Panther girls are champs, boys third at Monti Invite

   Monticello’s cross country teams delighted their home fans with by far their best performances of the season Sept. 10 at Monticello High School.

   The Panther girls toppled second-ranked Mid-Prairie by 26 points in winning the championship. Monti’s boys, ranked ninth in Class 2A coming into the meet, finished third in a loaded field that included nine ranked teams. The Panthers wound up just nine points behind top-ranked, second place Tipton.

   “I was really proud of the way our kids stepped up and ran,” Monticello coach Dan Sauser said. “From the first race to the last race, every kid just laid it out there.”

   Monticello excelled in the junior varsity races as well, taking first place in the boys’ race as Rylan Bertling was the individual winner; and finishing second in the girls’ JV event.

   It was a near-perfect running day, with temperatures in the low 60s, and the course was fast. Monticello took advantage by posting 12 personal records and 29 season-best times.

   The varsity girls were led by two top-five finishers, Emma Althoff third in 19:54; and Leah Koehler fifth in 20:06. Halle Recker ran 11^th, Ava Capron was 14^th and Marisa Kehoe was 20^th. Emily Hendricks finished 40^th and Savannah Freese was 56^th.

   “They’re running at a very high level,” Sauser said. “They just go out and attack the course. They’re running like five seniors, and only one of (the top five) is a senior.”

   For the boys, Chesney Capron closed in on the 17-minute mark with a ninth-place finish in 17:06, taking nearly a minute off his previous PR. Jacob Miller was 14 seconds behind Capron in 11^th, Aedan Althoff ran 24^th, Cort Nietert was 26, and Alex Oswald rounded out the top five in 28^th. Nathan Sauser ran 44^th, and Reeve Graver was 56^th.

   Six of the seven varsity runners had personal records.

   “They really hit one out of the park,” coach Sauser said. “They’re starting to see what they’re capable of.”

   For both teams, the coach added, “We will use this meet as a springboard for the rest of the season.”

   Monticello won the JV boys’ race with 36 points; Mid-Prairie was second with 49. The JV girls were second with 65, 41 points behind champion Tipton. Katie Roher led the Panthers with an eighth-place finish.

Cascade next

   The Panthers will tackle the hills of Fillmore Fairways for the annual Cascade Invitational Thursday, Sept. 15.

   The middle school races will be at 4 p.m. (girls) and 4:25 p.m. (boys).

   Varsity and JV runners will run together. The high school girls’ race is scheduled for 5 p.m., followed by the boys’ event at 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 10

Monticello Inv.

VARSITY BOYS TEAM SCORES

     1, Western Dubuque 45; 2, Tipton 88; 3, Monticello 97; 4, Mid-Prairie 115; 5, Anamosa 131; 6, Bellevue 141; 7, Cascade 142; 8, North Linn 197; 9, Maquoketa Valley 250; 10, Davenport Assumption 262; 11, Dyersville Beckman 268; 12, Calamus-Wheatland 275; 13, Camanche 362.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     9, Chesney Capron, 17:06; 11, Jacob Miller, 17:20; 24, Aedan Althoff, 17:44; 26; Cord Nietert, 17:55; 28, Alex Oswald, 18:04; 44, Nathan Sauser, 18:26; 56, Reeve Graver, 18:56.

VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES

     1, Monticello 52; 2, Mid-Prairie 78; 3, Tipton 80; 4, North Linn 123; 5, Davenport Assumption 125; 6, Cascade 155; 7, Western Dubuque 160; 8, Dyersville Beckman 163; 9, Anamosa 202; 10, Bellevue 281.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     3, Emma Althoff, 19:54; 5, Leah Koehler, 20:06; 11, Halle Recker, 20:30; 14, Ava Capron, 20:35; 20, Marisa Kehoe, 20:59; 40, Emily Hendricks, 22:35; 56, Savannah Freese, 24:02.

JV BOYS TEAM SCORES

     1, Monticello 36; 2, Mid-Prairie 49; 3, Tipton 73* 4, Western Dubuque 73; 5, Cascade 132; 6, Anamosa 168; 7, Dyersville Beckman 183.

* – placed third due to sixth runner tie-breaker

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     1, Rylan Bertling, 18:54; 3, Walker Spence, 19:00; 8, Royce Kiburz, 19:30; 14, Dylan Ponder, 19:40; 15, Connor Eastin, 19:46; 17, Will Wolken, 19:51; 23, Mace Schnoor, 20:24; 26, Alex Prull, 20:37; 29, Grant Gassman, 21:01; 32, Brennan Bohlken, 21:22; 43, Cole Nietert, 21:58; 57, Charly Lloyd, 23:02;

JV GIRLS TEAM SCORES

     1, Tipton 24; 2, Monticello 65; 3, Mid-Prairie 80; 4, Western Dubuque 106; 5, Davenport Assumption 111; 6, North Linn 130.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     8, Katie Roher, 23:39; 13, Mya Postel, 24:11; 14, Leah Schemmel, 24:11; 18, Ella Glawatz, 24:56; 17, Jackie Stadtmueller, 25:15; 22, Bri Kearney, 25:22; 32, Serena Brokaw, 26:52; 40, Taylor Gassman, 27:40.