Wildcats win at MFL MarMac, are fifth at Monti

Cross country

     Maquoketa Valley won the boys’ team championship at the MFL MarMac Invitational Aug. 30 in the team’s season-opening race.

     In the process, the 15^th-ranked Wildcats (Class 1A) finished ahead of fourth-ranked South Winneshiek, and Waukon, which was ranked 15^th in 2A.

     Chance Downs was the individual champion, with a time of 17 minutes, 47.67 seconds. Derek Mensen finished eighth in 19:15.08, Mason Lubben was ninth in 19:17.15; Nolan Ries was 10^th in 19:21.04; and Tate Trenkamp took 17^th place in 20:11.90. Michael Schaul finished 26^th, and Jon Seibert was 31^st overall.

     MV had 45 points, followed by South Winn with 56 and Waukon with 58.

     The Wildcats had four runners in the girls’ race, not enough to compile a team score. Kriya Atwell was the team’s top finisher, taking 34^th place in 28:41.21. Ci’Ann Richardson was 37^th, Reece Mensen 42^nd and Kristin Lucas 43^rd.

     MV followed that with a strong performance at the Monticello Invitational Sept. 8. There, the Wildcat boys finished fifth as a team with a score of 150.

     Downs finished 10^th overall with a time of 17:43. Lubben was 25^th in 18:47, Ethan Doyl 33^rd in 19:03, Mensen 39^th in 19:17; and Canyon Richardson 43^rd in 19:22. Trenkamp was 55^th and Schaul ran 60^th.

     The Wildcat girls did not have adequate numbers to field a team.

     “Almost all JV and varsity team members ran their season’s best times,” Maquoketa Valley coach Pat Meehan said. “Most ran smart races and competed intensely.”

Volleyball

     Maquoketa Valley won three out of four matches in volleyball action last week.

     The Wildcats (1-0, 5-5) played host to a four-team round-robin tournament Sept. 4, and went 2-1. They defeated MFL MarMac 21-15, 19-21, 15-9. Emerson Whittenbach had nine of the team’s 24 kills, while Maci Freiburger had seven and Olivia Hoeger had six. Maddy Anderegg made 17 assists. Payton Beaman and Freiburger had 13 digs apiece, and Whittenbaugh had 12.

     Against Lisbon, the Wildcats lost 21-17, 16-21, 8-15. Anderegg had 17 assists in that match, and Freiburger led the team with six kills. Freiburger and Whittenbaugh had 10 kills each, and Lydia Helle had two blocks.

     MV then defeated Cedar Valley Christian 21-15, 21-16, as Whittenbaugh had six kills. Freiburger served 11-for-12 with four aces. Beaman and Whittenbaugh had seven digs each.

     On Sept. 6, the Wildcats played at Easton Valley in a Tri-Rivers Conference match, and won in five sets, by scores of 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 15-9. Whittenbaugh had 17 kills and 16 digs. Anderegg made 36 assists and served 16-for-16. Ella Imler had 25 digs and served 15-for-15. Helle had seven blocks, and Hoeger had six.

Football

     Maquoketa Valley suffered a 37-6 loss at North Linn Aug. 31.

     MV’s touchdown came on a seven-yard run by James Legassick. Derek Becker had 67 yards rushing on 20 carries. Quarterback Matthew Hucker completed five of 13 passes for 55 yards. Becker caught two of those for 28 yards, and Norman Wilson had two catches for 23.

     Leading tacklers were Wilson with eight, Legassick with 7.5, and Daniel Hunter with five. Michael Feldmann had two tackles for lost yardage, and Legassick had one. Hunter recovered a North Linn fumble.

     The Wildcats (0-3) then played host to Cascade Sept. 7, and lost 53-7. Statistics from that game were not available at press time.