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Comets compete in highly competitive Rich Engel XC Classic

Comets compete in highly competitive Rich Engel XC Classic
Press photo by John Burbridge
Charles City junior Kiki Connell approaches the finish line during the Girls Varsity 5K race at the Rich Engel Cross Country Classic held Tuesday at Birdsall Park in Cedar Falls. Connell placed 13th while helping the Comets finish 12th as a team.

By John Burbridge
sports@charlescitypress.com

CEDAR FALLS — There was a good chance Birdsall Park was going to resemble Woodstock by the time Hendrix took the stage.

Things didn’t actually turn into a giant mud pit after all six races as part of the annual Rich Engel Classic Cross Country Meet were concluded, but a distinctive brown path was blazed from start to finish.

After heavy rainfall the night and wee morning before, it took a heroic effort by organizers to get the course ready for Thursday’s event.

For many of the top runners in the state, the meet serves as a midseason precursor to see how they might stack up during state.

Urbandale senior Peyton Marrs will likely be among those to beat in Fort Dodge as he won the Boys Varsity race with a time of 16 minutes, 15 seconds.

Iowa City Liberty sophomore Ashlyn Keeney won the Girls Varsity race with a time of 18:47.

Charles City junior Kiki Connell placed 13th in the Girls Varsity race with a time of 20:27. With teammates Lydia Staudt (49th, 21:27), Mackenzy Bilharz (65th, 22:23), Mindi Neve (89th, 23:00), Brianna Ross (93rd, 23:16), Monika Kacprzak (99th, 23:27) and Lydia Thompson (111th, 24:12), the Comets placed 12th as a team.

The Comet boys placed 16th in the Boys Varsity race while being led by Jacob Vais (71st, 18:44), Phillip Bachman (81st, 19:00), Alex Bauer (90th, 19:13), Luke Smith (98th, 19:23), Bronson Forsyth (100th, 19:24), Zach Graeser (105th, 19:34) and Clayton Reed (107th 19:36).

Charles City placed sixth in the Girls Junior Varsity race, 9th in the Boys Junior Varsity race, 10th in the Girls 9-10th-Grade race, and 13th in the Boys 9-10th-Grade race.

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