KALONA

The hills of Hillcrest Academy became abuzz with the sound of running once again, as the Ravens hosted an Early Bird cross country meet, which served as the season opener for many schools, on Sept. 3. 

In a field of 47 on the girls side, Hillcrest was led by two runners securing top ten finishes: Marie Yoder and Siena Stanerson. 

Coming off a freshman season that saw her place within the top 15 at state, Yoder began her second season running as a Raven by placing third in 20:40.
Yoder did lead for a large duration of the race but was eventually surpassed in the home stretch by two runners from Iowa City High, Abigail Burns (first in 20:25) and Grace Hamann (second in 20:38). 

IC High had seven runners finish in the top ten which led to them winning the meet on the girls side with a score of 20. English Valleys (65) and Cedar Rapids Washington (92) placed second and third respectively. 

The Ravens (106) took fourth place with Stanerson being a big contributor to keeping the score that low by completing the course in 22:18 to place 10th. 

A former Highland runner, the junior made her Raven debut at the Early Bird and compared to last year on the same course she took two minutes off her time. 

Delaney Shaw, a senior on the Ravens who has seen this course many times, placed 30th in 26:27. Every year Shaw has improved her time with her improvement this time around being one minute and 40 seconds faster. 

Also improving her time from last season was Brynna O’Rourke. The sophomore placed 35th in 28:54, nearly a one-minute improvement. The fifth and final runner to cross the finish line for Hillcrest was Samantha Mize. In her first 5k cross country race, Mize placed 46th in 35:13.

Shifting the focus to the Ravens boys, it was the seniors who led the way. 

Jesse Blossom was Hillcrest’s top finisher, placing 11th in 20:09 and fellow senior Micah Gerber finished in 20:25 to place 16th. 

Hillcrest had seven runners cross the finish line and they finished with a score of 85 to place fourth in the team standings. Columbus (39) won the meet with CR Washington (57) and CR Jefferson (60) taking second and third respectively. 

Other Hillcrest finishers were Braden Hartsock (21:12) in 22nd, Isaac Beachy (21:14) in 23rd, Micah Kacmarynski (22:57) in 36th, Jeremiah Danker (24:11) in 40th, and Kyle Neuschwander (27:10) placing 47th. 

Lone Tree results 

Making their season debut at the Early Bird, the Lions and Lady Lions produced some strong showings on the hilly course of Hillcrest.   

The boys and girls team did not have enough runners to earn a team score, leaving them off of the final team standings. 

Leading the boys team was Brock Nebergall. Coming off an impressive freshman year, Nebergall started his second year of cross country by placing 14th in 20:15.
The second and final Lion to reach the end of the course was Taylor Alberhasky. Entering his senior year, Alberhasky finished in 25:36 to place 44th.

In the JV race the Lions had one runner participate, freshman Trenton McKean who placed 15th in 25:07. 

When it came to the Lady Lions, they had a familiar runner leading the team. 

Vivian Zaruba started her senior year with a top 20 finish, completing the course with a time of 24:07 to place 19th. Compared to last year’s Early bird, Zaruba’s time was nearly two minutes faster. 

Also completing the course for Lone Tree was Jazmine Nino. The junior captured 40th place in 31:07. Zaruba and Nino were the only runners to compete in the varsity race with five competing in the JV race. 

Leading Lone Tree in the JV competition was freshman Addy Eiben, placing 10th in 24:16. Other finishes include junior Ava Christofferson (28:18) in 40th, sophomore Abby Zaruba (28:20) in 41st, sophomore Carlee Sexton (28:57) in 44th, and freshman Evelyn Mueller (37:57) placing 71st. 

Highland results 

For the Huskies they had two runners compete in the girls varsity race, seniors Olivia Edwards and Jaydee Macareno.

Edwards was unable to complete the course, leaving her with no final time or placement, leaving Macareno as Highland’s lone finisher, placing 39th in 30:34. This is Macareno’s first season of cross country, and she also played soccer for Highland as a junior.  

The Highland boys had a trio of runners represent them in the varsity race and leading the way was Brayden Zywiec. 

Shaving over a minute off his time compared to last year, the junior crossed the finish line in 24:28 to place 43rd. The next two Huskies to find the finish arrived back-to-back. 

The junior duo of Chase Hickenbottom and Jack Krotz placed 45th and 46th respectively with times of 25:50 and 25:55. For Hickenbottom this is his third year running cross country and for Krotz this is his second. 

Girls results 

1. Abigial Burns, IC High, 20:25.43

3. Marie Yoder, Hillcrest, 20:40.97

10. Siena Stanerson, Hillcrest, 22:18.20

19. Vivian Zaruba, Lone Tree, 24:07.52

30. Delaney Shaw, Hillcrest, 26:27.75

35. Brynna O’Rourke, Hillcrest, 28:54.54

39. Jaydee Macareno, Highland, 30:34.19

40. Jazmine Nino, Lone Tree, 31:07.80

46. Samantha Mize, Hillcrest, 36:13.08

Boys results 

1. Gage Heyne, English Valleys, 16:47.26

11. Jesse Blossom, Hillcrest, 20:09.94

14. Brock Nebergall, Lone Tree, 20:15.61

16. Micah Gerber, Hillcrest, 20:25.38

22. Braden Hartsock, Hillcrest, 21:12.61

23. Isaac Beachy, Hillcrest, 21:14.43

36. Micah Kacmarynski, Hillcrest, 22:57.93

40. Jeremiah Danker, Hillcrest, 24:11.51

43. Brayden Zywiec, Highland, 24:58.01

44. Taylor Alberhasky, Lone Tree, 25:36.68

45. Chase Hickenbottom, Highland, 25:50.44

46. Jack Krotz, Highland, 25:55.58

47. Kyle Neuschwander, Hillcrest, 27:10.21