City High Wins Team Title at Class 4A State Qualifying Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – After running in what felt like summer for most of the season Wednesday finally felt like the late-fall weather that comes with the end of the cross country calendar.
City High looked like a cross country team ready for a strong finish.
Fifth-ranked City High won its third consecutive postseason meet on Wednesday rolling to the team title at the Class 4A state qualifying meet at Kickers Soccer Complex in Iowa City.
“Our girls did a really nice job all through September building up and working hard but working smart,” City High coach Ryan Ahlers said. “Now when you have a cold, windy day like this, it’s cross country weather and now in October it’s more about racing people and not about the clock or the course. The girls did a great job of that today.”
Led by a runner-up finish from senior Abigail Burns City High had three runners in the top six while winning the team title with 37 points.
Seventh-ranked Dubuque Senior was runner-up with 47 and No. 13 Ames finished third with 54 points to secure the final spot at the Class 4A state meet scheduled for November 1 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
West High finished fourth with 101 points and Liberty High was fifth with 132 points.
“I felt pretty strong today and in a good solid place,” Burns said. “I think our team is stronger than it has been recently so I think are in a good position.
Burns finished runner-up to Emma Chesterman of Dubuque Senior who won the individual title in 18:22.9.
Burns finished in 18:36.4 which was more than 20 seconds in front of third-place Emma Stanley of Ames.
“I was hoping to stick with her for the majority of the race,” Burns said. “Since it’s a windy day I just wanted to keep other people in front of me to take the brunt of the wind.”
It was the depth of City High that lifted the Little Hawks to the team title.
City High had five runners in the top 13 on Wednesday.
Grace Hamann was fourth in 19:05.9 and sophomore Eliza Doster finished sixth in 19:20.2.
“It’s been great having Grace and Eliza up with me this season it has definitely strengthened our team,” Burns said. “We run together at workouts so we know if we train together we can race together.”
Calissa Fruin finished 12th in 20:06.9 and Lucy Sherburne placed 13th in a time of 20;08.6 for City High.
The strong showing came on a day with temperatures in the low 50s and a strong, constant wind.
“I feel like we handled it well with what we were given with the weather,” Doster said. “Going into it I knew it was going to be hard with the wind and I knew I would feel slow when I was racing but I tried not to let it get in my head.”
The team title was the third consecutive postseason victory for City High which claimed titles as the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet and Valley Divisional meets.
“The last couple of years’ we’ve had some good teams but we couldn’t get over the hump of winning meets,” Ahlers said. “We were putting ourselves into position the last couple of years to win meets but this year the way the girls are racing for each other they’ve done it and it’s awesome to watch.”
West High had a trio of freshmen individual state meet qualifiers while placing fourth as a team.
Adrienne Hodge placed eighth in 19:59.5, Ava Twait finished 17th in 20:18.3 and Ellie DeWaard was 20th in 20:29.6 to all earn spots at the state meet.
Liberty High junior Chelsea VeDepo secured a spot at the state meet with a 11th place finish in a time of 20:05.7 and teammate Aleah Williams earned a spot at the state meet finishing 24th in 20:55.5.
Class 4A State Qualifying Meet
At Kickers Soccer Complex
Team scores – 1. City High 38; 2. Dubuque Senior 47; 3. Ames 54; 4. West High 101; 5. Liberty High 132; 6. Ottumwa 207; 7. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 211; 8. Cedar Rapids Washington 223; 9. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 251
Individual leaders – 1. Emma Chesterman (DS) 18:22.9; 2. Abigail Burns (ICH) 18:36.4; 3. Emma Stanley (AME) 18:58.6; 4. Grace Hamann (ICH) 19:05.9; 5. Naya Nakama (AME) 19:13; 6. Eliza Doster (ICH) 19:20.2; 7. Briel Bechen (DS) 19:41.5; 8. Adrienne Hodge (ICW) 19:59.5; 9. Ophelia Harrelson (AME) 20:01.8; 10. Nevaeh Kessler (DS) 20:02.4; 11. Chelsea VeDepo (ICL) 20:05.7; 12. Calissa Fruin (ICH) 20:06.9; 13. Lise Hoyer (DS) 20:08.6; 14. Lucy Sherburne (ICH) 20:08.6; 15. Dominique Whaley (AME) 20:08.7
City High (38) – 2. Abigail Burns 18:36.4; 4. Grace Hamann 19:05.9; 6. Eliza Doster 19:20.2; 12. Calissa Fruin 20:06.9; 13. Lucy Sherburne 20:08.6; 19. Madeline Fischer 20:23.4; 21. Naomi Downing-Sherer 20:50.2
West High (101) – 8. Adrienne Hodge 19:59.5; 17. Ava Twait 20:18.3; 20. Ellie DeWaard 20:29.6; 27. Susanna Olson 21:06.8; 29. Carly Moreau 21:15.3; 32. Kate Van Waning 22:09.1; 39. Ella Stone 22:41.2
Liberty High (132) – 11. Chelsea VeDepo 20:05.7; 24. Aleah Williams 20:55.5; 28. Ayla Trolliet 21:06.9; 34. Claire Cannon 22:16.5; 35. Nora Brown 22:21.2; 36. Gabrielle Swift 22:33.8; 43. Kaitlyn Raue 23:38.5
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