Wapello

Wrapping up their regular season, Hillcrest, Lone Tree, and Highland competed in the Mediapolis Cross-Country Invitational at the Heritage Oaks Golf and Country Club on Oct. 12. 

On the boys side Mediapolis won the team title with a score of 24 and Daville placed second with 26 points. Mediapolis’ Owen Schmidgall won the individual title by placing first in 16:22. 

Daville won the girls teams title by scoring 29 points. Coming in second place in the team standings was Mediapolis with 38 points.

Hillcrest Results 

Overcoming all competitors for the first time in her high school career, freshman Marie Yoder claimed first place in the girls varsity race. 

In a field of 38 competitors, Yoder maintained a lead for most of the race. She crossed the finish line with a first-place time of 20:42. 

Her time was one minute and 29 seconds faster than the second-place time of Danville’s Alaina Gourley.  

The top 15 medaled in this meet and Rya Scott and Delaney Shaw gave Hillcrest its next top performances. Scott ended with a time of 23:56 to place seventh and Shaw placed 14th in 25:06. 

Micah Gerber and Jesse Blossom led Hillcrest on the boys side. Ending the race one after the other, Gerber placed ninth in 19:06 and Blossom finished in 19:22 to place 10th. 

Gerber’s time is a season best and Blossom’s time sets a new personal best. 

The Hillcrest boys teams ended up with a team score of 109 to secure fourth place in the team standings. 

Highland Results

Finishing in the top five in the girls race, Highland’s top performance belonged to Siena Stanerson. Running a smart well-paced race, Stanerson placed fourth in 23:25. 

The other finish for Highland on the girls team came from Halle Hazelett. Hazelett crossed the finish line with a time of 27:51 to place 29th. 

Brock Thomann was the one who gave Highland its top performance on the boys team. Thomann placed 21st in 20:48. 

The next three finishes for Highland came back-to-back-to-back with Jacob Schneider placing 38th in 22:48, Chase Hickenbottom placing 39th in 22:49, and Brayden Zywiec placing 40th in 22:52

The Highland boys ended the meet with a team score of 124 to place fifth in the team standings. 

Lone Tree Results

Lone Tree had three runners on the girls team and two runners on the boys team compete in the Mepo Invite. 

Leading the way for the Lady Lions with the top performance of the day for Lone Tree was Vivian Zaruba. She earned a medal with a final time of 23:56 to place eighth.

“Vivian has been consistent in her performance throughout the season and Mepo was no exception with an 8th place finish,” Lone Tree coach Ashley Zaruba said. 

Jazmine Nino and Abby Zaruba also conquered the course, placing 21st in 26:03 and 36th in 29:38 respectively. 

“Jazmin has been running well while overcoming an injury. She’s a strong teammate with a lot of potential in this sport,” coach Zaruba said. “Abigail also ran a tough race while displaying her strength on the course.”

In his first year of cross-country Brock Nebergal continues to impress. Setting a new personal record, Nebergal had a competitive finish, placing 11th in 19:23. This time is a new PR for Nebergal. 

Joey Birtcher also ran one of his best races of the season, placing 48th in 23:44. 

“Brock has had a great freshman year and he finished off the regular season with a PR 19:23 time,” coach Zaruba said. “Joe also ran an excellent race at Mepo by setting his own PR.”

With the regular season wrapping up, this meet was a great way to show how much Lone Tree’s runners have progressed over the course of the year. 

“They have all continuously improved in practice and in meets,” coach Zaruba said about how Lone Tree has progressed over the season. “This is being displayed by personal records being repeatedly broken in meet performance. They have a great mind set and strive to be the best they can be.”

Girls Results 

1. Marie Yoder, Hillcrest, 20:42

4. Siena Stanerson, Highland, 23:25

7. Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 23:56

8. Vivian Zaruba, Lone Tree, 23:56

14. Delaney Shaw, Hillcrest, 25:06

21. Jazmine Nino, Lone Tree, 26:03

28. Brynna O’Rourke, Hillcrest, 27:50

29. Halle Hazelett, Highland, 27:51

36. Abby Zaruba, Lone Tree, 29:38

Boys Results

1. Owen Schmidgall, Mediapolis, 16:22

9. Micah Gerber, Hillcrest, 19:06

10. Jesse Blossom, Hillcrest, 19:22

11. Brock Nebergal, Lone Tree, 19:23

21. Brock Thomann, Highland, 20:48

38. Jacob Schneider, Highland, 22:48

39. Chase Hickenbottom, Highland, 22:49

40. Brayden Zywiec, Highland, 22:52

41. Isaac Beachy, Hillcrest, 22:56

42. Jackson Schneider, Highland, 22:59

45. Jeremiah Danker, Hillcrest, 23:14

47. Issac Giesmann, Highland, 23:41

48. Joey Birtcher, Lone Tree, 23:44

49. Micah Kacmarynski, Hillcrest, 24:49

50. Braden Hartsock, Hillcrest, 25:36

53. Jackson Robinson, Highland, 26:34

54. Spencer Thompkin, Highland, 26:44