111 E. Grand St. P.O. Box 191, Monticello, Iowa 52310 • 319-465-3555 • mexpress@n-connect.net
|
Sports Report |
| Panthers get tough early test at C.R. Prairie |
|
| By Pete Temple Express Sports Editor Monticello traveled to Cedar Rapids Prairie to open its cross country season on Aug. 28. The early meet had a pair of purposes: to find out how well the Panthers would respond in a meet consisting of mostly Class 4A schools, and to avoid the situation that occurred last year, in which the Panthers had to practice for four weeks before ever running in a meet. What they learned was about what they suspected. The Panther boys team is a young, but deep and talented squad. And the girls will need to be led by their seniors if they hope to make similar waves this season. The boys placed fifth out of 10 teams, beating three Cedar Rapids schools in the process. At the forefront were seniors Kyle Blake (16th place) and Noah Williams (18th). But the Panthers also had promising performances from the rest of the team, particularly freshman Ben Ahlrichs, who was third on the team and 24th overall. Ahlrichs had a time of 17:52. “It’s not typical for a freshman to run sub-18,” Sauser said. Blake and Ahlrichs are two of the four Panther runners who had never before run a varsity race. “That was the race I was most pleased with,” Sauser said. “The boys set aside the fact they were running against 4A schools, and just went out and competed. The freshman boys all stepped up and ran very well.” The girls were led by freshman Natasha Eby, who ran 34th. Senior Kaitlyn Timm was the second runner on the team, in 51st place. “I was pleased with the girls, but there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Sauser said. “We’re not very deep. They need to come together as a team. I can see them coming together, and I can see them not coming together. A lot of that is going to be determined by the seniors.” The Panthers had just six varsity runners; Brooke Stahlberg was held out of the race while she recovers from a nagging injury. Monticello had two girls run in the girls junior varsity race, led by Nicole Stevens, who was 71st overall. The boys had enough for a team score in the freshman-sophomore race, and placed fifth overall there, led by Boston Widen, who was 10th out of 76 runners. That race covered only four kilometers instead of the usual five. In the boys junior varsity race (separate from the fresh-soph event), Kyle Menster led the team with a 29th place finish. The Panthers are off now until Sept. 7, when they will run in the Tipton Invitational. Monticello will also host its own invitational Sept. 11. Not this time For the first time in several years, Monticello will not be hosting the district/regional competition. The host school for Monticello’s district and regional this year is North Fayette; the exact site is to be determined. Aug. 28 Prairie Invite (at C.R. Prairie) VARSITY BOYS 1, Cedar Rapids Prairie 35; 2, Iowa City West 72; 3, Linn-Mar 102; 4, Marion 109; 5, Monticello 143; 6, Cedar Rapids Washington 147; 7, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 160; 8, Cedar Rapids Xavier 200; 9, Solon 213; 10, Anamosa 274. MONTICELLO RESULTS 16, Kyle Blake, 17:34; 18, Noah Williams, 17:36; 24, Ben Ahlrichs, 17:52; 42, Michael Melchert, 18:49; 43, Tyler Schneider, 18:51; 45, Anthony Kinley, 18:56; 46, Tiler Streets, 18:57. VARSITY GIRLS 1, Iowa City West 41; 2, Cedar Falls 57; 3, Linn-Mar 65; 4, Cedar Rapids Washington 98; 5, Solon 136; 6, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 168; 7, Cedar Rapids Prairie 181; 8, Cedar Rapids Xavier 194; 9, Monticello 281; 10, Marion 297; 11, Anamosa 298. MONTICELLO RESULTS 34, Natasha Eby, 17:21; 51, Kaitlyn Timm, 17:42; 65, Kally Blake, 18:47; 67, Faith Britt, 18:55; 76, GeAnna Coons, 19:45; 77, Katy Blake, 20:45. |
|
|
|