March 29, 2024

Coen, Thomas lead NHS teams at Cardinal Invitational

On Course

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Running the hills, the twists and turns and the bridges of Westwood Golf Course, Newton High’s cross country runners and others competed in Tuesday’s 38th NHS Cardinal Invitational cross country meet. There were six races run on the course — middle school girls and boys, high school junior varsity boys and girls and the varsity girls and boys.

Newton’s varsity boys finished in fifth place with 127 points. There were eight teams competing in the division.

Grinnell claimed the boys’ team title with 41 points followed by Ankeny with 57 points, Oskaloosa with 79 points and Marshalltown with 108 points. Des Moines Christian came in sixth with 149 points followed by Perry with 177 and Des Moines East with 212.

“The boys ran well at their home meet at Westwood,” said Tom Bartello, NHS boys’ head coach. “We had many run personal record times and season-best times.”

In the girls’ varsity division, the Cardinals were sixth in a field of 10 teams, scoring 163 points. Des Moines Roosevelt took first with 42 points led by Megan Schott, who was the top medalist completing the 4K course in 14 minutes, 8 seconds.

Southeast Polk was second with 55 points. Ankeny was third with 85 points followed by Grinnell with 108 and Oskaloosa with 153 points. Des Moines Christian placed seventh with 170 points followed by Marshalltown at 188, Perry at 279 and Des Moines East with 297.

Grace Coen turned in a second-place finish in the girls’ varsity race. Coen, a junior, ran the race in 14:24. Hailey Coy finished 28th in 16:20 and fellow senior Autumn Hunt was 42nd in 17:04. Ellie Horn, a sophomore, placed 44th in 17:16 and senior Anna Barr took 47th in 17:49.

Freshman Tessa Keeton finished 48th in 17:33. Sophomore Michaella Cope took 50th in 17:51.

“I am proud of how the girls ran tonight, they all gave an amazing effort. In the varsity race, we had everyone under 18 minutes, which is a great accomplishment,” said Rachelle Tioton, NHS head coach.

“Grace looked strong today and it was good to see her getting back to form. Hailey got injured at this meet last year and came back ready to go. Autumn had a breakout run today finishing third for the team. Ellie, Anna, Tessa, and Michaella all saw great drops in time.”

Tipton said of the Newton junior varsity girls’ squad, “we are small but very mighty.” Sophomore Jordyn Soule finished 36th in 18:25 followed by senior Marisa Modlin in 69th at 19:45 and junior Annie Hurt in 79th in 20:16.

“Marisa ran under 20 minutes for the second time in her career.  Annie is looking great and really is starting to come on strong after her injury,” Tipton said. “Things are looking good as we head into the latter half of our season. Indianola will have a lot of great competition to push the girls, it will be an exciting race.”

Newton High’s teams run at the Indianola Invitational Thursday.

Leading the Newton varsity boys in his final home meet was senior Jacob Thomas. Thomas ran the 5K distance in 16:51 to claim fifth place. Freshman Mikey Bradley captured 19th in 17:59 and freshman Jack Callaghan was 26th in 18:21.

“Jacob beat his last year’s top 10 for cross country finishes at Newton. Mikey ran a personal best time,” Bartello said.

Justin Fischer, a sophomore, ran the course in 18:58 for 37th and freshman Dylan Main placed 40th in 19:23.

Senior Chase Dykstra ended his final run on his home course in 19:35 for 41st. Zach Thies, a junior, placed 42nd in 19:56.

The Cardinal boys’ junior varsity finished fifth in its division with 121 points. Seniors Justin Simms and Jarom Williams finished 19th and 23rd, respectively, in 19:27 and 19:47. Sophomore Noah Sander ran the race in 20:16 for 34th followed by freshman Ross Hull in 36th at 20:23 and freshman Blake Robson in 81st in 23:24.

“I was very pleased with how the boys ran at home. We had a tough week of practice last week and the times (Tuesday) were reflective of everyone’s hard work and effort,” Bartello said. “With a quick turn around meet Thursday, our goal is to maintain where we were at today and keep moving forward with our progress.”

Newton’s Berg Middle School teams competed on Tuesday. The girls placed eighth out of 11 teamsled by eighth-grader Caelyn Briley, who placed 10th overall. The boys finished 10th in a 10-team field. Top finishers for the boys were Colton Forck, a seventh-grader, and eighth-graders Nathan Miller and Adam Hunter, placing 85th, 87th and 89th.

Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.

38th Cardinal Invitational

Cross Country Meet

High School

Boys’ Varsity 5K

Newton: 5. Jacob Thomas, 16:51; 19. Mikey Bradley, 17:59; 26. Jack Callaghan, 18:21; 37. Justin Fischer, 18:58; 40. Dylan Main, 19:23; 41. Chase Dykstra, 19:35; 42. Zach Theis, 19:56.

Girls’ Varsity 4K

Newton: 2. Grace Coen, 14:24; 28. Hailey Coy, 16:20; 42. Autumn Hunt, 17:04; 44. Ellie Horn, 17:16; 47. Anna Barr, 17:29; 48. Tessa Keeton, 17:33; 50. Michaella Cope, 17:51.

Boys’ Junior Varsity 5K

Newton: 19. Justin Simms, 19:27; 23. Jarom Williams, 19:47; 34. Noah Sander, 20:16; 36. Ross Hull, 20:23; 81. Blake Robson, 23:24.

Girls’ Junior Varsity 4K

Newton: 36. Jordyn Soule, 18:25; 69. Marisa Modlin, 19:45; 79. Annie Hurt, 20:16.

Middle School

Boys

Newton: 85. Colton Forck, 14:28; 87. Nathan Miller, 14:29; 89. Adam Hunter, 14:30; 103. Larkin Christy, 14:46; 146. Luke Zaabel, 15:44; 178. Jasper Wickman, 16:55; 181. Isaac Friedman, 17:01; 196. Colin McAnally, 17:59; 206. Mitchell Faidley, 18:43; 213. Parker Sherwood, 19:30; 220. Hunter Pion, 20:54; 223. Kaleb Dydell, 21:54.

Girls

Newton: 10. Caelyn Briley, 13:57; 23. Abbie Barr, 14:30; 35. Rachel Rhoads, 14:51; 88. Jenna Smith, 15:52; 132. Abby Davis, 16:49; 153. Tes Schuster, 17:19; 200. Bayleigh Hughson, 19:29; 205. Madalyn Gamble, 19:49; 237. Ryleigh Harvey, 23:17.