Top stars, best performances in Iowa high school girls cross country
By Barry Poe
Conference girls cross country meets have already begun.
Conference races in both girls and boys action will continue this week, but last week, three leagues – the Rolling Valley Conference, Mississippi Valley Conference and Southeast Iowa Super Conference, held their meets.
Paced by meet champion Chloe Glosser’s first-place time of 20:12.4, Pekin won the Southeast Iowa Super Conference title. Julia Gehl was clocked in a first-place 18:03.26 while leading Dubuque Hempstead to the Mississippi Valley Conference championship. Woodbine’s Addison Murdock was timed in 19:57.18 for the team that won the Rolling Valley Conference title.
This week, we look at not only some of last week’s performances, but offer somewhat of a preview of the remaining conference races, where some of Iowa’s best return as defending conference champions.
Paityn Noe, Sr., Ballard
Noe, who is currently ranked first in Class 3A by the IATC, was clocked in a blazing 17:09.8 while winning the 4A-dominated Fort Dodge Invite. The returning Raccoon River Conference champ and defending Class 3A state champ, has been clocked under 18 minutes six times, all resulting in season triumphs.
Addison Dorenkamp, Jr., West Des Moines Valley
SBLive.com salutes Dorenkamp, the defending Class 4A champion for her third sub-18-minute time of the season, the runner-up finisher (17:31.4) at Fort Dodge. It was the fastest time of the season for the No. 1-ranked Dorenkamp, who finished second at last year’s CIML Central Division Conference meet.
Adrienne Buettner-Cable, Sr., Des Moines Roosevelt
SBLive.com also gives a shout to the fourth-ranked (Class 4A) Buettner-Cable, who became the fourth Iowa female under 18 minutes this season with her fastest time of the season (17:40.7), good for third at Fort Dodge. She was last year’s CIML Metro Division Conference runner-up.
Meghan Wheatley, Jr., North Linn
Currently ranked first in Class 1A, Wheatley contributed victories at both the Dike-New Hartford (18:41) and North Linn (18:44) meets. The winner of six meets this season for the No. 11 Lynx, Wheatley was last year’s Tri-Rivers Conference runner-up.
Lourdes Mason, Sr., Mount Vernon-Lisbon
Second-ranked in Class 3A, Mason recorded her fourth win of the season (18:35) at West Delaware. A year ago, she was fourth in the Mississippi Valley Conference while competing at Cedar Rapids Prairie, but this week, she’ll help the Mustangs improve last year’s second-place WaMac Conference finish.
Noelle Steines, So., Calamus-Wheatland
During the summer, Steines, the defending Class 1A state champion, dislocated her kneecap, preventing her from competition until last week, when she debuted by winning the Central DeWitt Invitational (19:19.40). Steines will defend her Tri-Rivers Conference title this week.
Nora Peterson, So., Alta-Aurelia
Peterson not only won the Twin Lakes Conference championship as a freshman, as she went on to win a Class 1A district, then took third at the Class 1A state meet. Third-ranked in 1A, Peterson’s fourth win (18:52.40) of the season came at South Central Calhoun, which Alta-Aurelia won, scoring 80 points.
Mackenzie Wilson, So., Jesup
Wilson’s runner-up time (19:02) at West Delaware would have been enough to win 25 of last week’s meets reported to the IATC. No doubt the No. 4 (Class 2A) Wilson will use her experience of facing Mount Vernon-Lisbon’s Lourdes Mason (18:35) while preparing for the North Iowa Cedar League meet.
Julia Gehl, Jr., Dubuque Hempstead
Gehl recorded her fastest time of the season (18:03.26) while winning the Mississippi Valley Conference title. Sixth-ranked in Class 4A, Gehl not only led the Mustangs to first in the final team standings, she also improved her MVC time of a year ago by 10 seconds when she was the runner-up.
Chloe Glosser, Fr., Pekin
One of two freshman females, statewide, with four victories, Glosser’s accomplishment came during the Southeast Iowa Super Conference meet, where she was timed in 20:12.4. Ranked sixth in Class 1A, Glosser also won meets at Knoxville (21:03.62), Albia (20:15.07) and Pekin (19:18).
Kadence Huck, So., Nashua-Plainfield
Ninth-ranked in Class 1A, Huck posted her third win of the season, timed in 20:06.4 during the South Winneshiek Invitational. Huck, a fourth-place finisher at last year’s Top of Iowa Conference meet, will again contend and will again face a rival, No. 2 (2A) Katelyn Johnston of Osage.
Addison Rump, Fr., Fort Madison
Look for Rump, one of three freshman girls ranked in the Class 3A Top 10, to assert herself at the Southeast Conference Meet, where a year ago, three freshmen and a sophomore finished in the Top 5. The No. 10 Rump claimed her fourth victory of the season, timed in 19:19 at Centerville.
Madison Marco, Sr., Sibley-Ocheyedan
Class 1A’s 12th-ranked runner, Marco has been pushed throughout the season by teammate (and No. 2-ranked) Madison Brouwer, who has five wins. A third-place finisher at last year’s Siouxland Conference meet, Marco has been the runner-up at three of those meets, including George-Little Rock (20:20.86).
Iris Dahl, Fr., Washington
Dahl is the only one of the four freshmen in the Class 3A state rankings yet to win a meet, as the No. 12-rated runner has five runner-up finishes, the most recent coming at Hillcrest Academy (20:39.46). She’ll compete in the Southeast Conference meet, which a year ago had four freshmen in the Top 5.
Jolee Mesz, Sr., Lawton-Bronson
One of Northwest Iowa’s best girls high school cross country runners with three Class 1A state meet appearances of her credit, the No. 18-ranked Mesz was clocked in 19:49.04 while winning the Kingsley-Pierson Invitational. Mesz is the defending Western Valley Conference champion.
Greenlee Smock, Sr., Lynnville-Sully
Smock, Class 1A’s 19th-ranked runner, was clocked in 19:21 while winning the North Polk Invitational, her winning margin coming by 21 seconds. It was the fourth victory of the season for Smock, who by the way, is the South Iowa Cedar League’s defending champion.
Hunter Jones, Sr., North Cedar
Ranked 21st in Class 1A, Jones enjoyed a decisive victory at the Centerville Invite, her 20:02 time nearly three minutes better than the runner-up. It was the fourth victory of the season for Jones, a three-time 1A state meet qualifier who took eighth at last year’s River Valley Conference meet.
Addison Murdock, Jr., Woodbine
Woodbine’s girls and boys are both listed in the Class 1A state ratings. The No. 18 Tigers outscored Boyer Valley 27-28 to win the Woodbine Invitational, paced by the No. 23 Murdock, a returning 1A state qualifier who finished first (21:30.20). Murdock was also last year’s Rolling Hills Conference runner-up
Liza Schaffer, Sr., North Polk
The No. 27 (Class 3A) Schaffer headed a trio of North Polk Top 4 runners with a second-place 19:50 while leading the No. 9 Comets to a first-place 28 points at the meet they hosted last week. Schaffer was a third-place finisher who led North Polk to last year’s Raccoon River Conference title.
Ava Campbell, So., Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center
Currently ranked 29th in Class 1A, Campbell was timed in 20:15.71 while winning the South Hamilton Invitational for a team which tallied a first-place 52 points. It was the second victory of the season for Campbell, who as a freshman, finished third at the West Central Activities Conference meet.
Lydia Maas, Jr., Hampton-Dumont-CAL
Maas posted her first victory of the season when she ran away with the title at the Lake Mills Invitational, timed in 20:23.81, 49 seconds faster than the runner-up. A year ago, this unranked, two-time Class 3A state participant, took fifth at the North Central Conference meet.
Emma McCoy, So., Van Meter
Third-ranked (Class 2A) Van Meter posted a perfect score (15 points) while winning at Osceola last week. The unranked McCoy was part of a perfect-score bid once again, taking fourth for a team that tallied a first-place 19 points at Nodaway Valley. McCoy placed sixth at last year’s West Central Conference meet.
Katie Young, Fr., Unity Christian
A year ago, there were three freshmen girls in the Top 10 at the War Eagle Conference meet, with two of them running for champion Unity Christian. Young, who won her first meet of the season at the Cherokee Invite (19:59.62), could follow the trend for the No. 9 (Class 2A) Knights.
Brynn Malo, Fr., Humboldt
Malo really hasn’t been on anyone’s radar this season, but that has changed, as she turned in the first two victories of her career last week, winning at both Eagle Grove (20:33.91) and Boone (20:25.70). She shares the team goal of improving last year’s North Central Conference third-place finish.
Lauren Hillesland, Fr., North Iowa
Unranked in Class 1A, Hillesland was timed in 21:28.85 while posting her second victory of the season for the squad which won the Class B division of the Eagle Grove Invitational. A year ago, the Bison didn’t have enough runners to compete at the Top of Iowa Conference meet, but that has changed.
