COUGAR STRONG
MNW girls place 10th in 1A
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Maddie Wittrock of Manson Northwest Webster compete competes in the Class 1A state meet at Lakeside.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla London Parrott of Eagle Grove competes in the Class 2A state meet at Lakeside.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Declan Spencer of South Central Calhoun competes in the Class 2A state meet on Friday at Lakeside.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Maddie Wittrock of Manson Northwest Webster compete competes in the Class 1A state meet at Lakeside.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla London Parrott of Eagle Grove competes in the Class 2A state meet at Lakeside.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Declan Spencer of South Central Calhoun competes in the Class 2A state meet on Friday at Lakeside.
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It was a memorable day for the Manson Northwest Webster cross country team here Friday.
The Cougar girls returned to the state stage, finishing 10th overall in Class 1A. In addition, Levi Ollinger cracked the Top-50 in the boys race at Lakeside Golf Course and Kennedy Park.
Maddie Wittrock led all Manson Northwest Webster runners, as the sophomore placed 22nd in 20:01. Classmates Kathleen Hildreth and Hayden Oswald followed, as Hildreth was 79th in 21:31 and Oswald 94th in 21:56.
Junior Payton Peterson finished 114th (22:27), freshman Kaylee Pugh was 118th (22:48), lone senior Tia Brennan finished 128th (23:32) and freshman Ella Oswald was 136th (23:51).
"Maddie had an amazing season for a newcomer to the sport," MNW head coach Matt Balsley said. "To finish 22nd is quite an accomplishment. I have no doubt about her being an all-stater next year because of her work ethic and positive attitude.
"For the girls to finish 10th after not making it to state last year is amazing. The amount of mileage they put in over the summer really put them over the edge. Hopefully, the results of this season motivate them for a much higher finish next year."
Wittrock put down a 6:05 opening mile, following that up by going 6:34 over the second. She stayed in the Top-30 through each split, surging by six runners over the final section of the race.
The last time the MNW girls reached state as a team was in 2020 when they finished eighth overall.
Julia Swift of Bishop Garrigan continued to show her improvement. The junior, who was 13th here a year ago, placed 11th in 19:16. Newell-Fonda's Danika Meyer finished 44th in 20:37 after placing 87th as a sophomore.
Ollinger, a freshman for the Cougars, finished 49th overall. He posted a time of 17:37, going out in 5:22 and running the second in 5:42.
"Levi's results weren't by luck," Balsley said. "He's got a tremendous work ethic. He's got big goals for next season and I don't doubt he can achieve them because of how hard he is willing to work."
East Sac County freshman Lucas Aragon finished 96th in 18:25 and West Bend-Mallard ninth-grader Easton Zinnel was 105th in 18:41.
Maquoketa Valley won the girls team title, as Madrid's Madelyn Grothus was the individual winner. On the boys' side, Riverside defended its title, besting Earlham on the sixth-runner tiebreaker for gold, with Ankeny Christian just two points back. Haven Weers of Tri-Center won the individual crown.
Area runners compete in 2A
Emmetsburg's Ben Cox placed 39th in the 2A boys race, clocking a time of 17:23. Carson Gump of Clarion-Goldfield/Dows was 90th in 18:04 and Declan Spencer from South Central Calhoun was 94th in 18:12.
Spencer finished strong, going from 109th to 94th late in the race.
Eagle Grove's London Parrott capped off her freshman season by competing in the 2A girls race. Parrott placed 79th overall in a time of 21:12.
Parrott climbed up four spots over the final section of the race.
Monticello's Mary Grace Lyons was the individual race winner in 18:06, as Mid-Prairie captured the team title. Lucas Anderson from Chariton was the boys winner in 15:57, with Pella Christian claiming team gold.