Clear Lake cross country team continues to make strides

Posted September 27th, 2007

Humboldt Invitational
   The Clear Lake boys cross country team continues to make strides. The Lions finished eighth in the field of 20 teams at the Humboldt Invitational Monday, Sept. 17.
   Ryan Iverson broke 20-minutes for the first time in his high school cross country career, running 19:54 and helping him to finish 58th overall and fifth among the Lions.
   Grant Peterson crossed the finish line in 39th place overall in 19:15.   Alex Schwichtenberg was next in 19:32 to place 45th and Zach Bartlett was 52nd in 19:46. Payton Hand also figured in team scoring for the Lions, running a 19:53 and placing 57th. Also competing in the varsity race for the Lions was Jake Kolker, 71st in 20:22, and Joel Schwichtenberg, 75th in 20:28.
   In the varsity girls race, Vanessa Ruiz pushed herself to 55th place in a time of 18:51. The effort equalled her best time of the year.   Laura Fyfe and Gracie Bojoquez followed in 19:33 and 21:22, for 78th and 101st respectively. Coach Jerry Morris noted Bojoquez’s time was close to her best, and each of the Lions ran well in the heat and wind that day.   Steph Hensley covered the course in 22:07, good for 110th, and Arial Thomas was 121st in 23:49. Also competing in the varsity race was Sara Jo Raner, who was 123rd in 24:05. The girls were 18th in the 20 team field.
   “We are hoping to get Brita Hand back after an ankle injury in the (first of the season) Newman meet. We have had everyone step it up in her absence,” said Coach Morris.
   Four junior varsity runners placed in the top 40 for Clear Lake. They were lead by Jacob Colon’s 16th place finish in 21:27. Chipper Fyfe (22:10) was 34th in one of his better races of the year. Zach Johnson (22:13) was 37th and Colin Lobdell (22:24) was 40th.
   Other results from the junior varsity race were: Nicholas DiMarco, 22:43, 49th; Andrew Klein, 23:23, 74th; Tyler Arnberg, 27:06, 127th; Andrew Hansen, 26:21, 123rd; and Noah Langholz, 27:09, 128th.

Mason City
   The Clear Lake teams were in Mason City Thursday, Sept. 20, to participate in the Mason City Invitational, held on the North Iowa Area Community College campus. Runners were challenged by the hilly course and strong winds.
   The Lion boys finished 10th in the team race and only 10 points from moving up to eighth. Marshalltown won the boys title, followed by Cedar Falls, Charles City, Osage, Fort Dodge and Mason City. Waverly-Shell Rock, Central Springs and Lake Mills were ahead of Clear Lake.
   “We ran well, but just need to keep improving and get everyone healthy. Everyone is giving good effort and we are getting better,” said Coach Jerry Morris.
   Grant Peterson was the top placewinner for the Clear Lake boys. He came in 45th in a time of 19:36. Next was Alex Schwichtenberg, 55th in 19:53, and Zach Bartlett, 56th in 19:59. The remainder of the Lion runners were tightly grouped. Joel Schwichtenberg was 69th in 20:38, Ryan Iverson was 70th in 20:47, Payton Hand was 72nd in 20:49, and Jake Kolker was 73rd in 20:52.
   In the girls race, Vanessa Ruiz was 56th in 19:17, followed by Laura Fyfe in 71st with a time of 20:10. Grace Bojoquez placed 95th in 21:46, Ariel Thomas was 102nd in 23:01 and Sara Jo Raner was 105th in 23:45.
   “Our team score was not as good as we wanted for the meet,” said Coach Morris. He noted team member Steph Hensley had to drop out of the race due to a knee injury. “Again, if we can get everyone healthy by the end of the year, we will improve as a team.”
   The junior varsity boys were paced by Tucker Weber’s 70th place finish in 22:03. Jacob Colon and Nicholas DiMarco were close behind in 84th and 88th place respectively in 22:39 amd 22:44. Chipper Fyfe ran a 23:03 and Zach Johnson a 23:11 to be 103rd and 106th.   Colin Lobdell rounded out the top six for the Lions, placing 121st in 23:47. Andrew Klein was 127th in 23:55 and Tyler Arnberg 166th in 25.52. Tanner Larsen came in 170th in 26:18, Noah Langholz 180th in 27:22, and Andrew Hansen 182nd in 27:33.

MASON CITY INVITATIONAL
Boys scores: Marshalltown 39, Cedar Falls 59, Charles City 116, Osage 124, Fort Dodge 161, Mason City 161, Waverly-Shell rock 192, Central Springs, 288, Lake Mills 294, Clear Lake 295, Newman Catholic 300, Forest City 307, Rockwell-Swaledale/SCMT 329, Rockford 351, New Hampton 407.

Girls scores: Cedar Falls 45, Mason City 83, Marshalltown 91, Newman Catholic 133, New Hampton 146, Fort Dodge 167, Waterloo West 196, Waverly-Shell Rock 213, Charles City 253, Forest City 272, Osage 313, Central Springs 323, Ventura 362, Rockwell-Swaledale/SCMT 380, Waterloo East 404, Rockford 426, Clear Lake 429.