Back healthy, Panther boys show their potential

   With a full, healthy lineup, the Monticello boys cross country team got to show what it is capable of, during the Jim Hetrick Invitational Oct. 5 at Grace Lutheran Bible Camp in DeWitt.

   The Panther boys were champions of the Class 1A/2A division as part of a Monticello sweep of all four high school races (boys and girls, varsity and JV) among the smaller schools. Monticello’s boys were sixth overall.

   “The boys are finally back to healthy,” Monticello coach Dan Sauser said. “We had every boy race, for the first time this season. We’re starting to finally see what the team has.”

   Who they had up front were Aedan Althoff, finishing eighth overall (all classes) in 17:15.62; and Alex Oswald, 14^th in 17:38.45. Althoff set a personal record, “had a solid race,” the coach said. “Alex Oswald is exceeding expectations.”

   Freshman Alan Arriaga-Rangel continued his growth, running third on the team and 46^th overall. Mace Schnoor was 52^nd, Rylan Bertling took 59^th, Brennan Bohlken ran a personal best to finish 67^th, and Nicholas Schrader was 81^st.

   “I’m real proud of the boys, how both teams (varsity and JV) went out and just went after it,” the coach said. “I think the boys are trending in the right direction now.”

   Monticello’s girls, ranked second in the state in Class 2A, continued their run of success, winning the small-school division. The Panthers were a heartbreaking third overall, a single point behind Clear Creek-Amana and Davenport Central.

   The Panthers had four top-20 finishes: Marisa Kehoe in eighth place, Leah Koehler 13^th, Peyton Ries 14^th, and Ava Capron 17^th. Emmy Verhagen rounded out the team scoring in 29^th; Halle Recker was 52^nd and Kaitlin Kunde finished 63^rd.

   “Peyton Ries had a great race,” coach Sauser said. “She was up there right with Marisa the entire race. Another one that jumped out was Emmy Verhagen. Her time wasn’t a season’s best, but I guarantee it was her best race of the year.

   “Overall, it was a great night. The girls had all they could handle (in terms of competition), and were one point away from winning the whole thing.”

   Reeve Graver led the JV boys, taking fifth in that race with a time that would have placed him fifth on the varsity squad. Bri Kearney was second overall in the girls’ JV race. The coach also praised Leah Schemmel and Katie Stadtmueller for their solid performances.

   “I thought we had four of our best (team) performances of the season,” Sauser said.

Conference meet

   The River Valley Conference Meet will be Thursday, Oct. 12 at Kickers Soccer Park in Iowa City.

   The middle school races will be at 4 p.m. for girls, 4:20 p.m. for boys. The high school teams will run one race per gender, with varsity and JV combined. The girls will go at 4:50 p.m.; the boys at 5:15 p.m.

Oct. 5

Saber Inv.

(at Grace Lutheran

Bible Camp, DeWitt)

VARSITY BOYS TEAM SCORES

(Classes 1A/2A)

     1, Monticello 29; 2, Calamus-Wheatland 54; 3, Northeast 80; 4, Clinton Prince of Peace 101; 5, Bellevue Marquette 136; 6, West Liberty 143*; 7, North Cedar 143.

* – earned place by sixth runner tie-breaker rule

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(All schools)

     8, Aedan Althoff, 17:15.62; 14, Alex Oswald, 17:38.45; 46, Alan Arriaga-Rangel, 18:37.54; 52, Mace Schnoor, 18:59.06; 59, Rylan Bertling, 19:10.84; 67, Brennan Bohlken, 19:30.14; 81, Nicholas Schrader, 20:19.10.

VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES

(Classes 1A/2A)

     1, Monticello 19; 2, Camanche 44; 3, Northeast 70.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(All schools)

     8, Marisa Kehoe, 20:46.66; 13, Leah Koehler, 20:55.18; 14, Peyton Ries, 20:58.42; 17, Ava Capron, 21:12.86; 29, Emmy Verhagen, 22:00.48; 52, Halle Recker, 23:21.81; 63, Kaitlin Kunde, 23:46.42.

JV BOYS TEAM SCORES

(Classes 1A/2A)

     1, Monticello 15.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(All schools)

     5, Reeve Graver, 19:08.93; 15, River Smith, 19:57.65; 24, Royce Kiburz, 20:36.53; 29, Grant Gassman, 21:00.35; 51, Emmit Rickels, 22:58.44; 52, Matthew Beanblossom, 23:06.14; 53, Gabe Kraus, 23:08.99; 61, Ben Welter, 24:25.58.

JV GIRLS TEAM SCORES

(Classes 1A/2A)

     1, Monticello 15.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(All schools)

     2, Bri Kearney, 23:48.92; 5, Leah Schemmel, 24:18.59; 8, Katie Stadtmueller, 24:31.86; 15, Lauren Verhagen, 25:06.50; 43, Taylor Gassman, 28:49.90; 50, Skylar Christensen, 31:49.32.