Freshman Brinlee Courtney posted a time of 21:41.75 Tuesday at Waukon to claim eighth place.(Photos courtesy of Jeremy Troendle/Waukon Standard)
It was a picture-perfect night for running as the Decorah and Turkey Valley cross country teams joined other squads from northeast Iowa in Waukon for an invite.
At the end of the night, the Viking girls won the meet with 38 points ahead of the hosts’ 73. The boys’ team standings were flip-flopped, with Waukon coming out on top with 21 points, followed by Decorah’s 51. Turkey Valley had limited runners and did not field team scores.
Decorah girls
Averaging a time of 21:21, it was Amelia Roe who broke the tape in the varsity girls race, stopping the clock at 19:06.51. Freshman Brinlee Courtney toured the course in 21:41.75, to bring home eighth place, while Grace Brynsaas rounded out the top 10 in 21:45.63, in 10th place. Ana Simon and Olivia Volkmann finished in 13th and 14th places respectively to complete the team score. Simon posted a time of 22:01.52, while Volkman had a time of 22:07.43. Also on the course in varsity action were Lily Sandhorst (18th, 22:18.16) and Amelia Wadsworth (19th, 22:20.71).
The junior varsity squad posted a perfect score of 15 to win over Crestwood who tallied 68 points, with Deborah Hougen finishing second (first in team scoring) in 22:56.68.
“What a great night of racing,” said Decorah girls’ coach Cristy Nimrod. “We have been talking about running with confidence and the girls raced with confidence in this race. It was fun to watch that happen.”
Leading the boys
“We ran really well and are showing signs of looking like a good cross country team,” said Viking boys’ coach Brad Johansen.
The boys had an average time of 17:49, and put four runners in the top 15. Grant Zilka led Decorah to the finish line in 17:14.24, to take fourth place, while Garrett See claimed the 10th spot in 17:45.93. In See’s heels was Henry Weis in 11th, posting a time of 17:49.72. Taking 14th in 18:02.00 was Landyn Hook with Oliver Bollinger completing the team score in 16th place in 18:10.98. Others racing in the varsity 5K were Thomas Hammel (17th, 18:18.05) and Liam Huang (19th, 18:27.82).
D’mitry Lesser led the junior varsity runners to the finish line in second place in 18:28.96, to help lift the JV to the victory with 23 points.
Trojan runners
Russell Nieman was the lone varsity runner for Turkey Valley, coming home 26th in 19:18.57. In the boys’ junior varsity race, Bode Balk toured the course in 21:03.21, good for 29th place. Avery Franzen was 58th to cross the finish line with a time of 22:50.28, while Nicolas Bernharnd completed the race in 30:52.11, in 92nd place.
Two girls were on the course in junior varsity action as well with freshman Bella Stika breaking the tape in 22:22.59. Hazel Nieman garnered a 15th place finish in 24:16.90.
Girls’ varsity team results
1. Decorah 38; 2. Waukon 73; 3. Crestwood 95; 4. North Fayette Valley 99; 5. Osage 117; 6. MFL MarMac 134; 7. New Hampton 146
Boys’ varsity team results
1. Waukon 21; 2. Decorah 51; 3. Crestwood 95; 4. Postville 138; 5. Starmont/West Central 143; 6. Osage 164; 7. North Fayette Valley 187; 8. Kee 196; 9. New Hampton 209
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