October 22nd, 2015-The 2015 cross country season came to an end Thursday in Shenandoah at the 2A district meet. Cross country has been a sport at the school for about 30 years, but doesn't have a strong history of team success. There has never been a girl or a team qualify for state in that time frame and only one boy has ever qualified for state (Jamie Stanford 96/97). Some of the past successful individuals have given the athletes of recent years goals and times to pursue, while attempting to build a more competitive program. The past 5 seasons the Cardinals have fielded scoring teams at both POI and districts, which historically had been a major struggle. This years group was especially focused on team achievements and developing a team first mentality in a sport that has an individual component.
The high school girls had an strong team run this year finishing higher at conference and districts than any prior girls teams in school history. They were only 10 points away from winning the conference meet (3rd place) and then added an 8th place finish at districts. In 2012 the boys finished 9th and that was previously the highest team district finish Central Decatur has had. The season accomplishments were a reflection of the character of this unlikely and embattled group. Freshman Alli Masters was one of those talented and unlikely young runners with a bright future in the sport if she continues running. She led the high school girls at districts finishing 39th setting the 5k school record in 23:26. Alli achieved a level of success early in her career that few freshman do. Senior leader Sarah Woods had her best race of the season in 46th (24:10). Sarah ran tough and competed hard as she has her whole career. She did a great job of mentoring the young talented freshman this season in a way that kept the team unified. Freshman Chloe Yoder who also has a bright future was operating on nothing but guts in another good effort finishing 50th (24:34). Chloe is strong minded, but her body wasn't cooperating this season. Chloe contributing in bigs ways to the team success this season despite health struggles. Junior Addy Frank finished her season with a determined race in 58th (26:16). Addy's continued development as an athlete has exceeded anyone's expectations. Addy has worked her way into becoming a competitive athlete since she began the sport in 7th grade. Senior Chelsie Weaver finished her high school career with a solid effort in 59th (26:30). Chelsie was a great teammate and positive presence this season. Freshman Tori Kunze kept improving and ran a PR finishing 72nd (30:18). Tori's progress opened her eyes to what could be possible for her in athletics. Junior Mary Lindsey finished her season racing to a 74th place finish in 32:22. She is a veteran for the team and contributed in a lot of ways that weren't always visible on race day.
The boys team has been overshadowed by the girls team in the final weeks of the season. However, they were a hardworking group who gave great effort consistently. They worked hard each week and competed admirably despite having half the varsity completely new to cross country and only 1 junior and no seniors. A lot of runners were put into varsity situations without much experience or development. The team finished 14th at districts. While they certainly had hoped for a higher result the experience they gained this season and at districts will be part of the growing process. Not everything goes as planned and some things will require persistence to achieve. Some of these athletes had great individual races in the midst of good district competition. Sophomore Nick Bishop led the young team by finishing 49th (19:14). Nick has been such a consistent racer all year giving great effort each race. Nick had a tremendous season of improvement and had some excellent moments. Ben Savely struggled a little in 70th (20:29) and had a few mishaps prior to the race (a torn shoe and lost contact) that may have affected him, but has been a big part of the teams past success and current rebuilding process. Ben was a good teammate and supportive of the teams efforts this season. Nick Patience equaled his PR and ran a great race in 76th (20:43). Nick has a lot of potential and a huge upset if he continues with the sport. Jordan Mitchell was the teams 4th man 86th (21:08) and finished strong. Jordan is an improved athlete over his freshman campaign. Alex Burnett finished 88th (21:34) and ran with his teammate Nathan Stone who runs with consistent hard effort in 89th (21:44), Conner Seymour rounded out the varsity efforts in 92nd (22:12).
October 15th, 2015-A low key final regular season race at Mt Ayr prior to districts yielded a handful of improved times and accomplishments for the Cardinals. It was a larger race with several schools and basically all the POI teams again. The high school girls decided to experiment with race strategy and while individual results were mixed the end result turned out well. The team beat I 35 for the first time all season and first time in modern history. The Cardinals finished 3rd behind I-35 at POI a week ago and as the season has progressed the teams appear somewhat evenly matched. Alli Masters ended up setting a school record in 23:34 with a brave run holding on well after the fast early pace. Alli finished in the top 10 among POI runners and 20th overall. Also continuing to run well with good times was Chloe Yoder (24:37) and Sarah Woods (24:57) who were again in the top 20 POI athletes in the race. Chelsie Weaver is starting to look sharp as the season nears the end as she ran near a PR (25:51) as well. Addy Frank finished a good race (26:06) to round out the top 5. Tori Kunze ran her best race with a PR (30:21) as well and Mary Lindsey ran a little better this week. Overall team finished 5th and 2nd out of the POI schools.
The boys made nice improvements by improving several season bests. Nick Bishop ran a PR by 1 second (19:03) in 20th, Jordan Mitchell is starting to return to form in 20:41, Nick Patience ran 20:43 also a PR, Conner Seymour ran 21:03 with another PR and is really starting to improve as the season closes, and Nathan Stone ran 21:43 also a PR. Alex Burnett returned from illness to run 22:05. Tristen Hastings ran well in the JV race (24:17) along with Eric Dowler (24:30) and Grant Atwood ran a much improved race in 26:03 also a PR. Overall the team finished 8th and 5th out of the POI schools. The teams will be in action at districts next Thursday in Shenandoah.
October 13th, 2015-The Cardinal cross country teams ran well at the 2015 Pride of Iowa Conference Championships with several historical firsts for the program. The championship meet was likely the largest and most competitive in POI history as nearly 300 athletes competed for 12 teams. With the intensity and quality of competition the meet was very exciting. The Cardinals were very team focused going into this meet as they collectively chased team goals.
The junior high girls started by dominating the team race and winning the schools first ever POI junior high team title. This group of athletes has tremendous potential if they persist in the sport. The Cardinals scored 22 points which was 18 points ahead of East Union the nearest team who had beat them earlier in the year. Kaydee Swartz led a trio of girls who ran the 3 fastest times in school history. Kaydee runs very aggressive and just goes for it. She finished 3rd overall in a new school record of 13:25. Alaina Applegate has started to turn it on late in the season and ran tremendous in 4th (13:31). Lauren Saxton who is a tough athlete ran a huge PR (13:34) in 6th. The old school record was 13:40 also set on this course. Those three ran on average 90 seconds faster than they ran this same course a month ago showing how focused and improved they were. Riley Bell struggled late in the race a little but kept battling for the sake of the team and finished with a strong sprint in 14th (14:34) still 40 seconds faster than a month ago on this course. Keisha Howsden delivered a stunning 2 minute PR of 14:42 in 16th to solidify the final score. Sari West ran an improved race in 35th over 3 minutes faster than last time on this course (19:26) and Maggie Frank also finished her season strong in 40th (22:26) running 90 seconds faster than a month ago on this course.
The high school girls ran a complete team race in which each athlete took their part of the equation seriously. They beat two teams they weren't supposed to by finishing 3rd and were only 10 points out of winning the title in a race where they ran incredibly gutsy. The 3rd place finish is the highest girls team finish at a POI meet since the conference expanded to 12 teams and was the goal this season. The accomplishment is a testament to this groups toughness as they overcome several challenges to put together a competitive group that nearly stole the show. Freshman Alli Masters who has been an incredible find for the program led a trio of all conference lady Cardinals who all finished within 4 seconds of each other. Alli finished in 14th with a lifetime best race and time (24:34). Alli is a mentally tough competitor with great finishing speed. Senior Sarah Woods finished 16th as the pack of 3 ran together (24:36). Sarah looked strong and had a great race earning her 3rd career All POI honor tying school record for the most in a career. Chloe Yoder is an unbelievably tough athlete who has fought through almost overwhelming adversity this season with an injury issue. Despite only being able to cross train Chloe is game in big moments and gave the girls team a huge lift in 17th (24:38). Chloe and Alli are the first two freshman girls in school history to earn an All POI honor in cross country. Chelsie Weaver continued the incredible pack effort by finishing 24th (25:43) in a time that was nearly two minutes faster than her lifetime best. Chelsie refused to back down beating several girls she hadn't beaten all season giving the girls a strong 4th runner. Addy Frank who was struggling with a cold still give the girls a really gutsy race as the final scoring runner in 30th. The Cardinals had the highest finishing 5th runner and tightest pack of any team. Addy gave everything she had for the team effort and sealed the deal for the historic finish. Tori Kunze ran a minute PR in 53rd place beating a scoring runner from East Union who finished 4th as a team. Tori knew in a close race a possible tie breaker would be needed and she ran competitively. Mary Lindsey bravely finished the race despite some nagging injury issues in 59th. Sierra Sapp was able to finish (44:11) but struggled in the JV division.
Team Scores (top 6)
1. 64 SWV
2. 67 I 35
3. 74 Central Decatur
4. 103 East Union
5. 108 Pleasantville
6. 117 Mt Ayr
The boys were 8th on paper going into the meet and finished 6th. The finish was a good end result, but an emotionally tough day as some individual goals were not quite met. The boys race was stacked with highly ranked teams and individuals. Nick Bishop ran his best lifetime race and effort in a gutsy performance chasing that top 20 medal as he fought into 18th place late. He did everything in his power to get it-but finished 21st (19:13). That time has been a top 10 finish most seasons at POI. Ben Savely also went for it, but it unraveled in the late stages as he finished 32nd (20:13). Regardless of the difficulty of that moment the boys team is young and has only one junior and no seniors. In sports there are major highs and lows sometimes in the same day. They will just go out next time and race again. Jordan Mitchell was the teams 3rd as he fought the whole way despite it not being his best race in 44th (21:12). Conner Seymour ran an PR and a great race as he got more aggressive in the middle stages and kept moving up finishing in 46th (21:18). Nick Patience rounded out the varsity scoring in 50th (21:38) and he gamely attempted to help the team by running higher in the race and just faded a little at the end. Nathan Stone was in pain most of the race but still ran 22:04 in 53rd. Eric Dowler had to step in for the last varsity spot due to another athlete being ill and struggled a little today in 65th (24:09). Tristen Hastings ran the JV race in 25:24 and finished 24th in that division.
Boys Team Results (Top 6)
1. Nodaway 19
2. Pleasantville 79
3. I 35 85
4. SEW 87
5. MSM 143
6. Central Decatur 182
October 6th, 2015-The Cardinal XC teams had their final tune up prior to the conference championships in Centerville, IA. The weather was perfect as overcast skies made for nice racing conditions. The junior high team raced top level competition and was the smallest school represented in the race. The high school teams have competed in the JV race at this meet the last five seasons and did so again. Some years the JV race at Centerville is a tougher race than our conference championship with the likes of Ft Madison, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Fairfield, Kirksville, and more.
The junior high girls finished 6th overall managing to beat some of the larger programs including Oskaloosa. This 6th place finish is probably a better team race than a couple smaller meets they have won this season. 7th grader Kaydee Swartz led the way for the team finishing 12th overall in the tough field for the 1.55 mile race in 11:21. Kaydee is competing well and running confidently. Lauren Saxton had her second exceptional race in a row finishing 14th in 11:23 as the teams second runner. That time is Lauren's best performance. Lauren is becoming a more consistent and mentally strong runner as the season moves on. Alaina Applegate had what was likely her best race effort of the year giving the girls a strong 1,2,3 punch in 17th (11:28) as the top three runners were within seconds of each other. Riley Bell competed tough for not feeling well in 42nd (12:49) and Keisha Howsden rounded out the scoring with her most competitive run of the season in 47th (13:07). Sari West is showing improvement finishing 80th in 17:02 and Maggie Frank continues to compete despite having shin splints finishing 85th (19:06).
The high school girls raced to the best team performance in the five years I've been coaching with the top four girls within 43 seconds of each other. It's the first time the ladies have had 4 medalists in that race in the same year. Sarah Woods continues to lead the team as she finished 5th in 24:57 earning a medal. Sarah has been a consistent senior presence for the girls on race day. Chloe Yoder returned to the line up and raced bravely finishing 6th in 25:02 earning a medal. It was a great effort for Chloe in our final season tune up and she was actually leading the race at one point. Alli Masters ran her best time of the season (25:02) finishing 7th also earning a medal. She ran very strong over the final 1.5 miles. All three girls finished within 5 seconds of each other near the front of the race. Addy Frank finished 11th with her first career medal and easily her best performance of her life as she kept the 1-4 pack time to 43 seconds. Her time of 25:40 was driven by a very specific goal (get a medal). Chelsie Weaver finished in 27:25 in 19th and is very consistent and slowing improving. Mary Lindsey was the 6th runner for the team with a PR in 31:44. Tori Kunze also had a mental breakthrough race with a PR of 31:47. The girls seem to be heading the right direction as the final weeks of the season approach.
The high school boys were led by sophomore Nick Bishop who medaled in 5th place with a time of 19:35. Nick's finish actually ties the highest individual finish we've had in 5 seasons at this race. Nick has has made a jump from a year ago and is racing consistently each week. Ben Savely ran 20:01 and medaled in 9th. His final 1.5 miles was the fastest on the team as he ran strong to finish the race. Alex Burnett ran 21:55 as the teams 3rd man this week. His final half of the race was equally as fast as his first half as he finished very well. Nick Patience ran 21:56 as the teams 4th man. Nick ran aggressively during the race and competed. Nathan Stone was the fifth man and give good consistent mental effort each race in 22:11. Eric Dowler ran solid in 23:15 as the teams sixth man and Tristen Hastings finished his first race in a good run of 24:14.
September 29th, 2015-The cardinal cross country teams raced at the Clarke Invitation Tuesday. The weather was ideal for racing, but the course presented challenging hills. Several athletes sat out for various reasons and the squads weren't at full strength. Due to the tough course only one athlete ran a season best time.
The junior high girls were led by Lauren Saxton who had one of her better career races finishing 3rd with a time of 15:44. Lauren looked very smooth and really competed in the middle of the race with the top girls. Riley Bell, Alaina Applegate, and Kaydee Swartz all sat the race out due to a limitation on number of meets jr high athletes can run. Keisha Howsden filled in and ran solid with a time of 18:35 (10th) and was the teams 2nd runner. Sari West ran 23:03 (17th) and battled the tough course. Maggie Frank struggled with shin pain but was determined to finish the race in 26:18 (18th).
The high school girls ran a promising team race despite sitting out Chloe Yoder one of their top runners for health reasons. The girls finished 6th out of 13 schools and were the 3rd POI team only 7 points behind I-35 the defending conference champions. It was a glimpse of what is possible for the girls who believe they could be a dark horse threat at the conference meet. Sarah Woods ran well earning a medal 17th (25:32). Sarah is starting to run stronger and is gaining ground on the rest of the conference each week. Alli Masters who is relatively new to the sport ran tough and battled the challenging course. She had a very strong finish gaining several spots at the end. She ended up running 26:29 (25th). Chelsie Weaver an all POI athlete a year ago had her best race of the season and is starting to hit her stride as the teams 3rd runner in 27:28 (34th) near her best time this season. Addy Frank who has been running very good for the team all season was a very strong fourth runner who kept battling all the way to the finish in 27:40 (36th). Mary Lindsey (32:42-58th) and Tori Kunze (32:43-59th) both ran good races in what may have been their best efforts of the season as the teams 5th and 6th runners.
The high school boys finished 9th out of 13 schools beating 3 POI schools despite missing five athletes. Nick Bishop ran very strong in the middle portion of the race to ensure he picked up a medal in 19th (19:44). Nick has had a very good season and is very consistent with his racing and mental effort. Ben Savely ran 20:12 (26th) in a solid season debut, but he will hope to keep improving. Those two ran faster than the 1-2 from last years team at this meet but the lack of depth became evident with several key athletes missing. Nathan Stone stepped in as the teams 3rd man running very admirably and he is continuing to improve. His time of 22:02 (52nd) was a season best and he was the only athlete on the team to run a season best on the tough course. Phillip Kunze was called upon to be a scoring athlete and gave a good mental race effort in 22:49 (59th). A much improved Eric Dowler was the 5th man this week rounding out the scoring in 23:47 (62nd). The teams final tune up for the conference meet will be next Tuesday at Centerville.
9/22/15-The Cardinal cross country teams continued their mid season stretch at Eddyville Tuesday. Six teams competed and three conference schools were represented. The girls junior high started off the competition by winning the team race with 22 points. Alba was 2nd with 32. This is the 3rd meet this season the young group has won. Lauren Saxton raced and competed like a veteran running fearlessly to lead the troops this week with a 5th place finish of 15:28. Lauren is a different runner than last season improving her time by three minutes from a season ago at this meet. Kaydee Swartz finished 7th in 15:54 running a competitive race and battling for spots. Kaydee will gain consistency with more race experience. Alaina Applegate was another top 10 finisher in 8th with a time of 16:06. Alaina seems to run tough each race. Riley Bell was 13th in 16:41 and gives good consistent effort on race day. Keisha Howsden rounded out the scoring with a 16th place finish in her best race of the season (17:18). The girls are all close in ability and seem to alternate order of finish each week. Sari West ran 22:57 in 26th place as the teams 6th runner this week and is continuing to gain valuable race experience.
The high school girls were extremely competitive and ran an exciting team race. It's the first time the high school girls team has been battling for the team title at a race since I've been coaching (5 years). It was fun to fight for that top spot. The girls finished 3rd but only 11 points out of first as Pleasantville won the meet. The log jam at the top of the POI girls race this year will be exciting with up to 6 teams possibly having an outside chance to steal the title. The Cardinal girls know they are a dark horse but feel they can still improve enough to make things interesting in three weeks. Senior Sarah Woods led the way again earning a medal in 6th (24:53). Sarah looked a lot more competitive in the first two miles and is still gaining fitness to figure out the 5k race. Freshman Alli Masters is a gifted athlete and in the first race of her career earned a medal in 10th (25:27). Alli will give the girls team a big lift the remainder of the season. Chloe Yoder struggled with some some nagging pain in her ankle during the race but finished and battled through it to still finished 12th (25:50). Chloe is a very mentally tough competitor and finishing the race gave the team a competitive chance. Addy Frank ran a great race really competing the whole time finishing 18th in 26:29 as the teams 4th athlete. The final team scorer was Chelsie Weaver in 24th (28:05). Chelsie is continuing to make steady progress. Mary Lindsey the teams 6th runner had her most competitive race of the season in 34th (31:51). Mary was the only girl with a season best so that indicates she did run much improved. Tori Kunze struggled a little bit today but has not quit in her as she finished the race in 37th (33:42).
The boys are young team who are still missing their top runner from a season ago Ben Savely, but the young group competes admirably. The team finished 5th overall. They were led by a great race and effort from sophomore Nick Bishop who gained several spots in the middle of the race and just missed a medal in 12th (19:35). The time is 7 seconds faster than our top athlete from a year ago at this meet and over a minute faster than he ran at this meet a year ago. Jordan Mitchell is racing more consistently this season and finished in 27th (21:40). While maybe not his best race this season it is still 35 seconds faster than last season at this point. Nick Patience had his best race of the year finishing in 21:59 in 31st place. Nick was more aggressive and ran with Jordan most of the race to try and help keep the pack close. Alex Burnett had a strong final mile and good finish in 22:03 (32nd). Nathan Stone may have had the race of the day as the only boy to run a season best time in 22:03 (33rd) as he ran very tough in the final half of the race as the teams 5th man. Phillip Kunze was the teams 6th finisher in 22:28 (34th) and improved 36 seconds from last season at this course. Conner Seymour is racing consistently and finished 39th in 22:48 as the teams 7th man. Eric Dowler is gaining experience and learning to be more consistent on race day. He finished 48th (23:31). Grant Atwood kept competing and battling in 63rd (27:25). The team returns to action next week at Osceola on Sept 29th.
9/17/15-The Cardinal Cross Country teams competed on Thursday in Corning, IA on a warm and windy day. It was a pleasant suprise that the team continued to improve despite coming off a very good team performance on a fast course on Monday. It was another positive day overall as the team is slowly building confidence and getting better. They are exceeding expectations at this mid season juncture. With the ups and downs of athletics it's good to appreciate those moments where things go well and the hard work is visibly paying off. The hard part is learning to appreciate the tough moments as they can either break you or teach you the best lessons. We know that we are going to face some difficult challenges this season as a group and individuals at times and this season's group seems to be finding a way to embrace both the positives and the challenges in a way that is productive.
The junior high girls won the meet and put on a nice team display. It was fun to watch the unit beating some quality schools as they put 4 in the top 9. They finished with a very low score of 42 points to win the meet. Shenendoah a large and quality team finished 2nd with 49 points, POI rival East Union ran solid in 3rd with 54 points, and Red Oak finished in 4th with 72 points. Those four schools led the way with competitive junior high teams. The team effort was led by Alaina Applegate who medaled finishing 4th overall in 14:57 in what was her most confident and aggressive race of the season. Lauren Saxton also medaled in 5th with a time of 14:58. Lauren is a veteran already and is a consistant racer for the girls team. Riley Bell ran well medaling in 7th at 15:10 and ran strong thoughout. She is a consistent competitor. Kaydee Swartz also medaled in 9th (15:32) helping the girls team pack stay tight. She wasn't feeling completely well but gave the girls what they needed to fight for the win. Keisha Howsden was the final piece to the winning puzzle as she finished 17th and rounded out the scoring in easily her best and most aggressive race this year. Keisha went for it and was in the top ten most of the race. It was fun to see her race with that intensity. Sari West finished 35th in 23:00 and Maggie Frank finished 36th in 23:52. Both are achieving a lot by continuing to gain experience and improve. Savannah Curl rounded out the teams effort in 37th. Sometimes you learn the most from the things in life that don't come easily and that you have to work for.
The high school girls sat two out for precautionary reasons which resulted in being unable to score as a team. The four girls that ran all ran season best times despite this course being a more challenging one than monday's. The improvement shows they are heading in the right direction. Sarah Woods lowered her school record to 24:03 (22nd) as she battled thru a race that didn't wasn't perfect but still faster than three days ago on a course a little more challenging. Sarah has done a nice job in the leadership role this season. Addy Frank improved her PR by another 20 seconds in 25:35 (32nd place). Addy ran smart and continued to move up in the field. The longer the race and the tougher the course the better it seems for Addy. Chelsie Weaver continues her steady progress by improving her PR by a minute in 27:21 (42nd). Chelsie is someone that seems to steadily improve all season. Tori Kunze improved her PR as well getting a little better each race in 31:56 (57th). Shenendoah dominated the team scoring to the win the meet. Chloe Yoder and Mary Lindsey plan to return to action soon.
The high school boys have surpassed all expectations with their progress at this meet. This course is the same as last season and the weather was probably not as good this season. So for the first time the boys could compare directly their efforts against last seasons. This years team surpassed what last years team did at this meet. This young group had 3 guys faster than the fastest cardinal a year ago at this same meet and same course. They also had 5 guys ahead of where last season's #2 was. Nick Bishop ran a career best race as he looked smooth and kept moving thru the pack finishing 19th in a lifetime best time of 19:04. It was a great race for Nick as he has become a tough race day competitor and it was a 3 minute improvement over his freshman effort last year on the same course. Nick now ranks as the schools 12th fastest boy all time. Jordan Mitchell ran well in his 2nd best career time time of 20:11 (29th). Jordan is just a different athlete than he was a year ago and is a very efficient and powerful runner. His time was over four minutes faster than a year ago. Nick Patience ran a more aggressive race and competed very well as the teams 3rd runner in a big PR and career best moment of 20:59 (41st). Conner Seymour also ran extremely well in what was easily his best performance and time of the season in 21:21 (43rd). Those two freshman are running very well for freshman and have a promising future. Sophomore Alex Burnett ran tough despite having dental work done earlier and was not feeling well. He still ran 21:40 in 46th to round out the teams scoring. Nathan Stone ran a consistent effort in 51st (22:09) and Phil Kunze also ran strong in 22:23 (52nd). One of the best races and suprises of the day was Eric Dowler who earned a varsity spot for next week by running another big lifetime PR in 21:48 in the JV race. Eric showed some toughness and determination as he made improvements that exceeded expectations. That effort while in the JV race would have been the 3rd varsity runner a season ago at this meet. Grant Atwood ran his first career race finishing in 26:36. Grant joined the team recently and has not been able to train and condition for some time due to health issues. It took a little courage to step out there like that and when given a chance to drop out he choose to fight thru and finish the race. Overcoming that mental hurdle could be a huge building block for things in the future as we believe he could contribute to the varsity effort late in the season. Ben Savely hopes to return to action soon and did a remarkable workout after the meet was over and he had already run around cheering on the races. Ben ran the 5k course alone after the runners were heading to the awards area and put up a lifetime best type of run showing that he is physically ready to go in the near future.
Pleasantville Summary and Results
9/14/2015-The Cardinal XC teams traveled to Pleasantville, IA on monday to compete in a race featuring favorable weather and a flat course. With an excitement about the potential for fast times the team took advantage of the favorable conditions. It was a positive afternoon of racing where the team as a whole took a step in the right direction. The junior high girls finished 2nd out of 6 teams, the high school girls finished 4th out of 7 teams edging out Pleasantville (POI opponent) by 1 point for the first time this season, and the high school boys finished 5th out of 7 teams ahead of POI school Mt Ayr. From a team stand point there is still work to do before POI in about a month.
In the junior high race talented 7th grader Kaydee Swartz led the way earning a medal in 4th place. She ran smooth and was as high as second place at times. Her time was 13:25 for the nearly 2 mile course. Due to the course being a little short a conversion chart determined a two mile equivalant and will earn her a tie with the current junior high school record. Chloe Yoder set the record last season on a course that was also a little short and converted to two miles also. It's quite an accomplishment for the 7th grader in only her 3rd career race. Riley Bell just missed a medal in 6th with a 14:05. The time ranks her 3rd fastest on the all time junior high list and was over 2 minutes faster than a week ago. It was her best race of the season and she kept pressing the pace throughout the middle of the race. Alaina Applegate finished in 14:06 in 7th as she competed hard through the final stages. Alaina also improved over 2 minutes from last week and is now 4th on the all time junior high list. Keisha Howsden was the girls 4th runner in 15:51 (17th) and ran solid, but is still on the mend from being ill. Sari West was the 5th runner in 20:48 (pr-20th place) and is improving. Maggie Frank an determined individual finished off the team effort in 21:26 (pr-21st place). The girls only lost to PCM. They have beat all the POI schools so far this season except East Union and have yet to race Southwest Valley.
The embattled high school girls group showed signs of life and some fight as Sarah Woods and Chloe Yoder both ran well in their first ever 5k's to earn medals. Sarah Woods took the school record back from Chelsie Weaver who enjoyed it for a week finishing 12th in a solid effort (24:11). Chloe Yoder finished 13th (24:12) also medaling and running tough in what was an emotional lift for Chloe and the team to have her out there. Sarah and Chloe are both struggling with different challenges with fitness and health. If those two get fit and healthy at the same time they will be a really strong 1-2 tandom. Addy Frank ran a career best race in 25:57 (24th) just steadily running people down. It's over 3 minutes faster than a week ago. Addy has become come so far as an athlete it should inspire others to see what kinds of improvements are possible if you simply don't give up. Chelsie Weaver ran solid but knows she still has room to improve running 28:09 (36th). Tori Kunzi improved her time by a couple of minutes also in 32:00 (39th) and Mary Lindsey who didn't have her best day still ran a few seconds faster than last week in 32:28 (41st). The girls were able to beat Pleasantville a POI school and just missed Mt Ayr. I-35 ran well and appears to be the early season favorite to repeat as POI champs.
The high school boys picked up their first individual medal of the season as Nick Bishop responsed to the challenge of trying to earn a medal and finished 12th in a 30 second PR of 19:17. The career best time ranks him 15th all time. Nick ran tough and was due for a pr after a nice summer of training. Jordan Mitchell continues to improve and is a nice sophomore talent. He ran a minute lifetime best performance of 19:55 putting him 21st on the all time list. The team got an unexpected boost from Alex Burnett as the 3rd man who ran strong and fluid over the final mile with a 2 minute PR of 20:51 (25th). Alex stepped up for varsity group today the young team will need that mentality later in the season. Nick Patience keeps improving running a 90 second PR of 21:07 (29th). Nick struggled with a side ache at one point in the race and but still had a good finish. Conner Seymour ran a 2 minute PR as well as the teams 5th man in 21:26 (32nd) finishing strong. Phil Kunze ran a 9 second life time best of 21:41 (33rd) in a nice strong effort as he competed and battled with athletes. At one point he overcame some unsportsman like conduct directed at him by another competitor and responded by putting him away in the final half mile. Nathan Stone ran his first race for the cardinals in 22:05 (36th) and went too strong at the start, but will look to improve on that race moving forward. Eric Dowler finished with his first career medal in the JV race finishing 7th with a 30 second lifetime best of 22:37. The boys also finished 5th out of 7 teams. A very positive day for the extremely young high school boys team that is becoming more competitive and hopes to have last seasons top runner Ben Savely back in action in a few weeks.
9-8-15 The Cardinal cross country teams continued early season action at a large meet in Winterset against a host of 3A schools and a number of small schools as well. The meet was run by grades and recognition given to the top 7 individuals in each grade 7th-12th. The small Central Decatur unit still managed to make progress and took some small steps forward. All teams ran the full race distance's this week of 2 miles for junior high and 5k for high school.
The junior high girls finished 6th out of 16 teams. Four of the teams ahead of them were 3A including Ballard the winner. They saw five conference schools at the meet and beat four of them losing only to East Union. This week the squad was led by Kaydee Swartz (7th place) who ran a phenomenal race to become the first Cardinal to claim a top 7 finish in the last five years at this meet. Kaydee is starting to find herself as a competitor and moved up in the field nicely in the second mile. Lauren Saxton who led the team last week had to run tough through a bad side stiche which hampered her performance, but she battled through for the team race finishing 33rd (16:30). Riley Bell ran a great race as the teams 3rd girl (16:31) in 34th. Riley steady gained spots in the final mile. Alaina Applegate who ran excellent a week ago was also battling a bad side stiche but did not walk and gave the girls a solid #4 runner in 37th (16:58). Maggie Frank ran admirably to give the girls their final scoring runner (23:20). Siri West and Savannah Curl finished 54th and 57th (7th grade division) to round out the girls squad.
The high school girls who were missing senior Sarah Woods to illness continue to battle through challenges and were unable to field a scoring team. Tori Kunze and Chloe Yoder became the first two Cardinal girls in history to toe the starting line for a girls 5k in cross country. This season in Iowa the girls have moved from a 4k to a 5k race distance. Chloe was given instructions to run only the first mile before shutting it down in an attempt to carefully manage her health. She led the entire field including some of the top runners in the state through the first mile and felt positive about the workout as she hopes to return to competition later this season. Tori Kunze who was having respitory issues finished the race, but was not feeling well. She become the first girl to finish a 5k in school history temporarily claiming the 5k girls school record (83rd place-36:07). The record fell again when the junior/senior race took place and will continue to fall as the season goes along with the girls racing the new race distance. In absence of a few athletes All POI athlete from a season ago Chelsea Weaver ended the day as the school 5k record holder finishing 44th in 28:29. She ran solid but knows she will run much faster in the coming weeks. Addy Frank ran tough as she always does and never walks, but struggled with side or stomach pain as well finishing 48th in 29:19. Mary Lindsey made an improvement from her first race of the season to finish 62nd in 32:45 and ran a strong first mile and will look to find a way to extend that thru the final two miles in the next month. The girls team currently battling health issues has potential but will try to put the pieces together as the season moves along.
The high school boys had only freshman and sophmore's competing and finished 9th out of 15th teams in the freshman/sophmore race. The young team while not fairing overly well yet against the juniors and seniors were only beat by Nodaway's Valley's freshman/sophomore team in terms of conference competition making the next few years look promising if they keep progressing. Nick Bishop led the way running 20:42 for the 5k in 20th place. Nick continues to run solid races and is on the verge of a breakthrough. Jordan Mitchell has made nice progress this season and is a key for the Cardinals later this year. He ran 21:14 and finished 24th a time just off his lifetime best. Nick Patience who ran his first ever 5k finished with a strong kick in 64th (22:54) and Alex Burnett ran a much improved race effort in 66th (23:00). Alex ran smart and looked more like a competitor this week. Conner Seymour rounded out the scoring in 74th (23:31) as he finished his final mile strong. If Conner can gain confidence to run with the next pack of Cardinals he is getting closer to taking that next step as a competitor. Eric Dowler ran 24:28 in a very solid effort to finish 84th. The boys won't be at full strength as a unit until the conference meet and will continue to look to improve with the young group. Nine senior boys graduated a season ago and with no seniors this year the team is young and just looking to improve one week at a time.
9/3/15-The 2015 Cardinal XC season got underway at the Wayne Invitational on Thursday with warm conditions and a challenging course. The opener was bittersweet with exciting and heartbreaking moments as well. Both high school teams ended up without a top key runner which will impact the team scores early in the season as the units don't have a lot of depth. All races were shortened due to heat (1.6 miles jr high and 4.25 KM HS).
The jr high girls started off the season racing exceptionally well against a small field of mostly conference schools and easily won the team competition scoring 28 points. Mount Ayr was second with 48. The Cardinal ladies finished with pack of 4 runners in the top 6. A much improved Lauren Saxton led the way finishing 3rd almost three minutes faster than a year ago on this same course. Alaina Applegate ran smooth and finished really strong for her first race just a second behind in 4th. Riley Bell also ran a smart race and finished just a few more seconds back in 5th. Those three earned individual medals. Rounding out the team score was Kaydee Swartz in 6th who ran in 2nd place most of the race and will look to improve her finish as the season goes along. Keisha Howsden struggled with stomach issues and heat but still finished in 10th to round out the team scoring. Maggie Frank improved her time from a season ago and Savannah Curl who hasn't had much training was able to finish the race. The junior high girls have potential to compete and beat top teams as the season progresses. It was the first team win for a junior high unit in known school history.
The high school girls who have some good athletes were led by Senior Sarah Woods (21st) who will continue to improve and look to hit top form in October. She will seek her 3rd All POI honor this season which would tie a school record for the most in a career. Freshman Chloe Yoder was running well in the top 8 in the first mile, but began to experience severe ankle pain and coach's decided to pull her out of the race. Chloe is in great shape and was ready to compete-so the injury is a difficult development for both Chloe and the girls team. She is out indefinitely. Junior Addy Frank (31st) ran a really great season opener and has been a bright spot for the girls team. She has steadily developed into a quality athlete over the last 5 seasons and shows what can happen if someone sticks with something long enough. Senior Chelsea Weaver (46th) was next for the Cardinals in a solid opener and she will continue to improve. Chelsea was an all POI performer last year and is ahead of where she was in training a season ago. Junior Mary Lindsey (70th) and Freshman Tori Kunzi (72nd) rounded out the scoring for the cardinals ladies. Mary is struggling with her own health concerns but fought through to help the girls finish with a team score. Tori who ran her first ever XC race gave the girls a team score by finishing will continue to improve. Davis County won the team contest and the ladies finished 10th overall. The team will have to be patient and manage the health concerns and injuries as the season goes along.
The boys while missing last seasons top runner Ben Savely still showed promise with the young crew. Nick Bishop (29th) an All POI athlete himself from a year ago led the way and was followed by sophomore Jordan Mitchell (49th) with a very solid opening race. Both Jordan and Nick's times would equate to close to their career bests. Freshman Nick Patience (50th) ran a great first career race steadily picking off athletes as he moved forward in the pack. Nick was a pleasant surprise and has a lot of talent which could really help this team later this season. Junior Phillip Kunze (54th) ran a lifetime best effort to finish as the teams 4th man and delivered a positive boost for the boys team. Phillip's time would have easily equated to a lifetime best. Alex Burnett (62nd) ran a solid first ever XC race to round out the team scoring. Freshman Conner Seymour (63rd) also ran well and finished very strong passing several athletes in the last half mile as the teams six man. Eric Dowler (72nd) also rounded out the boys team effort with a very solid run. The boys while young and running their first race reasonably well (9th overall) for their experience level will have to contend with a conference that is stacked this year with Nodaway Valley currently ranked #1 in the state and Pleasantville beating the #4 ranked team in 2A to win the Wayne Invitational. The boys will try to claw their way into the top 4 teams this season at the conference meet later in October.
Jr High
3rd-11:41 Lauren Saxton
4th-11:42 Alaina Applegate
5th-11:52 Riley Bell
6th-12:05 Kaydee Swartz
10th-13:47 Keisha Howsden
17th-18:20 Maggie Frank
18th-19:50 Savannah Curl
High School Girls
21st-22:00 Sarah Woods
31st-22:38 Addy Frank
46th-24:17 Chelsea Weaver
70th-28:34 Mary Lindsey
72nd-28:54 Tori Kunzi
High School Boys
29th-16:39 Nick Bishop
49th-17:47 Jordan Mitchell
50th-17:50 Nick Patience
54th-18:09 Phillip Kunze
62nd-18:36 Alex Burnett
63rd-18:45 Conner Seymour
72nd-20:23 Eric Dowler