Williams, Graeser, Thompson All-NEIC; Comet boys 3rd at conference XC meet

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

WAUKON — Apologies for parroting such bumper-sticker philosophy, but if you’re not in front of the pack the scenery really doesn’t change that much.

Unless you’re focused on any bumper sticker attached to the pace cart.

Charles City junior Nick Williams had an unobstructed view of the winding fall-colored 5K course laid out at Waukon Golf and Country Club — as well as the pace cart — for much of Tuesday’s Northeast Iowa Conference Cross Country Championships after bolting ahead of the field at the start of the Boys Varsity race.

Williams was the lead runner for a good portion of the trek before Waverly-Shell Rock’s Austin Soldwisch got around him and pulled away on way to posting a first-place time of 16 minutes, 47.9 seconds — a personal record for the Go-Hawk junior.

Williams was runner-up with a time of 16:58.0. It marked the third time in Williams’s XC career where he achieved All-NEIC status — Top 15 placers in the varsity races are honored as all-conference.

It also was Williams’s fourth-straight XC meet where he recorded a sub-17 minute 5K time. Last week at the Dike-New Hartford Invitational, Williams reset his PR (16:44.2).

Williams was one of three All-NEIC runners for the Comet boys. Others included junior Xander Graeser, who earned his second All-NEIC medal with an eighth-place time of 17:32.9; and senior Isaac Thompson, who attained All-NEIC status for the first time in his career with an 11th-place time of 17:40.0.

Williams and Graeser will try to further distinguish themselves as three-time state-qualifiers during next Wednesday’s (Oct. 18) Class 3A State Qualifier at Veterans Memorial Park in Clear Lake. Thompson will also be trying to return to the state meet — he qualified with the Comet boys team in 2021.

After Williams, Graeser and Thompson crossed the finish line, the Comets were still in the running for the team title as their three-runner total kept them close to Waukon and Decorah. But after the meet-hosting Indians placed seniors Wyatt Gulla (3rd, 17:04.3) and Skylar Dugan (4th, 17:08.7), and junior Isaac Reisinger (7th, 17:27.8) between Williams and Graeser, they boasted another All-NEIC runner in sophomore Brandon Leppert (13th, 17:48.9) and a near-All-NEIC runner in junior Caleb Helgerson (16th, 18:03.5) for a first-place team total of 43.

With all five of their scoring runners placing in the Top 15, Decorah was runner-up (51) ahead of the third-place Comets (67) with senior Lukas Vance (21st, 18:42.4) and junior Carter Haberkorn (25th, 19:09.3) rounding out Charles City’s scoring.

In the Varsity Girls race, Charles City wasn’t able to boast any All-NEIC runners as the Comets placed sixth as a team. Senior Lauren Staudt was the first CC runner across the finish line with a 22nd-place time of 22:33.3.

Charles City senior Maggie Boss got under 23 minutes for the first time with a 25th-place personal-best time of 22:59.4, Mackenzie Zweibohmer placed 36th with a season-best time of 24:23.2, Megan Babcock placed 37th (25:11.0) and Mayzie Bruening placed 40th (26:48.8) to round out the Comets’ scoring (160).

Decorah, behind sophomore Amelia Roe’s first-place time of 19:37.9, won the meet with 43 team points ahead of Waverly-Shell Rock (65), Crestwood (68), Waukon (79), New Hampton (108) and Charles City.

In the Boys Junior Varsity 5K, Charles City placed third among four teams with junior Noah Morris leading the Comets with a Top 15 JV time of 19:42.0 — a season-best for him.

In the Girls Junior Varsity 5K, Charles City placed fifth among five teams with sophomore Paige Pickar placing just inside the Top 50 with a personal-record time of 26:50.3.

Charles City boasted an All-NEIC runner in the Junior High Boys 2-Mile race with eighth-grader Justice Armstrong placing fifth (12:25.9) while helping the Comets place fourth among five teams.

Charles City eighth-grader Karina Ibarra posted a personal-record two-mile time of 16:13.6 while placing 28th in the Junior High Girls race.

Northeast Iowa Conference Cross Country Championships

Oct. 10

AT WAUKON GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Girls Varsity 5K

TEAM SCORES — 1. Decorah 43, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 65, 3. Crestwood 68, 4. Waukon 79, 5. New Hampton 108, 6. Charles City 160.

TOP 15 ALL-NEIC — 1. Amelia Roe (D) 19:37.9, 2. Kinze Shea (C) 20:08.8, 3. Laney Peter (C) 20:25.3, 4. Sydney Bochmann (WSR) 20:28.5, 5. Sophie Glaser (NH) 20:55.6, 6. Brinlee Courtney (D) 21:02.6, 7. Mia Kurth (W) 21:24.3, 8. Kate Nelson (WSR) 21:29.0, 9. Reegan Benzing (W) 21:31.5, 10. Grace Brynsaas (D) 21:43.2, 11. Megan Pickar (NH) 21:43.3, 12. Amelia Wadsworth (D) 21:44.2, 13. Cameron Johnson (W) 21:44.8, 14. Olivia Volkmann (D) 21:45.1, 15. Ramey Dahlquist (WSR) 21:45.7.

CHARLES CITY — 22. Lauren Staudt 22:33.3, 25. Maggie Boss 22:59.4 (Personal Record), 36. Mackenzie Zweibohmer 24:23.2 (Season Best), 37. Megan Babcock 25:11.0, 40. Mayzie Bruening 26:48.8.

Boys Varsity 5K

TEAM SCORES — 1. Waukon 43, 2. Decorah 51, 3. Charles City 67, 4. Crestwood 93, 5. Waverly-Shell Rock 105, 6. New Hampton 171.

TOP 15 ALL-NEIC — 1. Austin Soldwisch (WSR) 16:47.9, 2. Nick Williams (CC) 16:58.0, 3. Wyatt Gulla (W) 17:04.3, 4. Skyler Dugan (W) 17:08.7, 5. Nathan Ahern (C) 17:13.3, 6. Grant Zilka (D) 17:15.8, 7. Isaac Reisinger (W) 17:27.8, 8. Xander Graeser (CC) 17:32.9, 9. Garrett See (D) 17:38.2, 10. D’mitry Lesser (D) 17:39.2, 11. Isaac Thompson (CC) 17:40.0, 12. Landyn Hook (D) 17:40.8, 13. Brandon Leppert 17:48.9, 14. Henry Weis (D) 17:52.5, 15. Dominic Bigalk (C) 17:53.9.

CHARLES CITY — 2. Williams, 8. Graeser, 11. Thompson, 21. Lukas Vance 18:42.4, 25. Carter Haberkorn 19:09.3, 27. Jackson Kowalski 19:16.7, 36. Jordan Young 20:12.4.

Girls Junior Varsity 5K

TEAM SCORES — 1. Decorah 18, 2. Waukon 64, 3. Crestwood 81, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 84, 5. Charles City 153.

TOP 15 — 1. Ana Simon (D) 21:56.2, 2. Danielle Losen (D) 21:56.7. 3. Bella Engelhardt (WSR) 22:15.1, 4. Stella Pole (D) 22:21.3, 5. Natalie Goodner (D) 22:28.8, 6. Elsa Johnson (D) 22:34.6, 7. Natalie Stevens (D) 22:41.0, 8. Kamryn Steines (D) 22:51.5, 9. Grace Blikre (D) 22:59.8, 10. Brynn Storhoff (D) 23:03.7, 11. Nora Lesmeister (D) 23:13.4, 12. Claire Johnson (W) 23:18.0, 13. Ellie Adams (D) 23:27.1, 14. Vivian Searcy (D) 23:32.5, 15. Lulu Bellrichard (D) 23:41.8.

CHARLES CITY — 49. Paige Pickar 26:50.3 (PR), 56. Athena Dittmer 27:18.8 (PR), 68. Natalie King 28:47.0 (SB), 74. Izzy Fisher 29:13.8 (SB), 76. Fiona Pittman 29:17.6 (SB), 87. Mataya Jones 42:02.1.

Boys Junior Varsity 5K

TEAM SCORES — 1. Decorah 19, 2. Waukon 44, 3. Charles City 88, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 102.

TOP 15 — 1. Jack DeLaRosa 18:13, 2. Sawyer Breitsprecher 18:23.7, 3. Mitchell Stemper (D) 18:27.8, 4. Liam Huang (D) 18:28.8, 5. Max Grimstad (D) 18:46.1, 6. Kyan Oftedahl (D) 18:48.7, 7. Spencer Christiansen (D) 18:52.3, 8. Garner Lange (W) 18:57.2, 9. Kelton Casterton (D) 18:58.4, 10. Riley Berns (D) 19:05.9, 11. Sam Stock (W) 19:23.0, 12. Keaton Nalean-Carlson 19:29.0, 13. Aidan Nalean-Carlson (D) 19:31.1, 14. Kelby Cahalan (W) 19:39.5, 15. Noah Morris (CC) 19:42.0

CHARLES CITY — 15. Morris 19:42.0 (SB), 27. Michael Bauer 20:33.1, 29. Andy Lemke 20:47, 41. Adrian Ibarra 21:35.6 (SB), 43. Mason Miller 21:49.9 (SB), 44. Xavier Scott 22:02.2 (SB), 58. Chris Martin 24:44.4.

Girls Junior High 2M

TEAM SCORES — 1. Decorah 40, 2. Waukon 59, 3. Crestwood 69, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 115, 5. New Hampton 121, 6. Charles City 125.

TOP 15 ALL-NEIC — 1. Miriam Downing (W) 12:52.9, 2. Leah Garcia-Prats (D) 13:37.2, 3. Aliya Gritters (WSR) 13:37.4, 4. Lexus Dohlman (C) 13:57.5, 5. Raelyn Newhouse (D) 14:29.4, 6. Harper Humpal (NH) 14:33.3, 7. Claire Kach (C) 14:41.4, 8. Laira Davis (W) 14:46.4, 9. Cali Schwickerath (C) 14:49.8, 10. Brinley Quandahl (D) 14:56.3, 11. Grace Huinker (D) 15:00.3, 12. Alandra Mercado-Arneson (D) 15:04.6, 13. Maggie Gavle (D) 15:06.1, 14. Leah Peake (W) 15:14.1, 15. Audrey Remington (D) 15:18.1.

CHARLES CITY — 28. Karina Ibarra 16:13.6 (PR), 37. Jersey Dizon 16:49.3 (PR), 44. McKinley Stowe 17:11.8, 45. Kinley Roths 17:12.0, 54. Ellie Mason 18:01.8.

Boys Junior High 2M

TEAM SCORES — 1. Decorah 23, 2. Waukon 53, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock 79, 4. Charles City 97, 5. Crestwood 128.

TOP 15 ALL-NEIC — 1. Oak Pasche (D) 11:36.1, 2. Silas Keeling (W) 11:53.4, 3. Derek Hrdlicka (D) 11:53.5, 4. Logan Nalean-Carlson (D) 12:20.0, 5. Justice Armstrong (CC) 12:25.9, 6. Maxwell Goodner (D) 12:31.3, 7. Zeke Retallick (W) 12:40.5, 8. Matthew Hommowun (WSR) 12:42.2, 9. Leonard Nimrod (D) 12:48.0, 10. Parker Knox (W) 12:54.7, 11. Kalin Harman (D) 13:03.8, 12. Van Bassford (D) 13:06.8, 13. Seth Drtina (C) 13:09.7, 14. Jayven Neubauer (D) 13:10.7, 15. Gus Benjegerdes (W) 13:11.8.

CHARLES CITY — 5. Armstrong, 21. Benny Tracey 13:58.2, 22. Tommy Boss 14:01.7, 44. Samuel Northrop 15:24.3, 45. Carter Mack 15:29.9, 56. Garrett Scott 16:29.7, 63. Dawson Griffin 17:20.7.