Smith Takes Second as Both Oskaloosa Teams Finish Fourth at Home Invitational
OSKALOOSA — Lane Smith came within a few strides of an individual title, and both Oskaloosa cross country teams delivered fourth-place finishes Tuesday, Sept. 15, at the Oskaloosa Invitational.
With the rain holding off, the Indians gave coach Mike Comfort plenty to like about their performance at home. The boys finished fourth among 11 teams with 112 points, while the girls placed fourth out of 10 teams with 139 points.
For Comfort, the progress came in two areas the Indians had emphasized in practice: finishing strong and keeping teammates closer together during races.
“I was extremely excited and proud of how well we competed tonight,” Comfort said. “Our focus has been on attacking the last mile and closing our packs up. Both teams did that which led to our strong team finishes.”
Smith led the boys with a runner-up finish in 16 minutes, 41 seconds. Baxter’s Max Handorf won in 16:38.8, leaving just 2.2 seconds between the two runners at the finish.
“Lane gave it his all as he ran down the leader and fought hard until the finish line,” Comfort said. “He should be really proud of himself.”
Freshman Abel Larson gave Oskaloosa another top-10 finisher, placing 10th in 17:46.3. Micah Van Ee followed in 16th at 18:03.6, giving the Indians three runners among the first 16 finishers.
“Abel ran a fantastic race to get into the top 10,” Comfort said. “Breaking 18 as a freshman is a great accomplishment. He attacked the last mile well.”
The Indians also received an important boost farther back in their scoring lineup. Silas Johnston finished 41st in 19:49.0, and freshman Zach Terpstra crossed just 5.9 seconds later in 19:54.9. Terpstra placed 44th overall and supplied Oskaloosa’s fifth scoring finish.
Comfort said Terpstra has cut three minutes from his time over two meets. His progress helped address the team’s need to bring its fifth runner closer to Johnston.
“Zach gave us the missing piece tonight,” Comfort said.
Carter Bonnett finished 51st in 20:08.7, and Ian Rosvold was 55th in 20:16.0 to round out Oskaloosa’s first seven runners.
Carlisle won the boys team title with 65 points, followed by Williamsburg with 68 and Baxter with 78. Oskaloosa’s 112 points put the Indians three points ahead of fifth-place Newton.
On the girls side, Kate McBurney broke into the top 20 with a 19th-place finish in 22:26.0. Comfort called it her best race of the season.
“Kate took a huge step forward and emptied the tank to run her best race of the year,” he said. “She constantly attacked and countered through the race to lead the way for us.”
Payton Clark finished 30th in 22:54.9, and Hazel Adam placed 32nd in 23:11.0. That gave Oskaloosa three runners within 45 seconds of one another.
Ella Walter followed in 39th at 24:24.2, while Sabrina Frost completed the scoring with a 46th-place finish in 24:42.2.
“Sabrina did a great job as our 5th runner to finish up our scoring,” Comfort said. “Overall, the girls did a much better job running as a pack, which propelled them to their best finish of the season.”
Serigha Lappin finished directly behind Frost in 47th at 24:43.9. Mia Luck placed 53rd in 24:57.1, followed by Olivia Doll in 54th at 25:00.2 and Kamryn Maddy in 74th at 27:11.1.
Williamsburg won the girls team championship with 24 points, led by individual winner Harper Winegarden’s time of 18:27.3. Newton finished second with 49 points, while Albia took third with 136, just three points ahead of Oskaloosa.
The Indians return to competition Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Mount Pleasant.
