10/20/16-Atlantic, IA-Thursday the Cardinals season ended at the 2A District meet. The teams knew going into it they would be faced with tough competition and a very challenging course. The runners did a great job mentally preparing for the challenge and then staying in the moment during the race. My takeaway from the day overall is that the athletes didn't get rattled by the mountain they were facing. The course could have broke some of them and the competition could have intimidated them. Instead of letting it get to them they put together a great final team race this season. As a coach I'm very satisfied with the teams mental effort, how hard they competed, and how far they stretched themselves during the race.
The girls finished 11th as a team and were led by freshman Lauren Saxton in 29th. Lauren's race was the 8th best district finish by a Cardinal girl in school history and the 2nd best in the last 6 seasons. Lauren went for it and had a lot of fight in her through the entire race. She shows promise as an athlete who could progress to a state qualifier level in the future and has had a great freshman season. Senior Addy Frank finished her career on a great race in 40th place-18 spots higher than last year at districts. Addy always give great effort, but it seemed like a special effort in her final high school race. Addy's career should inspire a lot of kids as she has progressed over a 6 year period more than any other athlete we've had. Senior Teresa Borrero ran a great final race as well in 47th place. Teresa thrives on brutal and hilly courses due to her persistent pressure. She ran a ton of athletes down during the race and was a strong 3rd runner for the team. Freshman Riley Bell had her best race (66th) of the season on a course that could have derailed people as no one was able to run season best times on it. She went for her goal and stretched herself mentally beyond where she has been before. Senior Mary Lindsey who has stuck with this sport since 7th grade finished 73rd to round out the team score. Mary kept overcoming those tough race moments, had some good stretches up some hills and had a strong final mile. Her final mile was her best final mile of her career. I would rank this as her best career race and certainly her best season. Freshman Merry Stroup handled the pressure of competing at a difficult district meet well and didn't let the hills defeat her. She finished 74th and kept a more competitive mindset though the race. She is making progress early in her career. Freshman Maggie Frank bravely stepped into to race (originally an alternate) after a varsity runner was unable to compete due to unforeseen circumstances. Maggie chose to run despite knowing what a big task it was. She has a strong mind, didn't walk, and got to compete on a varsity district team with her older sister. She also earned a varsity letter for running the district meet.
The boys finished 13th as a team and were led by junior Nick Bishop in 41st. Nick's district finish was easily the race of his career. It's hard to put things into perspective at times because you might medal at one meet and then finish 41st at districts, but this was a spectacular race. He was the only athlete to almost PR on the difficult course and steadily passed guys on the hills. Nick would have posted a massive PR had this race been on a different course. It was one of the best district races the Cardinals have had in a long time. Junior Jordan Mitchell finished 72nd as the teams #2 man. Jordan stayed in the moment and competed hard the whole way and finished 14 spots higher than last year at districts and gained 6 spots in the final 2 miles. Sophomore Nick Patience also a much improved athlete gave his all for the team in the race (73rd) and committed to running with or near our top 2-3 guys. He is now confident in where he can be in a race and has had a strong season for the team. Senior Ben Savely finished his career with a gutsy run (75th). Ben had to battle through difficult moments earlier in the race than he would have liked, but kept fighting through the pain, competing, and passing guys. That final mile he gave everything he had to finish strong and gained 5 spots in the final two miles. Ben has been a tremendous leader for this season's team impacting a lot of kids in a positive way. Talented Sophomore Conner Seymour finished as the teams 5th runner in 80th. Conner ran tough and moved hard earlier in the race today. Conner got well outside his comfort zone and really responded for the team today gaining 8 spots in the heart of the race. Nathan Stone (88th) who always is consistent and gives great effort finished as the teams 6th man. Nathan has had a much improved season from a year ago. Newcomer Cauy Spidle (92nd) who had been one of the teams top runners gave it a go today on an ankle that was feeling better, but got re aggravated on the hilly course. Cauy was ready to go, but the course proved to be too much for the ankle and we hope to have him back next year and completely healthy.
10/13/16 Mt Ayr XC Invitational-The Cardinals ran at the same course as the POI meet two days earlier in what was the final race of the JV athletes season. The girls and boys teams both finished 6th as a team. 20 Schools were represented and there were 11 full scoring boys teams and 6 girls teams. The high school girls overall ran faster this meet and better as a pack. Tuesday the 5 person pack time was 5:28 and today was much improved at 3:53. The girls were led by freshman Lauren Saxton once again in 39th (25:12). After an incredible race two days ago to earn All POI honors she had trouble bouncing back to that level on short recovery. Senior Addy Frank ran a much better race this week finishing over a minute faster than two days ago in 48th (25:53). Addy was determined to run a strong race. Senior Teresa Borrero is very consistent each week and finished in 54th (26:19). Freshman Riley Bell ran her best career race in 68th (28:23). Riley is starting to improve and gain confidence at the end of the season and ran over a minute faster today than two days ago. Freshman Merry Stroup had a career best day as well running nearly 4 minutes faster than 2 days ago to finish as the teams 5th runner. She ran 29:05 in 71st. Senior Mary Lindsey who is running very consistent improved her time from two days ago to run 29:52 and Senior Keisha Howsden ran a PR in 30:09 as she is improving late in the season as well. A lot of the girls are getting closer to putting a complete race effort together and could potentially still improve a lot in the final race at districts. The girls district team will be comprised of 3 seniors and 4 freshman. Still a lot of youth on this team.
The boys ran better as a team and the pack ran better than Tuesday. This meet the 5 man pack time was 1:33 compared to 1:52 on Tuesday. Junior Nick Bishop led the way in 19:28 (29th) and Nick has led the unit all season. Junior Jordan Mitchell has been breaking through at the end of the season and ran a PR of 19:47 (33rd) to move into 18th on the all time performance list. Jordan's confidence is improving and he is running better than ever at the moment. Sophomore Nicholas Patience bounced back with one of his best ever races in 47th (20:25) and has been a key runner for the team all season. The lone varsity senior Ben Savely ran a very good race improving his time by 40 seconds from 2 days ago to finish 50th (20:47) and has been a consistent scoring runner all year. Sophomore Conner Seymour once again had a huge final half mile to post a PR of 20:51 (53rd). Conner's final mile the last two weeks has been fun to watch. Junior Nathan Stone is a model of consistency and ran near a PR in 21:00 (59th) and continues to race with great mental effort each week. Freshman Brett Powers ran a huge lifetime PR of 21:17 (62nd). Brett has proven to be tough and game in the final weeks of the season. Alex Burnette ran a nice race of 22:30 in the JV division. Senior Phillip Kunze ran tough and with great effort in his final career cross country race. It was good to see the senior end it with such a hard effort and nice time of 22:32. Kyle Warrington ends his season on a PR as well running 23:23 to end the season on a strong race. Grant Atwood ran 24:15 to finish his season as well with his second best career race and time. The boys district team is still young with only 1 senior this year. The teams travel to Atlantic for districts next Thursday and have an early start time (3 PM and 3:30 PM) due to the site hosting both the 2A and 3A races.
October 11th-The 2016 Pride of Iowa Cross Country Championships were contested in Mt Ayr as 12 teams competed. A lot of hard work went into getting to the starting line for all the teams during this championship stretch. Not everything went according to plan this year or this race but the team is learning to persevere and overcome. The junior high concluded it's season by being the first group since I've been here to score as a team both boys and girls at the conference meet. The junior high boys finished 5th as a team and the girls finished 3rd. Both groups competed very hard in their last race of the season. Kaydee Swartz led the efforts as the only All POI medalist in 7th concluding a phenomenal junior high career. Carson Bethards (18th) and Mya Applegate (19th) ran great closing efforts. Chloe Hamaker finished very strong in 25th and Elly Sheetz keeps improving in 34th. The boys were led by the duo of Brayden Olson (19th) and Brandon Vecchio (20th) who had really good first seasons and ran great race efforts. Matthew Patience (31st) and Quentin Coffelt (25th) are two fast improving athletes who ran tough and really are willing to push themselves. Dayson Short finished 55th and competed well in his race.
The high school girls finished 6th as a team and were led by freshman Lauren Saxton in 18th. Lauren earned an All POI medal and became only the 3rd freshman girl in history to medal at POI. She ran a tremendously gutsy race and fought through a lot of physical pain in the final mile to earn that distinction. It was her best career mental effort and moment so far. Senior Addy Frank who has come so far as an athlete over the last six seasons finished 39th. Addy always gives great race day effort. Teresa Borrero continues to run really strong in the back half of the race finishing in 40th. Riley Bell has been consistently steady the last several races in 51st. Mary Lindsey was the final scoring runner 56th and has had a much improved senior season. Freshman Keisha Howsden (57th) and Merry Stroup (58th) are improving 57th Keisha and will be important pieces in the future. Maggie Frank and Chloe Yoder have been struggling with injuries and Kennedy Buckingham showed toughness to get through another race (12th JV).
The high school boys also finished 6th as a team and gave a tremendous pack effort. There was a pack of 5 Cardinals in the top 30 after the mile which was exactly what they were trying to do. The effort was there but the pack struggled to stay together late in the race. The boys were led by junior Nick Bishop in 17th. Nick earned an All POI medal and ran well. He put himself in position to get that medal with all his hard work and then execution on race day. Nick is mentally strong in the hardest moments of the race. Jordan Mitchell had a career best race in 26th place and is gaining confidence on race day. He executed the race plan as well as could be asked. Senior Ben Savely has had a tremendous career and has been a good leader this year. He finished as the teams 3rd man in 37th. Conner Seymour had a really good POI race finishing 40th as gained an tremendous amount of positions in the final mile with a really strong finish. Nathan Stone was JV (6th JV) and actually cross the line next for the Cardinals in a gutsy race. Nathan continues to be super tough on race day. Cauy Spidle struggled with a sore ankle and a few spots of uneven ground aggravated it during the race. He still finished as the teams 5th and final scoring runner. Brett Powers responded well to getting a varsity spot this week with a really brave run in 47th. Nick Patience has been a varsity runner all year but had some difficulties during the race and had an off day in 52nd. Alex Burnette continues to struggle with physical illness this year but ran solid (7th JV). Kyle Warrington finished 25th in the JV race and Senior Phil Kunze finished 27th in his final POI race. Grant Atwood will return on Thursday and was been careful with a knee that's not 100 percent healthy.
MS Girls
Kaydee Swartz-14:58-7th
Carson Bethards-16:35 -18th
Mya Applegate-16:37-19th
Chloe Hamaker-17:08-25th
Ellz Sheetz-19:05-34th
MS Boys
Brayden Olson-19th 14:29
Brandon Vecchio-20th 14:34
Matthew Patience-31st 16:00
Quinten Coffelt-35th 16:27
Dayson Short-55th 22:36
HS Girls
Lauren Saxton-18th 24:58
Addy Frank-39th 27:13
Teresa Borrero-40th 27:18
Riley Bell-51st 29:31
Mary Lindsey-56th 30:26
Keisha Howsden 32:03
Merry Stroup 32:55
Kennedy Buckingham
HS Boys
Nick Bishop 17th-19:50
Jordan Mitchell 26th-20:34
Ben Savely 37th-21:27
Conner Seymour 40th-21:29
Nathan Stone-6th JV
Cauy Spidle-46th-21:42
Brett Powers-47th-21:47
Nick Patience-52nd-22:07
Alex Burnette-7th JV 22:45
Kyle Warrington-25:09
Phil Kunze-26:03
10/4/16-Centerville-The Cardinal runners finished their final tune up at the Centerville Invitational on Tuesday. The Jr high boys and girls teams both finished 9th overall against very large school competition. Kaydee Swartz led the girls in 11th over the 1.55 mile course. It was a strong effort and just a spot outside a medal in a very good field. Carson Bethards was next in 13:28 (54th) and competed well over most of the race. Mya Applegate ran 13:46 (59th) and ran well in segments of the race. Chloe Hamaker ran a solid improvement in 13:53 (63rd) as she competed much better throughout the race this week. Elly Sheetz continues her development and ran a good consistent effort (16:06) in 81st. The boys were led by Brayden Olson in 43rd (11:23) as closed very strong in the final 400 meters. Brandon Vecchio ran just seconds behind in his best race of the year running 11:31 (48th) and ran tough throughout. Matthew Patience finished 84th (12:40) in his strongest race of the year competing well in the 2nd half of the race. Quentin Coffelt is also continuing to make improvements running 13:22 (95th). Dayson Short also finished strong in 17:02 (115th). The teams competed mostly against larger 3A and 4A schools.
The high school teams competed in a large school JV race and were led by Lauren Saxton who battled a bad side stitch but fought through it to medal in 7th (25:40). Addy Frank competed with very consistent effort throughout in 10th (26:20) also medaling. Teresa Borrero finished in 21st (27:41) and has been a consistent runner this season. Riley Bell was next in 29:58 (30th) and is running consistently. Mary Lindsey finished 34th (30:50) and closed well. She has continued to improve from a year ago. Keisha Howsden finished 35th (30:55) in her best race of the season as she is starting to gain a little confidence. Merry Stroup is still learning as the season goes along finishing 41st (32:44). Maggie Frank (47th-38:12) and Kennendy Buckingham (51st-43:30) both ran PR's their best races of the year.
The boys were ran as a better pack this week also competing in the large school JV race. Nick Bishop medaled in 9th (20:02). Nick is so consistent in his mental effort and rarely ever has a bad race. Cauy Spidle ran really strong in 12th (20:27) and medaled as well showing a lot of potential. Nick Patience ran the race of his life in 15th also picking up a medal (20:36) and fought hard at the end to maintain that position. Nick is gaining confidence and running well. Jordan Mitchell (26th-21:01) and Ben Savely (32nd-21:15) ran solid to keep the pack time close to a minute and very respectable. Jordan finished strong and Ben ran well in the final half of the race. Brett Powers is running well for a freshman and ran 22:47 to finish 55th. Conner Seymour ran well for not feeling well finishing in 23:09 (57th). Phil Kunze finished 86th in 26:00 and has struggled a little in the last two meets. Grant Atwood was bothered by his injured knee and struggled as well but finished the race strong in 95th (29:01).
9/27/16 Osceola-The cross country teams enjoyed cooler weather but faced a challenging course on Tuesday. The junior high boys ran stronger as a group this week finishing 3rd out of 4 complete teams led by Bradyen Olson (14th) who is consistently improving. Also making nice progress and gaining confidence is Brandon Vecchio (16th). Quentin Coffelt (26th) ran his best race and gave his best effort of the year and Matthew Patience (29th) is giving consistent effort. Dayson Short rounded up the team score in 44th. The junior high girls were led by Kaydee Swartz (6th) who ran a solid race leading the girls and was followed by Chloe Hamaker in 23rd place. Elly Sheetz (27th) ran by far her best competitive effort of the season and is improving at the right time.
The HS girls finished 6th out of 8 complete teams. They were led by freshman Lauren Saxton who is making steady improvements in her racing and just missed a medal in 21st. Senior Addy Frank ran strong on the challenging course in 30th. Teresa Borrero ran steady in 35th. Riley Bell (46th) had her most competitive race of the year and is making steady progress. Mary Lindsey (51st) gave good effort and competed well as the teams 5th girl. Mary was the only girl to improve her time from this meet a year ago. Freshsman Merry Stroup (56th) and Keisha Howsden (58th) rounded out the varsity efforts and are learning each week. Kennedy Buckingham did well to complete her first career race on the challenging course finishing 20th in the JV race.
The HS boys finished 7th out of 11 complete teams and were led by junior Nick Bishop who picked up the first varsity medal of the season in 15th. Nick started the race in 31st and moved to 13th by halfway. He ran tough to hold on to a medal spot in 15th. Cauy Spidle (34th) ran very well in his first career race and ran in medal position much of the race. As he gains experience he will finish stronger, but was a good career opener. The pack time wasn't quite what the varsity was hoping for, but Jordan Mitchell (40th) moved up into the 3rd position later in the race for the boys team despite falling and getting spiked. Conner Seymour (45th) ran a great second half of the race gaining about 30 spots in the final two miles. Nick Patience (53rd) who didn't have his best race was still the teams 5th runner. Nathan Stone (55th) has been varsity all year and ran in the teams 6th position. Ben Savely (58th) struggled with a minor injury but rounded out the varsity efforts.
Alex Burnette led the JV efforts in 6th in the JV race. Brett Powers is running well for a freshman and finished 13th in the JV division. Kyle Warrington (27th JV) was next and ran a nice competitive effort. Grant Atwood (32nd JV) misplaced his shoes and borrowed a pair of shoes from a spectator to run the race which was less than ideal circumstances. Phillip Kunze rounded out the boys JV efforts in 36th.
9/20/16 Eddyville-Temperatures were warm for the cardinal cross country team, but a mostly flat course and no wind also made for fast conditions. The jr high athletes started things off on the 2 mile routes. 8th grader Kaydee Swartz put together a career race and finished 2nd. She got thru the mile very quickly positioned in 6th and then drove hard home passing all but the winner to finish 2nd. She bettered her own school record by 30 plus seconds posting a 12:54. Kaydee has set the bar high for both herself and anyone who might chase that record in the future. She trains very hard and has a unique ability on race day to perform. Mya Applegate got thru the race in a very solid 14:55 (12th) despite having some respiratory issues. Carson Bethards who was also a little off due to dental pain got thru the race in 15:34 (15th) which is also a very solid performance. Both 7th graders have a lot of potential and will have big moments themselves in the future. Matthew Patience led the boys this week and is a promising 7th grader who posted a PR of 15:00 (30th) and Quentin Coffelt ran much improved from last week competing during the race much better in 15:43 (36th) his best time of the year.
The high school units are still not healthy enough as a group to put together the team scores they would like but a lot of good things took place that they can build on. The girls were led by freshman Lauren Saxton who put together her most complete race of the season. Her final two miles were impressive after a calculated start. She ran a over a minute PR in 16th (24:11). That gives her the 3rd fastest girls 5k in school history. Senior Addy Frank got her big payoff for her years of hard work with a nearly minute PR in 19th (24:48) and the 5th best 5k in school history. Teresa Borrero ran a season best of 25:35 (26th) as the teams 3rd runner but sustained an injury and her immediate status is unknown for next week. Chloe Yoder ran easily her best time and race of the season in 26:52 as the teams 4th runner. Still coming back from a significant injury her status will be day to day the rest of the season as we will evaluate with Chloe what is in her best interest the remainder of the year. Riley Bell made a nice mental step forward with her race and ran more determined. She finished as the teams 5th runner in a PR of 27:53 and is making progress. Senior Mary Lindsey who has been through a lot with the sport in her career ran over a minute lifetime best in 28:42 in what was a nice breakthrough race and easily one of her best mental efforts. Also improving nicely with a 2 minute PR was Merry Stroup in 29:25. Merry has ability and is improving each meet. She is looking to start to put a complete race together soon and will continue to have big improvements. Keisha Howsden completed the efforts in a season best 31:25 and is starting to gain a little confidence.
The boys are continuing to struggle to field a complete or healthy team, but gave a good effort to piece together something with athletes injured, out, or ill. Nick Bishop continues to lead the way and finished 15th in a season best of 19:16. Nicholas Patience who has run well for the team the last two weeks ran near a PR in 20:14 (18th). Nicholas's steady improvement has been big for the team this season. Nathan Stone ran 20:44 for a nice PR in 23rd. He's been one of the key guys running tough during this difficult stretch. Conner Seymour coming off a bit of an injury ran near a PR in 21:08 (31st) and Alex Burnette who ended up being very ill prior to the race rounded out a depleted boys unit in 21:12 (33rd) and still near his PR. Jordan Mitchell sustained an accidental injury getting spiked before the race. He ran but was clearly not himself in 21:48 (36th) as the teams 6th man. Phil Kunze is running more consistent for the team in his senior season and has been called on to be varsity the last several races and posted a 21:51 (37th). A few seconds back nearly making varsity for the first time was Grant Atwood (22:11-42nd). Grant's race was remarkable considering it was a 4 minute PR. Grant has been a guy who has struggled severely with injuries that include a knee surgery in his high school sports career. He is capable of doing big things if he is able to be healthy and well. Freshman Brett Powers was next in 50th 22:46 in another PR and Freshman Kyle Warrington (56th) also ran a nice PR in 23:24 to round out the racing.
This years veteran high school athletes have been through so much in their careers. There have been some awesome accomplishment and records, but there has also been injuries, heartbreak, disappointments, and struggles. These teams seem to be more mature and better at handling the adversity of things not going well. I think it's the tough times they battle through together that create the real team bond. Hopefully we can appreciate the journey as much as the destination as they keep chasing those big moments.
9/15/16 Corning-The Cardinal cross country team ran very game efforts as a group on a humid evening. 13 schools were represented and it appears that both jr high and high school courses were long as times were slow across the board. Kaydee Swartz led the junior high girls to a solid 4th place team finish. They were beaten by East Union who looks to be a possible favorite for the junior high POI meet. Kaydee grabbed her first medal of the season in 7th place and ran a strong race. Carson Bethards finished 17th and ran aggressive early as did Mya Applegate who finished 20th. Chloe Hamaker ran better than a few days ago in 31st and Elly Sheetz ran more competitively this week in 45th. The junior high boys finished 9th. They were led by Brayden Olsen who ran very strong and improved from last meet finishing a very respectable 15th. Brandon Vecchio also ran his best race of the year in 21st. Matthew Patience finished 51st in his second race and Quintin Coffelt finished 54th. Quentin struggled a little this week but will become more consistent as the season progresses. Dayson Short ran his best effort of the season in 65th.
The high school girls finished 8th as a team and were again led by freshman Lauren Saxton (29th). Lauren gives good consistent mental effort and that's why she is always a consistent performer. Teresa Berrero finished 33rd in another strong effort on the back half of the course. Addy Frank also a very consistent effort athlete finished 35th and kept the pack of 3 close. Riley Bell ran with the pack for about half the race in an improved mental effort to commit to pack running. She struggled a bit at the end of the race, but is improving and finished 50th. Merry Stroup ran a lifetime best effort and time despite the long course to round out the scoring runners. She also made it with the pack for almost half the race and helped fill in while varsity contributor Chloe Yoder was out. Mary Lindsay was close behind in 58th and Keisha Howsden ran her best of the year in 63rd to round out the varsity efforts. Chloe Yoder and Maggie Frank will return next week.
The high school boys finished 7th and competed well with the conference schools considering they were missing 5 of the 12 team members and some JV members had to step up to varsity. It was one of the most fun races to watch so far this season as the boys banded together and ran as a pack for a large portion of the race and kept a tight pack time. It was a gutsy team effort by a depleted roster as they started near 60th place and moved from there. Nick Bishop led the way in 21st. Nick ran a smart race gaining over 30 spots throughout the race. Jordan Mitchell had a tremendous final 400m to to finish in 25th and gained a lot of spots in that final minute. Nick Patience ran a great overall race and finished 27th. Nathan Stone stepped up big for the varsity for the second week in a row keeping the pack together for a long time and finishing 38th in what was his best career race. Senior Phillip Kunze also put together one of his best all time efforts when the team needed him to score. He also ran close to the pack for most of the race finishing 48th. Freshman Brett Powers was asked to run varsity and he gamely gave great effort finishing 50th and another freshman who had to step into the varsity line up Kyle Warrington finished 59th in a good race. Its great to see both high school teams adopt the pack running mentality and make progress in that department. Both teams will continue to try and cut down the pack time next week at Eddyville. The only thing that seems garunteed each year is adversity and the teams have veterans who have been through a lot of it. It's never easy to go through but it seems like there is less panic this year when things go wrong and this meet was a good example of that.
9/12/16 Pleasantville-For the first time in known school history the Cardinal cross country teams were able to score as a team in both junior high boys/girls and high school boys/girls on the same night. 9 Schools competed Monday and the junior high girls ran a good collective effort to win the meet as a team. It was exciting to win the meet and they still know they have room to improve. Kaydee Swartz led the way finishing 6th and just off her own school record (12:09). Kaydee will get more race sharp as the season goes along. Mya Applegate (13:14-11th) was next in her best race of the season running more confidently. Mya has good speed as well and her time puts her as the 8th fastest jr high girl in school history. Carson Bethards (13:53-17th) ran a quality effort and is consistently running well. Chloe Hammacker (14:39-23rd) came in next with a run that helped keep the team score low enough to get the win. Chloe struggled a little with her breathing this week however and should improve. Elly Sheetz (17:17-35th) is still struggling with a cold but ran better than last week to finalize the winning team score finishing. The junior high boys team finished 3rd overall in what was a good pack run and were lead by Brayden Olsen (12:36-14th) who ran a really strong back half of the race moving up several spots. Brandon Veckio (12:55-16th) was next for the cardinals as he is running consistently well. Matthew Patience made a nice first career race finishing in 13:40-23rd and Quentin Coffelt (14:07-25th) was much improved keeping the Cardinal pack respectable. Dayson Short (19:41-35th) was able to keep running the whole distance and give the junior high boys a team score.
The high school girls finished 8th as a team. The girls ran a better race as a group this week and improved the pack time. Lauren Saxton who fell, threw up, and was dealing with stomach pain was still able to lead the charge finishing 22nd in 25:48 a season best and 6th best 5k on the all time 5k list. Addy Frank finished a few seconds back (26:00-23rd) and ran down several athletes in the final half of the race. Teresa Borrero (26:03-26th) had a tremoundous last half of the race as she went from near the back at the mile to the top 1/4 by the finish. Chloe Yoder who continues her comeback from a serious injury improved by over 2 minutes from last week (28:09-42nd) to finish as the girls 4th runner. Riley Bell rounded out the team score (28:51-45th) and kept competing and fighting through some difficult moments during the race. Senior Mary Lindsey had a huge breakthough as the teams 6th girl and ran nearly a minute PR (29:57-49th). Mary committed to the game plan today and could really improve the teams depth if she continues to gain confidence. Merry Stroup rounded out the varsity efforts in what is only the 3rd race of her life. She ran a 40 second pr (31:41-50th). Keisha Howsden finished well, but struggled with an ankle issue (36:29) and Maggie Frank ran a PR despite not feeling well by a few seconds in 40:31.
The high school boys also finished 6th as a team ahead of POI schools Pleasantville and SEW. They finished behind I 35 and Mt Ayr. The pack time was 1 minute and 45 seconds and improved from the nearly 3 minute pack time last week. Nick Bishop led the way in 16th (19:58) and moved up a dozen spots in the final two miles. Ben Savely ran his best race of the season by far as he competed well the entire race in 22nd (20:40). Jordan Mitchell ran solid but may have not had his best race (21:06-29th). Nick Patience fought through an illness to run (21:18-30th) a season best to keep the pack close. Nathan Stone who always runs determined delivered a time that equals his lifetime best at the right moment for the varsity to run 21:43 rounding out the scoring 5 in 36th place. Alex Burnette ran 21:51 in 37th and Phil Kunze ran very solid in 22:33 in 47th to round out the varsity. Brett Powers led the JV and picked up medal in the JV race running a huge lifetime PR (23:02) and finishing 5th in the JV race. Kyle Warrington is still learning and gaining fitness as he ran 26:08 and Grant Atwood ran a solid effort but off his best time in 26:52. The boys are making progress and should be a competitive group by the end of the season within the conference. Two potential varsity athletes were still missing this week and to still have a JV runner medal shows that we do have a little bit of depth.
Team Score Summaries (9 total teams represented)
Jr High Team Scores Girls
1-Central Decatur
2- I 35
3-Pleasantville
Jr High Boys
1. SEW
2. I 35
3. Central Decatur
HS Girls
1. PCM
8. Central Decatur
HS Boys
1. I 35
6. Central Decatur
9/6/16 Winterset-The Cardinals continued early season racing at Winterset in potentially dangerous conditions with the index around 100 degrees. Approximately 20 schools participated. It was a learning experience for the younger runners on how to manage their body and races in that kind of heat. It was physically a grueling day and times were slow across the board. 6 POI schools were at this meet and the Cardinals got a chance to see where they are early season in relation to their conference competitors. The races were run and scored by grades at this meet. In the 7th grade race Carson Bethards led a cluster of tightly packed cardinals finishing 25th (out of 63 7th graders). Carson ran strong and finished well. Chloe Hammacker had a tremendous race in 28th really competing throughout the race. Mya Applegate also ran well in 29th and had some tremendous surges to keep herself in the thick of it. The trio took turns leading and kept close throughout. Elly Sheetz was feeling under the weather but still ran tough and finished 48th. Brayden Olson ran well in the 7th grade boys race improving his effort from the first week. He ran consistent throughout the race finishing 14th (out of 58 7th graders). Brandon Veckio also ran really strong in 18th place and while the heat was extremely difficult he is looking stronger each week. Dayson Short got through his first 2 mile race also in 50th place. Quentin Coffelt and Kaydee Swartz will rejoin the line up next week as the junior high all sit one meet out during the season.
The freshman girls were led by Lauren Saxton who is a consistent performer and raced her way to 27th out of 58 freshman. Lauren always gives great mental effort and that leads to consistency. Riley Bell also ran tough through the hot conditions finishing 31st out of 60. Freshman Merry Stroup one of the few athletes to improve her time from last week finished 41st and Maggie Frank Finished 44th. Sophomore Chloe Yoder finished 21st out of 42 in the sophomore race. This marks Chloe's first complete race since a summer surgery. It was a hot day to return to racing, but another positive step on the comeback trail. The senior girls all gave tremendous efforts in the senior race and overall ran very strong as a group. Addy Frank ran over 2 minutes faster than a year ago at this meet and kept improving her position. Her fitness allowed her to survive the last half of the race better than a lot of her competitors. She finished 14th out of 46 seniors and led the HS girl efforts today. Teresa Borrero also passed a large number of athletes in the final half of the race to finish 16th. Mary Lindsay ran her best race at the 5k distance putting in a great effort to finish 23rd. It was a much improved effort over a year ago. 4 of the 6 POI teams would have scored as a team and just scoring the POI teams the Cardinals would have fished ahead of I-35 and behind Mt Ayr and East Union who will be the favorite to win the POI meet this year.
The high school boys collectively ran strong in relation to the 6 POI schools (5 had enough for a team). There is no doubt the boys are better than a year ago as they return the entire varsity group. When scoring only the POI schools the Cardinal boys finished 2nd behind only defending state champions Nodaway Valley and were able to slightly edge I-35, Martensdale, and Mt Ayr. An improvement since Mt Ayr beat them last week. Brett Powers and Kyle Warrington continue to gain experience as they finished 45th and 48th out of 86 in the freshman race. Nick Patience ran a tremendous race and is going to be one of the keys to the boys varsity pack this year as he finished a strong 21st out of 68 in the sophomore race. Conner Seymour was dealing with a bothersome ankle but still finished strong in 32nd also in the sophomore race. Nick Bishop and Jordan Mitchell ran solid efforts in the junior race finishing 12th and 17th out of 60. Nick and Jordan continue to lead the boys efforts this season and have done of lot of the preparation in the off season. Alex Burnette also had one of his best races running strong through the middle in 35th and Nathan stone finished 41st. Grant Atwood battled through the heat in 49th. Ben Savely led the senior efforts finishing 32nd out of 57 and Phil Kunze finished 42nd. Some athletes had more difficulty than others dealing with the heat, but everyone made it home safely.
Jr High Girls
Carson Bethards 16:41
Chloe Hammacker 16:46
Mya Applegate 16:58
Elly Sheetz 22:07
Jr High Boys
Brayden Olson 14:51
Brandon Veckio 15:16
Dayson Short 21:31
HS Girls
Addy Frank 27:06
Lauren Saxton 27:29
Teresa Borrero 27:45
Riley Bell 29:41
Chloe Yoder 30:05
Mary Lindsey 31:02
Merry Stroup 32:21
Maggie Frank 43:56
HS Boys
Nick Bishop 20:42
Jordan Mitchell 21:24
Nick Patience 22:20
Ben Savely 22:55
Alex Burnette 23:19
Conner Seymour 23:48
Nathan Stone 24:50
Brett Powers 25:50
Kyle Warrington 25:59
Phil Kunze 26:08
Grant Atwood 28:47
9/1/16 Wayne XC Invite-The Central Decatur junior high athletes got the 2016 season started on the 1.28 mile course. They bravely stepped to the line dealing with nerves and facing the unknown as 8 of the 9 junior high kids were new to cross country. 9 schools were represented in the jr high girls race and 4 scored as a team. Central Decatur girls tied for 2nd as a team with all 4 scoring teams extremely close. Kaydee Swartz the teams only veteran led the way in 10th. Kaydee will be provide valuable experience for this years group as she was part of last seasons POI championship team. Mya Applegate had a tremendous opener in 11th and ran really well. Carson Bethards also ran strong in 19th. Chloe Hammacker finished well in 23rd and Elly Sheets rounded out the team scoring with a good first effort in 29th. The jr high boys race was won by Eddyville and Central Decatur boys didn't score as a team. Brayden Olsen and Brandon Veckio led with solid season openers in 26th in 29th. Quentin Coffelt got his first race experience and will improve as he finished 39th. Dayson Short finished 44th in a good positive effort. The group will look to keep gaining experience and progress this season.
13 schools were represented in the high school races. The Cardinal girls started the season with a strong pack finishing 6th as a team. Even though it's not quite what the group wanted it will be starting point to launch from. Freshman Lauren Saxton finished 24th to lead the way despite battling a side stitch most of the race. Lauren is a tough and consistent runner and in her 3rd year of cross country. Senior Addy Frank ran a better first 5k than a season ago finishing 33rd. Senior Teresa Borrero ran a smart race as she moved up about 40 spots during the final 2 miles to finish 34th. Freshman Riley Bell ran a good first career 5k in 41st and has a lot of potential. Senior Mary Lindsey finalized the team scoring in 60th with a PR and while she knows she has much better races in her it's good to know even on a sub par day she's a minute faster than her best last season. Freshman Merry Stroup finished 65th and I was proud of her for getting thru her first competitive sports experience and she will continue to improve. Chloe Yoder is the girls only returning All POI performer from a year ago and is coming off a summer surgery for a serious injury. Chloe suffered another setback during the race that the team hopes is minor as she is eager to compete again. The JV girls ran their first career 5k as well and showed determination to finish where they did. Keisha Howsden finished 21st in the JV race and Maggie Frank finished 28th. Both will keep improving as their speed and fitness builds.
The High School boys finished 9th as a team and had a strong pack of 5 all in the top 50. Last season we had 3 in the top 50 at this meet. The pack will be important this season for both teams as we lack that top individuals and our team score depends on keeping the pack tight. Junior Nick Bishop ran a better season opener than last season by 10 seconds finishing 29th. Nick went a little to fast at the beginning but recovered and kept competing. Junior Jordan Mitchell is a different athlete than a year ago and finished 42nd in a strong run. Senior Ben Savely has a solid opener and ran smart along with Sophomore Nick Patience who both ran controlled the first 1/2 mile and then moved up into the top 50 in 45th and 46th. Conner Seymour ran 2 minutes faster than last years first 5k to put our final scorer in the top 50 as he finished 49th. Nathan Stone and Phil Kunze ran solid to round out the varsity efforts in 65th and 72nd. JV efforts were lead by Brett Powers in 20th, Kyle Warrington in 22nd, and Grant Atwood who nearly PR's in the first race of the season in 27th. The boys look to be off to a much stronger start to the season as a team than a year ago and will still add Alex Burnette and Cauy Spidle later this season. The Cardinals return to action next Tuesday at Winterset.
Results Jr High Girls (Team 2nd)
9:12 Kaydee Swartz 10th
9:17 Mya Applegate 11th
9:42 Carson Bethards 19th
10:16 Chloe Hammacker 23rd
11:40 Elly Sheets 29th
Jr High Boys (No Team Score)
8:52 Brayden Olson
9:04 Brandon Veckio
9:43 Quentin Coffelt
10:42 Dayson Short
HS Girls
26:17 Lauren Saxton 24th
27:00 Addy Frank 33rd
27:05 Teresa Borrero 34th
27:56 Riley Bell 41st
30:44 Mary Lindsey 60th
32:54 Merry Stroup 65th
JV
34:32 Keisha Howsden 21st
40:56 Maggie Frank 28th
HS Boys
20:32 Nick Bishop 29th
21:15 Jordan Mitchell 42nd
21:37 Ben Savely 45th
21:38 Nick Patience 46th
21:56 Conner Seymour 49th
22:54 Nathan Stone 65th
23:34 Phil Kunze 72nd
JV
25:10 Brett Powers 20th
25:17 Kyle Warrington 22nd
26:38 Grant Atwood 27th