The St. Edmond girls cross country team gave it their all here Tuesday night in pursuit of the North Central Conference title.
Following three players who finished inside the top nine and four inside the top 15, the Gaels were able to secure second place overall behind Clear Lake.
The Lions relied on individual champion Addison Doan and bronze medalist Rebecca Steinbron, with all five scorers finishing inside the top 17 at Lakeside Golf Course.
Clear Lake, ranked eighth in Class 3A, scored 47 points, 12 points ahead of second-place (1A) St. Edmond. Iowa Falls-Alden came in third, followed by Humboldt, Algona, Hampton-Dumont/CAL and Webster City.
Algona’s Mara Davis took second with a time of 20 minutes, 17 seconds. Doan topped the course in 19 minutes 15 seconds, while Steinbronn clocked 20 minutes 19 seconds.
Michaela Reiting was right behind Steinbron, finishing fourth overall and leading the Gaels. Hannah Landwehr was seventh in 20:38 and Ellie Knox was eighth in 20:59.
Both Lighting and Landwehr finished their careers as three-time All-NCC players.
“That group really put together a great race.” SEHS head coach Mike Sharratt said. “Our sixth and seventh runners really pushed the pace, so I feel like we have more depth as a team.
“After this performance, I’m looking forward to next Thursday (and the district) taking on this challenge and seeing what we can do.”
Anna Larsen placed 15th overall in 22:08, and Reese Lemberg added another runner to the top 15, placing 25th overall in 23:01. Andy Barwin rounded out the lineup in 27th (23:15) and Nina Smith in 28th (23:16).
The Gaels had all seven runners set personal records that night.
“You can’t ask for more than that.” Sharratt said. “Anna was battling a shin tear and it was tough for her, but she overcame it and did the best she could for her team.
“Andy continues to have a great senior season and Nina, who started the week before the season started, has a really bright future ahead of her.”
This is the second consecutive season that Clear Lake, St. Edmond and Iowa Falls-Alden have earned the top three spots in the team standings, as the Gaels won the silver medal in the tie-breaking runner last year. St. Edmond won the gold medal in 2021 ahead of Clear Lake.
Last week, the Gales competed in the Fort Dodge Invitational and got a first-hand look at the course.
“That was a big thing for us.” Sharratt said. “The two events are completely different for him because of the numbers, but it certainly helps to know the layout of the course well and it prevented me from getting out too early.
“But to the kids’ credit, they’re going to be in better shape and may be able to maintain a much faster pace.”
At Humboldt, Bryn Malo finished fifth overall with a time of 20 minutes, 27 seconds, followed by Vera Metri in 19th and Meg Zweibomer in 24th. Alana Malo placed 30th, Elise Statelman 31st, Jocelyn Orr 32nd and Peyton Ellman 36th.
Webster City’s Isabelle Grossome led the Lynx with a time of 21 minutes, 26 seconds for 12th place. Rosemary Chamness came in 40th place, followed by Carina Murray, Lydia Vandia and Sydney Oswald.
Behind Davis in second place was Algona’s Marin Davis, who finished 22nd. Teammates Hayden Kuhlman finished 23rd, McKenna VanRees 29th, Sienna Fehr 38th and Caitlin Burns 39th.
St. Edmond has decided which district it will head to next week to participate in the 1A tournament hosted by South Hardin. Joining the Gaels on Thursday, Oct. 19 are Baxter, BCLUW, Belle Plaine, BGM, Colo Nesco, Gladbrook-Rhinebeck, GMG, HLV, Iowa Valley, Meskawaki Settlement, Montezuma, North Butler, They are North Mahaska, North Tama, and Beijing. , South Hamilton and Waterloo Christian.
Algona, Humboldt and Webster City will participate in the 3A qualifier on Wednesday, Oct. 18 in Spencer.