February 07, 2025

Led by Winther, Newton girls finish fifth at Grinnell Invitational

Cardinals post several best times at Ahrens Recreation Complex

By Troy Hyde
Bella Winther

Newton junior Bella Winther led the Cardinals at the Grinnell Invitational at Ahrens Recreation Complex on Tuesday. The Newton girls placed fifth as a team. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

GRINNELL — Three varsity runners from the Newton girls cross country team set career-best times and three others ran season-bests at the Grinnell Invitational on Tuesday.

And Bella Winther led the Cardinals at Ahrens Recreation Complex. She was the lone Newton runner in the top 30 as the Cardinals placed fifth in the six-team field.

The annual meet moved up its start time to 8:30 a.m. to beat the heat. It was an optional meet for the Cardinals and they did not have one of their top runners in Hadley Kruse.

“We appreciate Grinnell making accommodations,” Newton head girls’ cross country coach Rachelle Tipton said. “It was great to be able to still get this meet in and not lose another one. While it was already getting sticky, there was a good breeze and the team took advantage and pushed well.”

Cameron Sharp, left, and Meghan Trout

Newton senior Cameron Sharp, left, and freshman Megan Trout ran near each other for most of the girls' 5K race at the Grinnell Invitational on Tuesday. The Cardinal duo was separated by less than 4 seconds. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

Pella showed why it’s ranked No. 1 in Class 3A. The Dutch placed 10 runners in the top 15 positions and scored 18 points at the top of the standings.

Class 2A No. 17 Williamsburg was the runner-up with 60 points. Benton Community (96), Grinnell (113), Newton (126) and Knoxville (140) completed the six-team field.

Winther led the Cardinals in 26th with a time of 24 minutes, 40.3 seconds.

Meghan Trout ran a career-best time of 25:57.5 in 37th, Cameron Sharp posted a season-best time of 26:01.9 in 40th and Abbie Preston ran a season-best time of 26:27.9 in 44th.

The final scoring runner was Sarah Malow, and she posted a career-best time of 27:01.2 in 46th.

Abbie Preston, left, and Sarah Malow

Newton sophomore Abbie Preston, left, and freshman Sarah Malow run side-by-side with a pack of competitors at the Grinnell Invitational at Ahrens Recreation Complex on Tuesday. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

The two varsity non-scoring runners were Paxton Panada and Alivia Kingery. Panada ran a season-best time of 27:57.2 in 47th and Kingery posted a career-best time of 28:12.8 in 49th. It was Kingery’s varsity debut.

“Meghan did a nice job of staying with Cameron and then both working to move up and compete with Knoxville runners,” Tipton said. “Abbie closed in on them throughout the race as well.”

Class 3A No. 2 Ruth Dunham of Pella won the girls’ 5K race in 20:00.4 and 3A No. 5 Autumn Blink of Pella was the runner-up in 20:01.7.