Comets shake off rust at Osage Girls Invitational

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

OSAGE — After the 3,000-meter run, it looked as if Charles City junior McKayla Cole wasn’t going to be around to answer the bell for the 800 during the Osage Girls Invitational on Tuesday.

She had tried in vain to catch Osage’s Megan Mooberry, who passed Cole on the fourth lap of the 3,000, and managed to build the lead.

Mooberry went on to win the race, and runner-up Cole needed to be helped off the track due to extreme exhaustion.

“I was hurting,” Cole said. “We haven’t run a meet in about two weeks [March 31 at Waverly-Shell Rock], and it showed for me tonight.”

Cole had another race — t

he 800 — later in the meet, but you couldn’t have blamed her to call it a night.

“I just got myself ready,” said Cole, who ran a winning time 2:26 in the 800. “It felt good to be able to come back and win.”

Overall, the Comets finished in fourth place. The hosting Green Devils won the 10-team meet.

The Comets got another overall first from junior Sara Martin, who won the shot put event with a throw of 36 feet, 9 inches.

“Sara has been consistent for us,” Charles City coach Darren Bohlen said. “She should get back to the distances she was throwing before we had three meets in a row cancelled on us, and improve enough to qualify for the Drake Relays.

Charles City will be back in action this Friday for the Decorah Invitational.

“The weather is supposed to be better this weekend, and that’s what we need to get our times down to where they should be,” Bohlen said.