Boulter Leads City High to Runner-up Finish at Home Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – Rowan Boulter had a long list of motivational factors at Thursday’s Bud Williams Invitational.
There was the large contingent of family and friends in the crowd that came out to Ashton Cross Country Park for the meet.
A field filled with ranked runners that gave Boulter and her City High teammates the opportunity to compete against some of the best in the state and a chance to run on a familiar course.
And there was also the crisp fall weather.
“The cool temperatures are so nice it just makes you want to run faster so you can get warm,” Boulter said with a smile. “That’s nice.”
Boulter took advantage of all those factors on Thursday in a seventh-place finish that helped lift Class 4A eighth-ranked City High to a runner-up team finish at its home meet.
Second-ranked Dubuque Senior put three runners in the top five and won the team title with 37 points while City High was second with 68.
“I look forward to it a lot because we have some practices here and we do our time trials here and it’s nice to have a course that you know really well, you know all the turns and all the distances so that’s really nice to know,” Boulter said. “It’s a lot of fun having a lot of people here to cheer you on, so it’s nice to have everyone here.”
Liberty High sophomore Ashlyn Keeney cruised to the individual title in 18:06.6 to help No. 14 Liberty High finish third with 82 points. Ottumwa was fourth with 100 followed by Pleasant Valley with 118, Pekin with 197 and Clear Creek Amana with 198.
Keeney finished nearly 18 seconds in front of runner-up Claire Edmondson of Dubuque Senior while Lillian Schmidt of Dubuque Senior was third in 18:41.95.
“We are all good friends and we even went to a camp together this summer so it was fun to run against those girls,” Keeney said. “It’s really fun to race against them.”
Cami Mac was sixth in 19:06.59 and McKenzie Logan was eighth in 19:32.03 for Liberty High but City High used its depth to finish runner-up.
Boulter led four City High runners that finished in the top 18 and each of the Little Hawks top five runners placed inside the top 21.
The sophomore finished in a time of 19:16.48 which was nearly 20 seconds better than her performance at the Bud Williams Invite last season.
“It’s nice to be able to compete with some of the top runners in the state before the big meets to get to kind of know their strategies,” Boulter said. “It’s a lot of fun to run with all those great runners.”
Lilly Reynolds placed 10th for City High in 19:48.11 while Iris Wedemeyer was 12th in 20:06.97 and Erin Anderson was 18th in 20:27.9.
Esti Brady finished 21st in 20:35.89.
“I saw a definite effort to be aggressive in the first mile and I think there is a lot of bravery in the way that they raced today,” City High co-head Coach Lynn Ahlers said. “I think they are starting to see themselves not in terms of where they should be next to their own teammates but in pushing the threshold of their effort.”
Keeney, who continues to work her way back from an early season eye infection, pulled away form the field early to earn the win.
Despite numerous setbacks including a cold that hindered Keeney on Thursday the sophomore remained undefeated against Iowa competition this season.
“I just tried to get out at the start of the race like I did all the time last year,” Keeney said. “Then I just held on to it. I think I started to pick it up in the middle and at the end but I think I was pretty consistent throughout the race.”
Clear Creek Amana freshman Haidyn Barker continued her strong debut season placing ninth in a time of 19:42.19.
Bud Williams Invitational
At Ashton Cross Country Course
Team Scores – 1. Dubuque Senior 37; 2. City High 68; 3. Liberty High 82; 4. Ottumwa 100; 5. Pleasant Valley 118; 6. Pekin 197; 7. Clear Creek Amana 198; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie 206; 9. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 289; 10. Clinton 314; 11. Hillcrest Academy 318; 12. Durant 353
Individual leaders – 1. Ashlyn Keeney (ICL) 18:06.6; 2. Claire Edmondson (DS) 18:24.24; 3. Lillian Schmidt (DS) 18:41.95; 4. Allison Bookin-Nosbisch (OTT) 18:49.6; 5. Izzy Gorton (DS) 19:04.27; 6. Cami Mac (ICL) 19:06.59; 7. Rowan Boulter (ICH) 19:16.48; 8. McKenzie Logan (ICL) 19:32.03; 9. Haidyn Barker (CCA) 19:42.19; 10. Lilly Reynolds (ICH) 19:48.11; 11. Kate Miron (DS) 20:05.97; 12. Iris Wedemeyer (ICH) 20:06.97; 13. Carollin Mellin (OTT) 20:16.64; 14. Grace Bookin-Nosbisch (OTT) 20:22.77; 15. Gretchen Highberger (PV) 20:22.77
City High – 7. Rowan Boulter 19:16.48; 10. Lilly Reynolds 19:48.11; 12. Iris Wedemeyer 20:06.97; 18. Erin Anderson 20:27.9; 21. Esti Brady 20:35.89; 22. Lucy Corbin 20:40.21; 24. CeCe Kelly-Harvey 20:43.39
Liberty High – 1. Ashlyn Keeney 18:06.6; 6. Cami Mac 19:06.59; 8. McKenzie Logan 19:32.03; 30. Elizabeth Jaeger (ICL) 21:04.68; 37. Isabelle Woody 21:23.76; 41. Hannah Ramsey 21:38.13; 43. Carly Sulwer 21:48.39
Clear Creek Amana – 9. Haidyn Barker 19:42.19; 38. Emily Coleman 21:28.34; 39. Kayla Jiras 21:31.31; 55. Avery Allan 23:01.09; 57. Karsyn Stratton 23:11.14; 59. Madelin Fox 23:18.12; 63. Lauren Lasswell 24:12.14
Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by becoming a member.