ALBIA — The Knoxville Panthers made the short trip down Highway 5 to Albia and nipped the host Blue Demons 41-43 for the team championship Monday afternoon in the Albia Cross Country Invitational. The Panthers doubled their pleasure when freshman, Isaac Rankin, won the individual title by nearly a minute over Pekin’s Brady McWhirter.
The Knoxville runners showed great improvement from last week’s opening meet, as every runner bettered their times significantly. Rankin led the way in that department as he chipped a minute off his opening night time.
Another positive for the Panthers was that the pack was closer together. The four, five, six and seventh runners were closer to the front and that produced the win.
Knoxville put three runners in the top 10 with Rankin leading the way. Ezra Schmidt crossed the line in fifth place and Kaden McGill notched a 10th place finish. It was the 12th and 13th places by Ethan Russell and Reid Sinclair that sealed the deal.
Pack running is so important in the sport of cross county and Knoxville had four more runners in the top 20. Those runners were; Hunter Gray (16), Anthony Bailey (17), Ethan Morgan (18) and Mason Green (20).
“I am pleased and excited to see the kids run well and drop their times,” Panther Coach Michael Splavic said. “The kids are excited as well and their running shows that. Isaac ran a great race. He stayed with the pack and then broke away mid-way through the course.”
In the girl’s race, a short-handed Knoxville team finished fourth with the host Lady Dees topping Pekin for the title. Natalie Collins was the Panther leader with a 13th place finish. Collins was followed by Janae Baker (18), Ciara Heffron (34), Anna Buttell (37), Janie Maasdam (39), Nicole Schultz (40) and Hanna Linsley (41).
“We have lots of room for improvement,” Knoxville coach Mikayla Splavic said. “We didn’t place well tonight, but every girl improved her time. That is what it is about and we will continue to try and get better.”
Girl’s Team Scoring: 1. Albia 23, 2. Pekin 40, 3. Wayne 75, 4. Knoxville 98, Centerville, Moravia, Van Buren, Cardinal, Melcher-Dallas and Twin Cedars did not have enough runners for team scoring.
Knoxville placings: 13. Natalie Collins 22:54.22, 18. Janae Baker 24:13.73, 34. Ciara Heffron 27:42.10, 37. Anna Buttell 28:24.01, 39. Janie Maasdam 29:05.13, 40. Nicole Schultz 29:12.17, 41. Hanna Linsley 29:43.72, 43. Celia Marean 31:15.14, 44. Charlye Willis 34:50.28. 45. Paige McMurray 34:51.62, 47. Bailey Heath 36:15.74.
Boy’ Team Scoring: 1. Knoxville 41, 2. Albia 43, 3. Pekin 84, 4. Van Buren 90, 5. Wayne 101, Moravia 165. Cardinal, Centerville, Twin Cedars and Melcher-Dallas did not have enough runners for team scoring.
Knoxville Places: 1. Isaac Rankin 17:02.16, 5. Ezra Schmidt 19:06.08, 10. Kaden McGill 19:40.15, 12. Ethan Russell 19:54.59, 13. Reid Sinclair 20:41.26, 16. Hunter Gray 21:03.71, 17. Anthony Bailey 21:06.60, 18. Ethan Morgan 21:10.75, 20. Mason Greene 21:24.39.
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