Oskaloosa Middle School Cross Country Teams Finish Sixth at Little Hawkeye Conference Meet
OSKALOOSA, Iowa — The Oskaloosa Middle School boys and girls cross country teams each earned sixth-place finishes at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet on Tuesday, October 13th, at Edmundson Park in Oskaloosa.
Competing against some of the strongest middle school programs in the area, the Indians faced a challenging two-mile course along with warm and humid conditions, with temperatures in the 80s during the competition.
Both teams delivered strong efforts, with several runners recording some of their best performances of the season.
Chessa San Leads Oskaloosa Girls
Eighth-grader Chessa San led the Oskaloosa girls with a 13th-place finish, completing the two-mile course in 14 minutes, 13.3 seconds.
Fellow eighth-grader Alaina Burgey followed in 21st place with a time of 15:00.0, while seventh-grader Lydia Netland finished 23rd in 15:14.1.
Eighth-grader Lauryn Koehler placed 40th with a time of 15:45.5, and seventh-grader Brielle Boender rounded out Oskaloosa’s five scoring runners with a 55th-place finish in 16:19.1.
Also competing for the Indians were seventh-graders Gemma Lahner, who finished 103rd in 20:03.5, and Mariah Mackerl, who placed 113th in 21:56.5.
Oskaloosa finished sixth in the team standings with 152 points.
Pella claimed the girls conference championship with 45 points, followed by Dallas Center-Grimes with 57 and Indianola with 83. Newton finished fourth with 96 points, while Norwalk took fifth with 100.
Pella Christian, Ames, and Des Moines Christian rounded out the remaining team standings.
Kinnick Reisetter Leads Boys Team
Eighth-grader Kinnick Reisetter paced the Oskaloosa boys with a 17th-place finish, completing the course in 13:06.3.
Ryan Comfort, also an eighth-grader, finished 23rd with a time of 13:22.1.
Eighth-grader Douglas Lappin placed 31st in 13:39.4, followed by fellow eighth-grader Jackson McHawes in 40th with a time of 13:54.3.
Seventh-grader Jenner Sisul completed Oskaloosa’s scoring five, placing 52nd in 14:32.3.
Other Oskaloosa finishers included Silas Chilcote in 55th at 14:45.7, Griffin Stock in 57th at 14:59.1, Tayven Wyatt in 82nd at 15:09.6, and Julien VanWyk in 87th at 15:20.8.
Boston Henry finished 106th in 15:54.8, followed by Joseph Wilke in 130th at 16:41.1, Abraham Arellano in 131st at 16:43.8, and Zaiden Clark in 133rd at 16:49.9.
Grant Denburger placed 162nd in 18:20.5, Levi Barclay finished 165th in 18:37.4, Matthew Rosvold took 169th in 18:53.9, and Nathan Good finished 200th in 21:39.5.
The Indians finished sixth in the boys team standings with 163 points.
Norwalk won the boys conference championship with 59 points, followed by Pella with 68 and Ames with 88. Newton finished fourth with 114 points, while Dallas Center-Grimes placed fifth with 137.
Des Moines Christian finished seventh with 168 points, followed by Pella Christian with 169 and Indianola with 172.
Challenging Course Tests Runners
The conference meet presented difficult conditions for the middle school competitors, combining warm temperatures, humidity, and a demanding course at Edmundson Park.
Although only a few Oskaloosa runners recorded their fastest two-mile times of the season, the coaching staff considered the meet one of the team’s strongest overall performances.
The challenging course required runners to rely on the conditioning and race strategies they had developed throughout the season.
The sixth-place finishes for both teams came in a competitive conference field that included several established cross country programs.
Seventeen Indians Headed to State Meet
For some Oskaloosa runners, Tuesday’s conference competition marked the conclusion of their cross country season.
However, 17 members of the middle school program will have another opportunity to compete when they participate in the middle school state cross country meet on Saturday, October 17th, at Ankeny Centennial.
The state competition will provide those runners with an opportunity to close their season against middle school competitors from across Iowa.
With both teams completing the conference meet in sixth place, the Indians will now turn their attention to Saturday’s state competition and the final races of the 2026 middle school cross country season.
