Improved times all around at Clarke

OSCEOLA — At the I-35 Invite Sept. 19 held in Osceola, the Roadrunners topped the lady Panthers by one point.

Tuesday at the Clarke Invite, it was the Panthers who came out on top, placing third with 64 points; Interstate 35 earning fourth with 73 points.

The trio of Cora Smith, Reese Strunk and Payton Davis were a major part of the Panthers’ success, the three runners finishing before the first I-35 girl crossed the finish.

Smith, a freshman, continues to lead the Panthers. All eight girls ran times significantly faster than they ran two weeks ago on the same course.

Smith ran 21:52.2, Davis coming in less than a second behind her at 21:53. At the previous race, Smith ran 22:53 and Davis ran 25:17.

A senior this year, Davis said she’s enjoying her final year of cross country.

“This is my fourth year being a part of the cross country team,” Davis said. “I love this sport so much because of the team aspect; everyone is so supportive and we have a ton of fun together.”

Davis said it was great having so many community members at their home meet Sept. 24.

Strunk finished in 10th place, running a 22:18.6, more than a minute quicker than she ran previously.

Senior Karter Clayton came in 23rd, fourth for the Panthers. Her second year out for the sport, Clayton has improved significantly. Her time Tuesday was 24:34.1, more than a minute faster than her time from last season.

Rounding out Panther scoring was first-year junior Maylee Riley who ran 24:53, placing 25th. Her time also improved by more than a minute from the same course last month.

The other varsity runners were Abby Freeman and Karlie Kruse. Freeman placed 30th, running a 26:00, nearly two minutes faster than last month and three minutes faster than last year.

Kruse took 34th in 26:18.9. As a freshman, Kruse improved by 10 seconds.

Van Meter dominated the girls race, winning the team contest with 26 points. Martensdale-St.Marys took silver with 58 points.

Boys

Creston sophomore Wyatt Goodenberger placed first again for the Panthers, running a 20:10.7 for 23rd place. The time was right on with the time he ran last month.

Junior Hector Suazo had another strong finish, passing several runners in the final stretch to take 34th place in 21:13. The time is just a few seconds shy of his previous time, but 30 seconds faster than last season.

With freshman Austin Jondle out of the lineup Tuesday, it was Kylen Parsons who stepped up, finishing in the third spot, running 21:35.5 to place 43rd. The time was nearly two minutes faster than he ran at the I-35 Invite.

Freshman Colt Key and senior Spencer Brown rounded out Panther scoring, running 24:35.6 and 26:12.5, respectively. Both times were course bests.

As a first-year senior, Brown has worked hard and pushed himself to improve.

“Being on the team showed me I can overcome challenges,” he said.

Johnathon Henry ran 30:12.4, finishing close to five minutes faster than last month.

The boys placed seventh out of nine teams, scoring 185 points. Chariton took an easy win with 25 points.

The Panthers return to action next Thursday at Atlantic.

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

8. Cora Smith - Creston: 21:52.2

9. Payton Davis - Creston: 21:53.0

10. Reese Strunk - Creston: 22:18.6

14. Claire Jacobsen - Clarke: 23:08.1

20. Isabell Hay - Clarke: 24:06.4

23. Karter Clayton - Creston: 24:34.1

25. Maylee Riley - Creston: 24:53.2

28. Ryley Greenwell - Mount Ayr: 25:32.7

29. Ashlyn Byer - Mount Ayr: 25:51.9

30. Abby Freeman - Creston: 26:00.0

33. Natalie McGaw - Clarke: 26:07.6

34. Karlie Kruse - Creston: 26:18.9

38. Greenly Ramsey - Lenox: 26:45.4

41. Gretchen Hoepker - Creston: 27:14.4

53. Ale Villanueva - Lenox: 30:01.7

55. Maria Long - East Union: 30:53.7

55. Khloe Parker - East Union: 30:53.7

GIRLS TEAM RESULTS

1. Van Meter - 26

2. Martensdale-St. Mary - 58

3. Creston - 64

4. Interstate 35 - 73

5. Chariton - 151

BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

8. Devante Caldwell - Clarke: 18:40.50

23. Wyatt Goodenberger - Creston: 20:10.7

29. Brock Driskill - East Union: 21:01.10

30. Matthew Means - SWV: 21:02.10

32. Braylon Greenwell - Mount Ayr: 21:03.90

34. Hector Suazo - Creston: 21:13.00

37. Luke Wade - Clarke: 21:16.20

41. Conner Williams - Clarke: 21:29.80

42. Adam Mcneill - East Union: 21:33.20

43. Kylen Parsons - Creston: 21:35.50

48. Francisco Francisco - Clarke: 22:05.20

51. Cole Jacobsen - Clarke: 22:28.50

52. Jake Pontier - Clarke: 22:42.30

55. Michael Adkisson - Mount Ayr: 23:14.90

59. Ashton Boswell - SWV: 23:22.50

61. Brody Feehan - Clarke: 23:32.50

62. Joey Turpin - Clarke: 23:40.60

65. Lucas James - SWV: 23:52.70

66. Brody Sparks - SWV: 23:55.90

67. Ben Waddell - SWV: 24:32.10

68. Colt Key - Creston: 24:35.60

69. Brandon Sanchez Flores - Clarke: 24:37.20

73. Dwight Humphrey - Clarke: 24:52.70

75. Erick Hernandez - Clarke: 24:58.30

76. Adrian Negrete - Clarke: 24.58.80

78. Ben Rodriguez - Clarke: 26:02.40

79. Spencer Brown - Creston: 26:12.50

80. Quaid Eddy - SWV: 26:1260

85. Michael Brogdon - Clarke: 26.48.10

87. Anthony Villanueva - Lenox: 27:3040

88. Rolland Adkisson - Mount Ayr: 27.43.30

93. Sawyer Shields - Clarke: 29:52.10

95. Johnathon Henry - Creston: 30:12.20

98. Rodrigo Hernandez - Clarke: 32:05.40

99. Casey Wade - Clarke: 32:15.10

100. Cesar Ambriz - Clarke: 33:25.60

102. Cael Wisniewski - Clarke: 36:54.90

104. Bryce Hall - Clarke: 45:29.10

BOYS TEAM RESULTS

1. Chariton - 25

2. Van Meter - 76

3. Baxter - 93

4. Interstate 35 - 109

5. Martensdale-St. Marys - 133

6. Clarke - 148

7. Creston - 185

8. Southwest Valley - 212

9. Southeast Warren - 228