September 24, 2024

Three top-five finishes at I-35 Invitational

By CHEYENNE ROCHE
A pack of Panthers race together, placing second as a team ­— one point behind Des Moines Hoover. From left, Karter Clayton, Maylee Riley and Payton Davis.

A pack of Panthers race together, placing second as a team ­— one point behind Des Moines Hoover. From left, Karter Clayton, Maylee Riley and Payton Davis. (Contributed photos by TERRY FREEMAN)

OSCEOLA — The Panthers continued to show improvement year over year at the I-35 Invitational Thursday hosted by Clarke.

Freshman Cora Smith and sophomore Wyatt Goodenberger led the girls and boys teams, respectively, running the fastest times of Panthers on this course in the last three years.

The girls placed second overall, one point behind Des Moines Hoover. The boys came in third with I-35 taking the win.

Goodenberger finished fourth overall, running a 20:08.98 on the humid fall afternoon. The time was 90 seconds faster than a year ago.

Junior Hector Suazo finished seventh in 21:08.08, a 30-second improvement from his mark last year.

It was freshman Austin Jondle in the Panthers’ third spot, running 22:45.62 to take 15th place. Junior Kylen Parsons came in 18th in 23:31.72.

Another freshman, Colt Key, was the fifth runner, earning 27th place in 24:54.98. Senior Spencer Brown rounded out the boys’ team with a 36th-place finish in 26:24.05.

Smith dominated the girls race, finishing second behind senior Kaleigh Harvey of Southeast Warren. Smith ran a 22:53.98.

Sophomore Reese Strunk came in fourth overall, finishing in 23:27.55 — more than 30 seconds faster than last year.

A pack of Panthers came in together for 11th through 13th place. Senior Payton Davis led the group, finishing in 25:17.24. Juniors Maylee Riley and Grace Keeler finished in 26:08.60 and 26:28.06, respectively.

Senior Karter Clayton twisted her ankle during the race, but finished nonetheless, placing 18th in 27:42.11. Junior Abby Freeman rounded out varsity runners with a 27:51.87 for 19th place.

The Panthers host their home meet and senior night tonight at 4 p.m. at Southwestern Community College. The team has three seniors -— Payton Davis, Karter Clayton and Spencer Brown.

It is the only home meet of the year for the team, and Coach Maggie Arnold hopes for good attendance.

Though the boys race was postponed and eventually canceled last year due to severe weather, today’s forecast looks much more favorable.

Cheyenne Roche

CHEYENNE ROCHE

Originally from Wisconsin, Cheyenne has a journalism and political science degree from UW-Eau Claire and a passion for reading and learning. She lives in Creston with her husband and their two little dogs.