Cyclone girls, Shelton win titles at Shenandoah
SHENANDOAH (Aug. 31) -- It was a great meet for team newcomers Tuesday as the Harlan Community girls placed first and the boys took third at the Shenandoah Early Bird Cross Country Invite.
The Cyclone girls placed five runners in the top 10 (seven in the top 14) for a winning score of 32, followed by Atlantic with a 48 and Clarinda (49).
The top three boys teams were bunched even closer. Atlantic placed first with a 55, followed by Clarinda (56) and HCHS (62).
Cyclone senior Tyler Shelton, who placed ninth last Saturday in the season-opening Glenwood Invite, pulled away from the pack mid-race and won the individual boys title by 40 seconds over Red Oak’s Baylor Bergren with a time of 17:26.44.
Shelton has previously competed in three state meets while attending Dodea Lejeune High School, a military school in North Carolina. He did not match his time from Glenwood, but called Tuesday a “good-feeling race” in which he enjoyed tackling some of the hilly terrain on the sprawling grounds of Shenandoah High School.
“Today was about feeling good,” he said. “I’m from eastern North Carolina - it’s ‘Flatsville,’ USA - so hills are like candy. They’re a sweet that I don’t get very often.”
Another Cyclone newcomer making waves is freshman Lindsey Sonderman, who followed up Saturday’s second-place effort at Glenwood with a third-place time of 20:41.9 at Shenandoah. Atlantic’s Ava Rush placed first in 20:08 and Clarinda’s Mayson Hartley (20:27) was second.
Also finishing in the top 10 for the HCHS girls were Kaia Bieker (fifth), Ellie Gross (sixth), Taylor Bieker (eighth) and Jenna Gessert (10th). Gessert was actually on the volleyball team until recently making the switch to cross country.
Full story in Sept. 3 Harlan News-Advertiser
Shenandoah Early Bird XC Invite • Aug. 31 • Shenandoah HS
Girls Team Standings - 1. Harlan Community 32, 2. Atlantic 48, 3. Clarinda 49, 4. Shenandoah 125, 5. Red Oak 126.
Top Five Individual Girls - 1. Ava Rush (Atlantic), 20:08; 2. Mayson Hartley (Clar.), 20:27; 3. Lindsey Sonderman (HCHS), 20:41; 4. Claire Pellett (Atl.), 21:43; 5. Kaia Bieker (HCHS), 22:05.
HCHS Individual Results (5-kilometer times; 58 runners) - 3rd: Lindsey Sonderman, 20:41.90; 5th: Kaia Bieker, 22:05.81; 6th: Ellie Gross, 22:11.21; 8th: Taylor Bieker, 22:51.56; 10th: Jenna Gessert, 23:10.92; 12th: Makayla Burchett, 23:45.10; 14th: Darbie Argotsinger, 24:25.99; 25th: Kayla Anderson, 26:09.55; 26th: Dani Smith, 26:11.50; 29th: Tatjana Schuemer, 26:34.00; 30th: Lilly Metzger, 26:43.85; 35th: Lauren Wingert, 27:26.58; 36th: Kate Heithoff, 27:29.50; 39th: Ally Curren, 27:43.42; 42nd: Kassie Anderson, 28:13.46; 43rd: Ania Kaster, 28:14.08; 45th: Molly Swensen, 28:29.63; 49th: Hadlie Argotsinger, 29:57.63; 53rd: Kathleen Schmitz, 31:55.01; DNF: Emily Schechinger.
Boys Team Standings - 1. Atlantic 55, 2. Clarinda 56, 3. Harlan Community 62, 4. Shenandoah 98, 5. Treynor 117, 6. Red Oak 119, 7. East Mills 191.
Top Five Individual Boys - 1. Tyler Shelton (HCHS), 17:26; 2. Baylor Bergren (Red Oak), 18:06; 3. Drew Engler (Atl.), 18:10; 4. Kyle Wagoner (Clar.), 18:13; 5. Zane Berg (Atl.), 18:22.
HCHS Individual Results (5-kilometer times; 98 runners) - 1st: Tyler Shelton, 17:26.44; 9th: Ian Shelton, 19:05.47; 13th: Kaiden Milliken, 19:31.46; 19th: Joseph Bragg, 20:00.50; 20th: Seth Anderson, 20:10.95; 37th: Keaton Heileson, 21:44.74; 39th: Jonathan Shelton, 21:54.94; 59th: David Kluver, 23:48.13; 61st: Micah Sorensen, 23:52.84; 64th: Garrett Hillwick, 24:04.90; 65th: Jeb Sonderman, 24:25.12; 75th: Quentin McDowell, 25:39.88; 83rd: Jorgen Sorensen, 26:54.71; 86th: Ian Kearney, 27:13.70; 87th: Brayton Cooper, 27:17.13; 89th: Logan Breyfogle, 27:47.79; 93rd: Anthony Fields, 28:55.22.