Moore makes Sigourney history, advances to State

Mason Moore followed up his SICL Championship run, only the second boy in Sigourney history to achieve that feat, with an even better accomplishment. He placed in the top 15 in the State Qualifying meet on October 18 at the Iowa City Kickers Club, becoming the lone boy from Sigourney to advance to the State meet.

It wasn’t known if he’d make it or not until near the end of the competition, having started up near the front and maintained his position through half the race, then falling back out of contention again. He rallied when he needed to and closed out with a strong finish to secure the 14th spot, running a time of 18:12.39 and most importantly of all, advancing him to State.

“I knew if he ran the race that he could run, he’d make it,” Sigourney coach Andy Harter said. “He started off way too fast, so that had me worried and then he dropped back midway through. Him making State was a goal he set for himself and for us to make it there has been a goal since I’ve started coaching. We’ve come close but come up just short in years’ past.”

His teammate, Tristan Bell, also ran a strong race against the toughest competition in the region. Bell finished his season and Sigourney XC career in 28th place, running a time of 19:03.67. The next Savage to finish was Dawson Webster, who finished in 97th place with a time of 21:33.79. Shortly behind him was Jake Ives, finishing just second behind to take 98th place after clocking in at 21:35.07.

“Tristan got hurt over the summer and when I saw the pictures, I honestly didn’t think he’d be able to run this year,” Harter said. “He’s come back a long way and ran well here.”

Other Savages to run included Trace Bell (23:53.96) who finished 123rd, Maltese Thomas (24:19.36) who finished 125th and Ricky Danowsky (26:46.51) who wrapped things up in 138th place.

The boys’ team finished with a score of 334, taking 13th out of 20 scored teams.

While the Lady Savages didn’t have anyone advance on to the State meet, they did finish the season off on a strong note. Lainey Graff continued to be a leader for the team, running the best time of the six, clocking in at 24:48.70 to take 50th place. Like Graff, it was also Summer Barthelman’s final race for Sigourney, which she finished in 61st place with a time of 25:38.96.

“The girls ran another great meet here as well, Harter said. “Lainey Graff set a personal record for us, and you can’t ask much more than that.”

Other girls to run included Megan Stuhr (26:16.97) who finished 70th, Morgan Clubb (30:46.54) who finished 100th, Isabelle Ireland (31:58.73) who finished 106th and Bree Atwood (32:39.99) who finished her career in 111th place.

The Lady Savages finished with 311 teams points to take 14th place.

Moore will continue his trek this season by running at the State meet in Fort Dodge on October 27.