NV boys cross country open season with a W

MENLO – It didn't take long for the Nodaway Valley boys cross country team to pick up where it left off Thursday, taking first place in the West Central Valley Wildcat Invitational as a team in Menlo.

The high praise for Joshua Baudler continues to be well deserved as the junior dusted the field, besting everyone in the boys field by at least ten seconds, completing the course in 17:05.35.

"We knew we had what we had in Josh," said NV head coach Darrell Burmeister. "Josh was 17th at state last year ... He's an extremely hard worker and competitor."

The Wolverines also placed Ben Breheny (4th), Carter Menefee (8th), Tyler Breheny (10th) and Toby Bower (14th) inside of the top 15, gaining some added praise from their head coach. Joel Blazek just missed the medal stand, taking 18th.

NV finished with 37 team points while second place Des Moines Christian had 51 and third place Saydel ended the day with 70.

"Ben Breheny I thought did great. Carter Menefee ... he's going to be the guys that probably gets us a state title this year. I think we can get Carter in the 16's," said Burmeister. "Joel really came on at the end."

Hydration was a big point of emphasis from the head coach moving forward, noting that the first meet will serve as a wake up call on properly taking care of one's body.

It's a starting point for the Wolverine boys team that has only one thing on its mind, a fourth consecutive state title. Burmeister knows the team wants it and like any first event of the year, it's commonplace to spot ways to improve.

The Wolverine girls took third place as a team with 101 points, losing a tiebreaker to Greene County who matched their point total.

Panorama ran away with the event, sweeping the top three spots. Ella Waddle took the top spot in a time of 19:49.21.

Reagan Weinheimer and Sophia Broers rounded out the top five with finishes of fourth and fifth, respectively.

Mallory Kuhns crossed the line in 23rd in a time of 24:35.48 while Jena Yonker and Erin Ford completed the course in 50th and 52nd, respectively.

"Sophia Broers just works extremely hard. A girl that just started running a year and a half ago," Burmeister said. "We just (have) to work on the other three. Mallory and Jena Yonker are in their first year out ... so now they have a feel for it."

NV ran the race with just five competitors.

Girls team results – 1. Panorama 24; 2. Greene County 101; 3. Nodaway Valley 101; 4. Exira-EHK 104; 5. Audubon 117; 6. Southwest Valley 119; 7. Martensdale-St. Marys 156.

Nodaway Valley results – 1. Ella Waddle, Panorama, 19:49.21; 4. Reagan Weinheimer, NV, 22:03.06; 5. Sophia Broers, NV, 22:12.10; 23. Mallory Kuhns, NV, 24:35.48; 50. Jena Yonker, NV, 27:23.41; 52. Erin Ford, NV, 27:38.58

Boys team results – 1. Nodaway Valley 37; 2. Des Moines Christian 51; 3. Saydel 70; 4. Martensdale-St. Marys 134; 5. West Central Valley 148; 6. Panorama 148; 7. Greene County 179; 8. Ankeny Christian Academy 210; 9. Interstate 35 229; 10. CAM 240; 11. Southwest Valley 330

Nodaway Valley results – 1. Joshua Baudler, NV, 17:05.35; 4. Ben Breheny, NV, 18:00.57; 8. Carter Menefee, NV, 18:17.80; 10. Tyler Breheny, NV, 18:29.01; 14. Toby Bower, NV, 18:59.02; 18. Joel Blazek, NV, 19:15.46; 70. Mason Menefee, NV, 23:07.59; 74. Lucas Van Otterloo, NV, 24:09.97