Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Most runners get one, maybe two opportunities to run at their home course each season.

Nathan Meyer gets three and the Regina senior is hoping to make each one better than the last.

An illness caused Meyer to struggle to a middle of the pack finish in the season-opening Bob Brown Invitational at Kickers Soccer Park in August.

On Thursday he finished 10th at the River Valley Conference meet at the same course but Meyer plans to save his best performance at the home course for the Class 2A state qualifier next Thursday.

“I was sick and I ran really poorly at the Bob Brown meet to start the season and coming back I just wanted to make it count on this course and I think I did that,” I’m really happy with it but now I have to do it again.”

The 10th place finish by Meyer in a time of 17:48.03 helped Regina place seventh with 188 points on Thursday.

Class 1A second-ranked Bellevue had the top two individual finishers in senior Caleb Kress and freshman Brady Griebel and cruised to the team title with 34 points.

2A No. 2 Mid-Prairie was second with 74 points followed by 2A No. 3 Tipton with 82.

First-year Regina head coach Chris Murdock is hoping the experience of facing a tough field on Thursday pays off next week with a trip to the state meet on the line.

“We have one of the best 1A teams in the state and Tipton and Mid-Prairie and I think it’s a great experience to run in a race like this,” Murdock said. “We could have a guy get 20th today and get fourth or fifth next week and we wanted to use those fast guys to pull us forward.”

Meyer, who is ranked No. 12 in the Class 2A individual rankings, used Thursday as a dress rehearsal for the season’s biggest test next week.

Six RVC teams including Tipton are in the 14-team field at the 2A state qualifier.  

Meyer showed Thursday he could stack up with anyone in that field, finishing less than a second behind Tipton’s 10th ranked Ben Ellis who placed ninth in 17:47.64

“It’s the chance to see what it’s like to race against the big guys and then next week when it matters, when you have the pressure on, when the heat is on you’ve done it before, you’ve been there,” Meyer said. “We look at it as a confidence boost.”

Meyer liked what he saw from the rest of the Regals on Thursday as Regina prepares to chase a team berth at state next week.

Freshman Anthony Knepper finished 28th in 19:15.19 while junior Zach Kratz was 47th in 19:58.1.

“Today we saw some guys really step up,” Meyer said. “Zach Kratz stepping up and the rest of our guys showing up and racing hard, it’s about racing not the time, it just shows us where we are.”

Tipton will enter the state qualifier as the favorite while Regina figures to battle No. 12 East Marshall and RVC foes Monticello, Northeast and Camanche for the final two spots at state.

Northeast and Monticello each finished 44 points in front of Regina on Thursday with 144 points while Camanche placed eighth, 11 points behind the Regals.

“It’s going to be close, I think we’ve been given an opportunity,” Murdock said. “Every district is tough and you have to really earn it to make it and I think if we put our best foot forward, every one of them I think we will be very competitive.”

River Valley Conference Meet

At Kickers Soccer Park

Boys Results

Team scores – 1. Bellevue 34; 2. Mid-Prairie 74; 3. Tipton 82; 4. Durant 122; 5. Monticello 144; 6. Northeast 144; 7. Regina 188; 8. Camanche 199; 9. Wilton 206; 10. Cascade 251; 11. North Cedar 353; 12. West Liberty 361.

Individual results – 1. Caleb Kress (BEL) 17:22.02; 2. Brady Griebel (BEL) 17:22.55; 3. Floyd Evans (MP) 17:26.73; 4. Buddy Darting (WIL) 17:41.41; 5. Alex Reed (BEL) 17:42.22; 6. Wyatt Schmidt (NE) 17:44.57; 7. Kyle Guenther (BEL) 17:44.95; 8. Caleb Shumaker (TIP) 17:45.65; 9. Ben Ellis (TIP) 17:47.64; 10. Nathan Meyer (ICR) 17:48.03.

Regina – 10. Nathan Meyer 17:48.03; 28. Anthony Knepper 19:15.19; 47. Zach Kratz 19:58.1; 50. Michael Dunn 20:13.23; 53. Nicholas Yowell 20:18.48; 57. Robert Beck 20:22.62; 65. Ethan Boileau 21:03.81.