Panther girls are RVC champs; boys are runners-up

   As tests go, the River Valley Conference Cross Country Meet is first-rate.

   It’s safe to say the Monticello Panthers passed.

   The Panther girls ran their winning streak to six in their most significant meet of the season so far, overcoming Mid-Prairie by 12 points to win the conference championship Oct. 11 at Kickers Soccer Park in Iowa City.

   The Monti boys were impressive as well, beating several ranked teams to finish second.

   It was a meet that included seven boys’ teams and six girls’ teams ranked in either Class 2A or 1A.

   “It was another loaded meet,” Monticello coach Dan Sauser said.

   The girls won with a combination of up-front runners, including three in the top 10, and getting all of its top five into all-conference (top-30) status.

   First team all-conference certificates went to runners who finished in the top 10, those finishing 11^th through 20^th made the second team, and 21-30 received honorable mention.

   Emma Althoff finished fourth, Leah Recker was sixth, Marisa Kehoe took eighth, Halle Recker was 15^th, and Ava Capron placed 27^th.

   “All of our top five girls ran at least 40 seconds faster than the last time (on the same course), and Marisa Kehoe ran 1:14 faster,” Sauser said. “That’s really where we beat Mid-Prairie, with our 2-3-4 runners.”

   Capron was fighting an injury, but powered through.

   “Without her, I think the outcome would have been different,” the coach said.

   Leah Schemmel and Emily Hendricks also helped the cause by finishing 42^nd and 47^th, respectively.

   “Leah ran 4:37 faster than her previous time (there),” Sauser said. “Emily and Leah both put points on other teams. It was a team effort, but everyone had to do their part.”

   The boys did their part as well, earning six all-conference spots while running second.

   “We knew we were going to have to run really well to finish in the top five,” Sauser said. “I thought our boys ran extremely well. They just went after it. It was one of our better starts.”

   Chesney Capron finished third individually.

   “Chesney is running at an elite level,” the coach said. “After that, it was a team effort. We have a lot of depth, and we knew that was our strength going in.”

   Jacob Miller, Alex Oswald and Aedan Althoff were second-teamers after finishing 13^th, 15^th and 16^th, respectively. Honorable mention runners were Cord Nietert (21^st) and Walker Spence (26^th).

   “Last year they were sixth, so that’s a great jump,” Sauser said. “It was a super effort across the board.”

State Qualifying

Meet here

   The Panthers will need more strong performances when they host the Class 2A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, Oct. 20 at Monticello High School.

   The girls’ race will be at 4 p.m., the boys’ event will be at 4:30 p.m.

   The girls’ race will feature five ranked teams: Monticello first, Tipton eighth, Dyersville Beckman 11^th, Sumner-Fredericksburg 16^th, and Jesup 19^th.

   Ranked teams in the boys’ race include Waukon second, Tipton fourth, Monticello 10^th and Mediapolis 16^th.

   The top three teams and top 15 individuals will qualify for the state meet, which for Class 2A will be Friday, Oct. 28 in Fort Dodge.

Oct. 11

River Valley

Conference Meet

(at Kickers Soccer

Park, Iowa City)

BOYS TEAM SCORES

     1, Tipton 56; 2, Monticello 68; 3, Iowa City Regina 89; 4, Anamosa 94; 5, Bellevue 118; 6, Mid-Prairie 138; 7, Cascade 139; 8, Northeast 241; 9, Dyersville Beckman 283; 10, Wilton 297; 11, Maquoketa 319; 12, Camanche 350; 13, Durant 395; 14, West Liberty 401.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(Varsity and JV ran together)

(All-conference runners in bold)

     3, Chesney Capron, 17:30.0; 13, Jacob Miller, 18:16.4; 15, Alex Oswald, 18:22.3; 16, Aedan Althoff, 18:27.3; 21, Cord Nietert, 18:39.9; 26, Walker Spence, 18:45.8; 31, Reeve Graver, 18:59.1; 43, Rylan Bertling, 19:22.6; 50, Nathan Sauser, 19:30.3; 67, Royce Kiburz, 20:10.5; 68, Mace Schnoor, 20:12.0; 79, Hayden Tomkins, 20:37.5; 85, Alex Prull, 20:55.8; 90, Will Wolken, 21:08.0; 105, 103, Grant Gassman, 21:41.2; Brennan Bohlken, 21:42.8; 114, Charly Lloyd, 22:04.2.

VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES

     1, Monticello 57; 2, Mid-Prairie 69; 3, Tipton 81; 4, Dyersville Beckman 108; 5, Iowa City Regina 130; 6, Cascade 144; 7, Northeast 156; 8, Anamosa 180; 9, Bellevue 222.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(Varsity and JV ran together)

(All-conference runners in bold)

     4, Emma Althoff, 20:24.2; 6, Leah Koehler, 20:55.0; 8, Marisa Kehoe, 21:04.0; 15, Halle Recker, 21:30.8; 27, Ava Capron, 22:18.2; 42, Leah Schemmel, 23:36.9; 47, Emily Hendricks, 23:52.1; 64, Katie Roher, 24:29.6; 67, Savannah Freese, 24:46.5; 70, Mya Postel, 25:23.5; 71, Ella Glawatz, 25:37.3; 81, Bri Kearney, 26:28.4; 83, Serena Brokaw, 26:40.0; 99, Taylor Gassman, 29:23.9.