Crestwood harriers compete well at Charles City meet

CHARLES CITY - Running in the first meet of the season on Sept. 5, the Crestwood girls’ and boys’ cross country teams both competed well at the Trent Smith Invitational as 11 Cadets finished individually in the top 20 to earn medals.

Crestwood Head Coach Jim Obermann was pleased with the effort all the Cadets gave at the meet.

“It’s good to get that first meet in to see where we are (in terms of development),” Obermann said. “The meet also gave us a chance to see how competitive the kids are, and it gives us a good starting point as a team. It was a challenging course on a humid day. I saw a lot of good things from the kids.

“The junior high kids also ran well. Laney Peter placed second for us, and I was impressed because this was her first race as a seventh grader. Dominic Bigalk took third, which was impressive. We had a lot of junior high kids who had not run before ran well,” Obermann said.

Girls grades 11-12

Rachel Steffen notched the highest finish for the Cadets as she placed seventh in a time of 22 minutes, 15 seconds. Libby Labosky was 20th in 23:45. Both earned medals.

Other Crestwood runners included: 32nd, Mattie Slavin 24:40; 38. Madison Brace 26:36; 42. Kelsey Stortz 27:21; 48. Krista Riley 28:14; 49. Karissa Cotant 28:25.

“Rachel ran well to earn a medal,” Obermann said. “Libby also had a solid race. It was good to see Mattie Slavin back after missing her junior year with an injury, and she’ll keep getting better.”

Girls grades 9-10

Four Cadets nabbed medals in the freshman and sophomore race. Olivia Ollendick took fifth for Crestwood in a time of 22:01 to lead the team. Kendal Slavin was ninth in 23:39, Kyleigh Foster was 10th in 24:17 and Tara Koshatka placed 12th in 24:40. 

Other Cadet harriers included: 32. Cameron Moellers 27:44; 40. Bree Rogne 28:34; 43. Anna Gibbs 28:59; 50. Hannah Crouch 29:48; 52. Cassie Sobolik 30:41.

“All the ninth and 10th grade girls ran well,” Obermann said. “This was the first 5K for these kids, and they handled the heat well. Freshman Olivia Ollendick ran a solid race to place fifth. I think she was disappointed in herself that she didn’t run faster, but she did a good job and she’s a tough kid.

“Kendal Slavin ran well, and she’s a girl we will rely on this year. Kyleigh Foster missed last season, but she came back strong for us. Tara Koshatka, who ran well, is one of our most improved runners this year,” Obermann said.

Boys grades 11-12

Three Cadets captured medals including: 4th place, Bryden Juelsgaard, 18:23; 10. Justin Nibaur, 18:52; 14. Nathaniel Bigalk, 19:00. Matthew Slifka placed 25th in 20:27, and Caleb Shea was 26th in 21:14.

Other Cadets included: 35. Hunter Bye 21:43; 55. Clay Schemmel 23:29; 60. Daniel Lares 23:48; 61. Lucas McGee 24:18; 71. Brendan Dixon 30:59.

“Bryden was our top runner,” the coach said. “He’s our top returning runner from last season. Justin is fighting back from a stress fracture he had earlier this year. It was great to see him earn a medal. Nathaniel Bigalk had a strong race, and he is much improved this year.”

Boys grades 9-10

Ethan Govern nabbed third place for Crestwood in 18:56 to notch a medal. Ethan Mast also earned a medal by placing 13th in 20:10. Caleb Kammerer was 24th in 21:30.

Other Crestwood runners included: 29. Luke Stortz 22:14; 34. Nate Dietzenbach 22:54; 38. Domanick Henry 23:15; 43. Nick Dietzenbach 23:43; 44. Landon Schemmel 23:48; 58. Colten Knight 25:58.

“Ethan Govern was one of our top performers,” Obermann said. “He ran a strong race, and he’s a great competitor. He’s one of top returning runners. Ethan Mast ran well in a good time. He has a chance to be a strong varsity runner. Caleb Kammerer had a solid race. Luke Stortz ran well, and he will be a quality varsity runner. Nate Dietzenbach and Domanick Henry also competed well.”

Junior High Girls

2. Laney Peter 14:15; 21. Cloey Horns 16:44; 24. Elise Church 16:56; 30. Erica Ollendick 17:09; 45. Blair Cummings 17:32; 53. Addie Isaacson 18:02; 66. Heidi Mahr 18:58; 67. Mati Henry 19:02; 70. Ella Bergan 19:29; 71. Payton Ruppert 19:34; 72. Korey Hrdlicka 19:48; 99. Olivia Stevenson 26:28.

Junior High Boys

3. Dominic Bigalk 13:12; 46. Brooks Moser 16:09; 56. Sam Brace 17:15; 72. Matt Praska 19:20.