Sigourney, E.V. boys finish season on high note

After weeks of battling the elements and numerous fields of runners, the regular season wrapped up with the SICL conference XC meet on October 12 at in Colfax-Mingo.

The last 100-meters of the challenging 5K contained grit and a 'no pain, no gain' type of mentality. This was it, each runner trying to contribute to their team in winning the conference. Even though his time wouldn't count for a score, due to an incomplete team, Jacob Glandon (E.V.) had his best finish of the season.

For much of the race, Glandon was either leading the field or in the top three, maintaining a few strides distance between the small pack around him. Near the end the gap began to close, in the final leg Belle Plaine overtook Glandon to finish out the race. Glandon ended up taking second place with a time of 18:26.3, only five seconds behind first place.

"I was expecting him to run a good race considering he's won conference in the past," said E.V. coach Breann Coffman. "I was still surprised to him finish that high."

Directly behind him was Mason Moore of Sigourney, who also held a good pace in the lead pack for the duration of the race. Moore finished with a time of 18:37.4, putting him in third place and giving the Savages good points. Sigourney had two more boys finish in the top 10. Tristan Bell (18:46.1) took fourth and Paul Montgomery (18:51.1) ended up in seventh place. With those three finishes, the Savages were in striking distance for first place.

The other four Savages running also finished in the top 30. After a sizeable gap, Dawson Webster (20:45.0) ended up in 19th place. Mason Dye (21:02.7) and Jake Ives (21:20.6) finished close together in 21st and 24th place respectively. Trace Bell was the final Sigourney boy to cross with a time of 22:21.9, placing him in 30th.

When the race concluded and the scores were tallied, the Savages ended up taking second place, falling six points shy of first place Belle Plaine.

"Our goal was to finish in first place, so there's some disappointment there," Savage coach Andy Harter said. "A lot of kids ran some of their fastest times this year, which is what we wanted."

English Valleys had three other runners compete in the boy's race. Charlie Axmear (21:16.0) finished in 27th, Luis Gonzalez (21:32.4) finished in 31st and Sage Coffman (22:49.2) took 41st place for E.V.

The girl's teams didn't see as much success on the day for either school, with Sigourney finishing in fifth and E.V. in sixth.

Summer Barthelman had the best finish for Sigourney, with a time of 24:29.9 to take 12th. Lainey Graff was up next in 21st, with a time of 25:53.1. Megan Stuhr, Autum Barthelman and Hannah Lucas all finished near each other. Stuhr (26:58.1) finished in 25th, Autum (27:36.6) finished in 28th and Lucas (27:38.9) finished in 29th. The final Savage was Cami Thompson (28:10.8) ending up in 31st place.

Autum was the lone senior on the team, while Hannah and Cami were running in their first varsity conference meet as freshman.

"The kids know they're capable of running fast times," Harter said. "We have to let it loose at the State qualifying meet."

English Valleys brought five girls to run in the varsity race, four of which finished in the top 30. Clara Mews led the way in 14th place with a time of 24:53.4. Megan Glandon (25:27.6) and Brooke Coffman (26:15.1) finished next for E.V. in 17th and 24th place respectively.

The final two girls were Liberty Lightfoot and Isabel Schneider. Lightfoot (28:09.3) finished in 30th, while Scheider (28:14.1) took 32nd place.

"I was very pleased with how our team ran," Breann said. "Almost everyone ran a personal record, or came close to it."

Also of note, the English Valleys girls won conference behind five runners finishing in the top-10.

While the regular season is over, one meet remains. On Thursday, October 19 both teams will be competing at the State qualifying meet down in Ottumwa at Wildwood Park.