×

CAT POWER

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Quinton Orr of Humboldt compete in the boys 5k run during Humboldt Invitational on Monday at Sheldon Park

HUMBOLDT — Behind Top-10 finishes by race champion Quinton Orr, Devon Coon and Eric Wittrock, the Humboldt cross country team flexed their muscle here Monday at their own meet.

The Wildcats finished with just 41 team points, claiming the overall title ahead of Fort Dodge, Ogden, St. Edmond and Clear Lake.

Along with three runners placing in the Top-10, the next two Humboldt athletes finished among the first 15 to cross home at Sheldon Park.

“It’s always great to have everyone from the community come and support the home meet,” Orr said. “Our team works incredibly hard and to be able to come away with a team win and five runners in the Top-15 really shows that.

“Cross country is a really hard sport to compete in and having all the people here makes it fun.”

Orr, a junior, is the top-ranked Class 3A boy in the state. He placed ahead of Clear Lake’s Justin Wright and Stephen Flynn of Ogden.

Humboldt will get the chance to compete at home again later this year when they host a 3A district meet on Thursday, Oct. 24.

“I’m happy with how I raced,” Orr said. “I went out and gave it my all and at meets like this, that’s what you can do. As the season gets closer and closer to districts, it gets super exciting.

“We host a district meet this year and being able to run the times we did (Monday) is a huge confidence booster for myself and the team. We just continue to work hard and get better each day, and hopefully we can have a really successful and fun postseason.”

Coon was fourth overall and Wittrock finished 10th, with Trevor Jacobson placing 12th and Carter Theesfeld 14th. Nolan Jergens added a 22nd place finish for the Wildcats.

Fort Dodge’s Josh Meier cracked the Top-10, as he placed seventh overall, with teammates Jonathon Madden (15th) and Eric Crawford (17th) behind him.

“Everyone ran really well,” FDSH head coach Joe Jackson said. “We had PRs between 30 seconds and two minutes faster compared to last year at this meet. They are running very well and seeing positive results for their hard work is very encouraging.”

Ryan Madden was also 28th and Carter Delanoit 45th for the Dodgers.

Bryce Gidel brought home a silver for the Wildcats, with teammate Kirstyn Beaman finishing 13th and Brett Harklau 40th.

For the Dodgers, Alexis Read was 49th overall, Isabel Beekman was 71st and Piera McBride finished 73rd.

Humboldt was sixth overall and Fort Dodge was 15th.

The Dodgers return to action next Monday at the Algona Invitational.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today