Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Rain has limited the opportunities for cross country athletes to compete for much of the month of September.

The wet weather and limited racing opportunities hasn’t been able to slow Clear Creek Amana sophomore Ali Seidl.

Seidl posted a career-best time while claiming her second consecutive individual title on Monday at the Clipper Classic held at Kent Stein Park.

“I think a lot of it has been not being so focused on the times and being really focused on giving my best effort,” Seidl said. “I wasn’t expecting to go quite so fast but I’ve put a lot of work in to get here and I knew I had the potential to do something like this so I am really excited to see what the rest of the season brings.”

Seidl won the individual title in a time of 18:27 on Monday at the Clippers’ home meet that was moved from its originally scheduled location of Kickers Soccer Complex in Iowa City.

It was the second consecutive individual title for Seidl who won the Burlington Invitational title by 25 seconds on September 24^th in a time of 19:09.

On Monday at the Clipper Classic, Seidl pulled away from the field to win by more than 28 seconds while helping 3A eighth-ranked Clear Creek Amana win the team title at their own meet.

“We obviously run here a lot so it was really pretty helpful to me. We did a 5K out here before and I ran sub-20 so I knew I was going to run a good time today,” Seidl said. “I think a lot of the girls were initially a little worried but we know this course better than anyone else so it gave us a good advantage.”

The opportunity to run at Kent Stein Park, where Clear Creek Amana does a majority of its training, was a treat for Seidl and her Clipper teammates.

During a season filled with cancellations Seidl made the most of any opportunity to compete especially at a place she knows so well.

“It felt different than any other meet,” Seidl said. “I’ve run quite a few road races since freshman year and I end up being faster just because the terrain is a little easier.”

The back-to-back individual titles for Seidl in a span of five days have continued a stellar start for the sophomore who is currently ranked 11^th in Class 3A in the Iowa Association of Track Coaches individual rankings.

Seidl opened the season with back-to-back top-10 finishes in challenging fields at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational and the Gilbert Invitational.

She was fourth at Cedar Rapids Prairie in a time of 19:31.98 and finished seventh at the Gilbert meet in a time of 20:20.05.

“She has dialed all the way in,” Clear Creek Amana head coach Ben Robison said. “Her summer training was incredible she is on a higher training plan than some of our other girls and it’s definitely paid off for her.”

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