Panthers shine at grueling Fillmore

     Two championships, a runner-up finish, and several strong performances made it a successful day for the Monticello High School cross country teams at hot, hilly Fillmore Fairways Sept. 14.

     The Panther boys claimed their first title of the season, edging up-and-coming Maquoketa Valley by one point in the varsity boys’ race, 51 to 52.

     Monticello’s varsity girls finished second in their race, behind Iowa City Regina and ahead of host Cascade. Regina had 46 points, Monticello totaled 74 and Cascade had 76.

     And, the Panther JV boys team was first in a field of four teams.

     “It’s a tough course,” Monticello coach Dan Sauser said. “We wanted a solid performance, and we’re happy with all the performances.”

     The boys were led by Cole Cruise, who took second place overall. Jasper Nietert (fifth) and Zach Chapman (ninth) were also in the top 10, while Daltyn Kramer and Carter Kurt rounded out the team scoring.

     Sauser said he was especially pleased with two other performances – that of Carter Cruise, who ran a season-best time; and Grant Hospodarsky, who led the JV team.

     “It was by far Grant’s best race of the year,” the coach said. “To be four seconds off his season-best time on that course; that’s remarkable.”

     Sauser also cited two standout runners from the girls’ race – Karle Kramer, who was third overall; and Emily Schlarmann. While a typical runner in that race might be a minute to 1:30 slower than her season-best time at Fillmore, Kramer missed hers by just 35 seconds and Schlarmann was 38 seconds off hers.

     Gabrielle Steiner was ninth and Lydia Recker 12^th.

Anamosa Saturday

     The Panthers will compete in the Anamosa Invitational Saturday, Sept. 22. The meet will be held at the Anamosa Middle School site.

     Race times are 8:30 a.m. for middle school girls, 8:55 a.m. for middle school boys, 9:30 a.m. for varsity girls, 9:55 a.m. for varsity boys, 10:30 a.m. for JV girls, and 10:55 a.m. for JV boys.

Sept. 14

Cascade Invitational

(at Fillmore Fairways)

VARSITY BOYS TEAM SCORES

     1, Monticello 51; 2, Maquoketa Valley 52; 3, Durant 90; 4, Cascade 107; 5, Clinton Prince of Peace 145; 6, Davenport Central 166; 7, Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City, Wis. 178; 8, Anamosa 185; 9, Iowa City Regina 215; 10, Dyersville Beckman 254.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     2, Cole Cruise, 18:27.0; 5, Jasper Nietert, 18:45.7; 9, Zach Chapman, 19:19.8; 14, Daltyn Kramer, 19:46.6; 21, Carter Kurt, 20:11.8; 22, Carter Cruise, 20:20.7; 36, Austin Timm, 21:05.8.

VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES

     1, Iowa City Regina 46; 2, Monticello 74; 3, Cascade 76; 4, Anamosa 88; 5, Dyersville Beckman 141; 6, Davenport Central 146; 7, Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City, Wis. 172; 8, Durant 201.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     3, Karle Kramer, 21:48.9; 9, Gabrielle Steiner, 22:38.0; 12, Lydia Recker, 23:03.5; 17, Emily Schlarmann, 23:29.5; 33, Gabby Guilford, 26:42.7; 35, Dru Kramer, 26:51.7; 37, Triniti Etzel, 27:11.6.

JV BOYS TEAM SCORES

     1, Monticello 22; 2, Maquoketa Valley 38; 3, Davenport Central 76; 4, Durant 117.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     37, Grant Hospodarsky, 21:07.7; 40, Levi Temple, 21:12.1; 50, Gavin Baugh, 21:46.6; 53, Jayden Orcutt, 21:50.9; 72, Ethan Martensen, 23:11.1; 73, Dalton Hampson, 23:16; 90, Nathan Oswald, 25:28.1; 91, Keegan Glawatz, 25:37.2; 97, Dominik Chally, 26:56.9; 101, Erlin Bell, 27:46.8; 103, Noah Webber, 28:12.2; 108, Matthew Beal, 28:46.0; 112, Marcus Sunlin, 29:24.2.

JV GIRLS TEAM SCORES

     1, Iowa City Regina 22; 2, Cascade 45; 3, Davenport Central 59 (Monticello did not have enough runners for a team score).

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     58, Lizzie Petersen, 29:08.7; 62, Jaelyn Graver, 29:36.1; 72, Faith Hansen, 31:43.1.