Iowa High School State Cross Country: Champions Crowned In Class 1A, Class 2A

The first eight championships were handed out at the Iowa high school state cross country meet on Friday.
Class 1A and Class 2A competed from inside Kennedy Park at Lakeside Golf Course, with Class 3A and Class 4A set to do the same on Saturday.
Boys Class 1A Team Title Goes To A Tiebreaker
Cross country coaches are big on continually saying each runner counts. And that was never more evident than in the boys Class 1A team race.
Riverside defended its crown thanks to the tiebreaker, as they finished tied with Earlham at 127 points after counting up the first five runners from each team. The sixth runner serves as the tiebreaker, and for Riverside, that was senior James McCready, who placed 105th overall and 70th among counters.
Ankeny Christian made it a tight race at the top, as they finished third with 129 points.
Haven Weers from Tri-Center scored the individual title, winning in 15:57. The junior was 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Hugh Conway from South Winneshiek.
Nodaway Valley, Madelyn Grothus Score Girls 1A Gold
Madelyn Grothus of Madrid sprinted her way to gold in the girls Class 1A race, besting a field that included Alexis Mujica of Mason City Newman Catholic, Kylie Rochholz from Panorama, Olivia Urbatsch of Northwood-Kensett and Josalyn Burlage from Maquoketa Valley.
Grothus, a senior, went 18:17, winning by nearly 11 full seconds. She was second at the mile behind Rochholz.
Despite that, it was the depth of Maquoketa Valley that led them to team gold. Maquoketa Valley finished with just 54 points, as four runners placed inside of the Top-10 among counting team scorers.
Madrid did finish second, with Collins-Maxwell, South Winneshiek and Sumner-Fredericksburg rounding out the Top-5.
2A: Mary Grace Lyons, Lucas Anderson Claim Individual Crowns
Monticello sophomore Mary Grace Lyons went 18:06 to capture the girls Class 2A race. She finished nearly eight seconds ahead of Kambrie Dekkers from Unity Christian, as Ivory Stoffa of Van Meter was third.
Mid-Prairie had strong runs from Kendal Landstrum and Brooklyn Stutzman to capture the team title with 85 points. Treynor was second and West Marshall placed third.
Lucas Anderson broke 16 minutes to earn the boys 2A title, as the senior from Chariton topped the field by four seconds. Ian Ten Napel of Hull Western Christian was second and Jace Hungerford of Spirit Lake third.
Pella Christian finished with 62 points to hoist the team crown, as Unity Christian was second and Chariton third.
Iowa High School State Cross Country Results
Class 1A
Girls Top-10 Individuals
- Madelyn Grothus, Madrid, 18:17
- Alexis Mujica, Mason City Newman Catholic, 18:28
- Kylie Rochholz, Panorama, 18:36
- Olivia Urbatsch, Northwood-Kensett, 18:41
- Josalyn Burlage, Maquoketa Valley, 18:50
- Ivy Urbatsch, Northwood-Kensett, 18:56
- Vivian Dugan, Clayton Ridge, 18:58
- Josie McFarland, Westwood, 19:15
- Lauren Krogman, Starmont, 19:15
- Lexi Brown, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton, 19:16.
Girls Top-10 Team Standings
- Maquoketa Valley, 54
- Madrid, 149
- Collins-Maxwell, 155
- South Winneshiek, 175
- Sumner-Fredericksburg, 187
- Northwood-Kensett, 199
- Logan-Magnolia, 209
- Lynnville-Sully, 218
- Hinton, 230
- Manson Northwest Webster, 240
Boys Top-10 Individuals
- Haven Weers, Tri-Center, 15:57
- Hugh Conway, South Winneshiek, 16:13
- Lucos Wernimont, Sioux Central, 16:15
- Max Handorf, Baxter, 16:24
- Jacob Sporrer, Logan-Magnolia, 16:29
- Tyler Taube, Springville, 16:32
- Landon Thayer, Logan-Magnolia, 16:35
- Zachary Gardner, Ankeny Christian, 16:37
- Cruz Jacquez, Riverside, 16:38
- Colton Alberts, Lynnville-Sully, 16:39
Boys Top-10 Team Standings
- Riverside, 127*
- Earlham, 127
- Ankeny Christian, 129
- Baxter, 163
- Logan-Magnolia, 164
- Nodaway Valley, 167
- Council Bluffs St. Albert, 180
- South Winneshiek, 187
- Columbus, 206
- Springville, 225
Class 2A
Girls Top-10 Individuals
- Mary Grace Lyons, Monticello, 18:06
- Kambrie Dekkers, Unity Christian, 18:14
- Ivory Stoffa, Van Meter, 18:45
- Lily Miller, Treynor, 18:55
- Kendal Landstrum, Mid-Prairie, 19:01
- Brooklyn Stutzman, Mid-Prairie, 19:09
- Mady Montgomery, Albia, 19:13
- Avery Mente, Tipton, 19:13
- Luaren Streck, Van Meter, 19:15
- Willa Klaassen, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, 19:15
Girls Top-10 Team Standings
- Mid-Prairie, 85
- Treynor, 120
- West Marshall, 143
- Monticello, 160
- Van Meter, 179
- Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, 183
- MFL MarMac, 193
- Forest City, 200
- Unity Christian, 203
- Pella Christian, 224
Boys Top-10 Individuals
- Lucas Anderson, Chariton, 15:57
- Ian Ten Napel, Hull Western Christian, 16:01
- Jace Hungerford, Spirit Lake, 16:03
- Cy Stuart, Chariton, 16:05
- Jesse Gomez, Denver, 16:11
- Jayden Hegenbarth, Sheldon, 16:20
- Braden Manson, New Hampton, 16:25
- Dean De Ronde, Pella Christian, 16:26
- Emmanuel Grass, Red Oak, 16:27
- Elijah Schreurs, Unity Christian, 16:28
Boys Top-10 Team Standings
- Pella Christian, 62
- Unity Christian, 93
- Chariton, 126
- Spirit Lake, 128
- Anamosa, 128
- Hull Western Christian, 166
- Okoboji, 196
- Denver, 203
- Forest City, 214
- Kuemper Catholic, 264

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.
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