 18:02
39. Christian Counts-Chopli 18:18
51. Jeremy Cline 18:57
60. Luke Galloway 19:22
76. Derek Wheatley 20:18

MARION
7. Lukas Mees 16:36
28. Cole Kuethe 17:55
38. Peter Rethwisch 18:13
47. Isaac Smith 18:49
78. Jordan Garthwaite 20:33
79. Sophoni Ndayibimbaze 20:33
84. Colton Forster 20:54

XAVIER
24. Ben Schueler 17:41
36. Daniel Pape 18:09
41. Grant Hunt 18:22
45. Connor Marks 18:42
59. Brian Ropp 19:22
63. Hunter Wille 19:26
77. Zach Stovie 20:20

KENNEDY
11. Trevor Oates 17:12
25. Ryan Walker 17:45
53. Austin Trotter 19:03
68. Seth Kirkegaard 19:52
71. Chad Slaymaker 20:08
81. Ethan Williams 20:39
88. James Kern 21:27