Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Camille Mac and McKenzie Logan have heard the same message from Liberty High cross country coach Tonya McDonough every day since August.

“She tells us every day that we can do it,” Logan said. “Every day coach is saying and that we can beat these rrunners.”

After nearly two months of hearing how good they can be the Liberty High freshmen duo is starting to show it.

Mac and Logan both notched top-10 finishes for the second straight week finishing sixth and 10th respectively at the Solon Invitational on Monday at the Solon Nature and Recreation Area.

“Coach is always telling us how good we could be we just had to see it a little,” Mac said. “Once we saw that we could do it I think we started to believe her.”

Logan was the individual runner-up and Mac placed fifth at the North Scott meet last week.

That was the moment McDonough saw the light bulb go on for her freshmen duo.

“When we were at North Scott last week, that was a pretty challenging course and I think that was when they could see it,” McDonough said. “I knew it was in them but it took them becoming confident themselves.”

Both Logan and Mac followed up that strong showing with equally impressive performance on Monday.

Mac was sixth in a time of 20:28 while Logan was 10th in 20:48 in a strong field that included Mid-Prairie sisters Marie and Anna Hostetler who finished first and second and Class 4A fourth-ranked Presley Case of North Scott who was third in 19:46.

Marie Hostetler won in 18:12 and Anna Hostetler (19:10) and Case were the only other runners to break the 20-minute mark.  

“With each race that we have they gain a little confidence,” McDonough said. “They just don’t believe me and I tell them all the time they can run with these girls. I keep saying ‘yes you can, yes you can’ and if we ran this again today I know they can run with them again. We are at that point now where we can’t look back.”

In its first year of existence the cross country program at Liberty High has just six members.

That has made practices interesting and kept the Lightning from recording team scores in most meets including Monday’s.

It hasn’t hampered the progress of Mac and Logan who say their competition in practices pushes them daily.

“It definitely has helped to have McKenzie,” Mac said. “I started this season thinking I was the fastest and then McKenzie came and she has really helped push me and that’s been awesome.”

As freshman the varsity scene has been new for both runners this season.

It has been an entirely new experience for Logan who is in her first season of cross country.

Just a month into her first season Logan has already had to readjust her goals.

“I didn’t really have goals because this is my first year in cross country so I didn’t have anything to go off of,” Logan said. “Now I want to try to win meets obviously but I just want to improve my time.”

As Mac and Logan are just starting to understand how good they can be their coach is already pushing them for more.

McDonough believes the duo has the potential to be the first state qualifiers in program history.

“They beat some really talented runners so not only are they kind of established themselves as varsity runners but they have a chance to make state,” McDonough said. “That is just huge.”

North Scott had five runners in the top 13 and edged Mid-Prairie for the girls team title with 39 points.

Solon was third with 90 points and Clear Creek Amana was eighth with 203.

Kaylie Barker placed 12th in 21:09 to lead the Clippers.

Freshman Brandon Barker placed seventh in 17:10 to lead the Clear Creek Amana boys to a runner-up finish.

Class 3A No. 11 Clear Creek Amana finished with 80 points, 17 behind team champion Class 3A No. 7 Mount Vernon-Lisbon.

Nick O’Connor was 11th in 17:26 and Jack Sexton was 14th in 17:36 for Clear Creek Amana.

Peter Woodward placed 12th in 17:29 to lead Liberty to a ninth-place finish with 209 points while Solon was 10th with 251.

Solon Invitational

At Solon Nature and Recreation Area

Girls Results

Teams scores – 1. North Scott 39; 2. Mid-Prairie 42; 3. Solon 90; 4. Williamsburg 104; 5. Central DeWitt 124; 6. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 135; 7. Tipton 202; 8. Clear Creek Amana 203; 9. Davenport North 267.

Individual results – 1. Marie Hostetler (MP) 18:12; 2. Anna Hostetler (MP) 19:10; 3. Presley Case (NS) 19:46; 4. Sommer Clydesdale (NS) 20:05; 5. Ana Fleming (MP) 20:23; 6. Camille Mac (ICL) 20:28; 7. Aubrey Frey (MVL) 20:29; 8. Kiersten Conway (SOL) 20:33; 9. Julia Campbell (CD) 20:41; 10. McKenzie Logan (ICL) 20:48.

Solon – 7. Kiersten Conway 20:33; 14. Erin Kerkhoff 21:17; 20. Sophie Nicol 21:37; 23. Nicole Shafer 21:50; 26. Ella Duster 22:16; 34. Ashley Stinocher 23:02; 39. Saige Hauer 23:40.

Liberty – 6. Camille Mac 20:28; 10. McKenzie Logan 20:48.

Clear Creek Amana – 12. Kaylie Barker 21:09; 45. Ellen Austin 24:10; 46. Madeline Fox 24:12; 47. Olivia Fairholm 24:17; 53. Ally Loren 25:22; 55. Alexis Ponce 26:18.

Boys Results

Team scores – 1. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 63; 2. Clear Creek Amana 80; 3. North Scott 88; 4. Tipton 102; 5. Davenport North 126; 6. Williamsburg 133; 7. Mid-Prairie 165; 8. Central DeWitt 168; 9. Liberty High 209; 10. Solon 251.

Individual Results – 1. Will Dehaan (CD) 16:17; 2. Zach Schocker (DN) 16:42; 3. Floyd Evans (MP) 16:52; 4. Jackson Schrock (NS) 17:06; 5. Garrett Herring (MVL) 17:08; 6. Payton Bahl (MVL) 17:10; 7. Brandon Barker (CCA) 17:10; 8. Ben Ellis (TIP) 17:12; 9. Thatcher Krob (MVL) 17:18; 10. Ben Lamparek (WB) 17:23.

Clear Creek Amana – 7. Brandon Barker 17:10; 11. Nick O’Connor 17:26; 14. Jack Sexton 17:37; 23. Cole Liebe 18:18; Kaden McAreavy 18:25; Brandon McCarty 19:51.

Solon – 42. Carl Richey 19:01; 44. Ethan Kober 19:08; 49. Andrew Bransky 19:15; 57. Edward Richey 19:45; 59. Payton Philipp 19:48; 61. Ryan Sears 20:11.

Liberty – 12. Peter Woodward 17:29; 28. Jack Kinzer 18:28; 48. Caleb Schillinger 19:13; 55. Spencer Knight 19:43; 66. Nicholas Moore 21:00; 67. Gavin Hayes 21:56; 68. Gaven Forbes 21:58.