Huskies, Warriors field all-conference runners at TOI Meet

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

MASON CITY — There were no surprises waiting for Rockford cross country coach Andy Roth at the Top of Iowa Conference Championship Meet, Thursday held in and around the corn and soybean fields that surround the North Iowa Area Community College campus.

Still, fielding two first-team all-conference runners may had been an unexpected turn of events.

“This was her first year running cross country, and she had medaled at every meet she has run,” Roth said of junior Katie Hirv.

With a 5K time of 21 minutes, 43 seconds, Hirv placed 16th over in the girls varsity race. That was 1 second behind Caitlyn Juhl of Saint Ansgar for 15th place, the cut-off for all-TOI first-teamers.

Runners placing 16th through 30th overall were second-teamers.

“She was just one step away a first-teamer in a tough conference like this,” Roth said.

The Warriors did get a first-teamer in junior Sheridan LaCoste, who placed sixth with a time of 20:34.

“She was a second-teamer last year, so this is her first first-team finish,” Roth said. “She has medaled in every race.

“(LaCoste and Hirv) have continually improved. They both have a good chance to make it to state next week [at the district state qualifier in Cedar Falls].”

Overall varsity girls winner was Osage senior Megan Mooberry with a time of 19:54, which paced the Green Devils to an overall team title (40 team points) ahead of runner-up Newman Catholic (71).

McKenna Weaver of third-place West Fork was runner-up.

Nashua-Plainfield placed seventh overall and fifth amid the conference’s “East” division while being paced by first-teamers Faith Carpenter and Emma Sinnwell.

Just a freshman, Carpenter placed 11th with a time of 21:21. Sinnwell, a junior, was 13th with a time of 21:56.

The boys varsity race was won by Garner-Hayfield-Ventura sophomore Reece Smith, whose first-place time of 15:58 was nearly 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Riley Bauer of North Union.

GHV placed first (32) with senior third-place runner Logan Dalbeck getting a No. 2 team-placing point as Bauer’s North Union didn’t field a full team. Eagle Grove was a distant second (78).

North Butler placed ninth overall and fifth in the east division led by Tate Menne’s 33rd-place time of 19 minutes, even.

Nashua-Plainfield sophomore Brock Dietz ran a 18:38, which was good enough for 23rd place and a second-team award. It also helped the Huskies place 10th overall and sixth in the east.

Rockford’s Andrew Longcor and Jacob Stokes had respective times of 19:17 (44th) and 19:20 (47th) for the 12th place overall (7th in East) Warriors.

In the boys junior varsity race, junior Devon Huberg helped North Butler take second in TOI-East Division with an overall sixth-place finish.

In the girls junior high two-mile race, Nashua-Plainfield’s Aubrey Eick was the overall winner with a time of 12:51. Husky teammates Haley Rinken and Kara Levi placed eighth and 29th, respectively.

In the junior high boys race, Noah Maske of West Fork was the overall winner (11:42) with Nashua-Plainfield’s Drew Wilken, Keegan Ulrichs and Clay Fisher taking fourth, 10th and 29th, respectively; and North Butler’s Michael Hansen and Jeremy Shier taking sixth and 20th, respectively.