Danville-New London boys cross country team proves doubters wrong, qualifies for state
PELLA -- Danville-New London assistant cross country coach Toby Evans was given the keys to a Rolls-Royce on Thursday.
The only instruction he got from head coach Lucas Gourley was not to wreck it.
Not even the loss of their No. 3 runner Carter Fesler, who sat out the meet after suffering a broken hand in gym class earlier in the week, could detour the Bears from reaching their appointed destination.
The rest of the Bears simply stepped up and led Danville-New London to the team title at a Class 2A state qualifying cross country meet Thursday at the Pella Sports Complex.
For the fourth straight year, Danville-New London will compete in the state meet at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The Class 2A races will be held Oct. 28.
Danville-New London finished sixth, first and second, respectively, each of the last three years.
No head coach and No. 3 runner out?
No problem.
"All I could do was get them here and not screw anything up," said Evans, who coached the boys team while Gourley took the Danville girls team to a Class 1A state qualifying meet In Iowa City. "Our goal today was just get to the meet on time and keep them safe."
Danville-New London finished with 61 points, 12 better than host school Pella Christian. Mid-Prairie grabbed the third qualifying spot with 81 points.
Senior AJ Bonnesen and Rylan Martin, as they have done much of the year, led the way for the Bears. Bonnesen won in 16 minutes, 27.67 seconds, while Martin was fifth in 17:11.34.
With Fesler out, that put the onus on senior Cauy Garrett, junior Tala Whaley and sophomore Jackson Shacklett to pick up the slack.
The trio did just that, each placing in the top 25.
"I know my team is good enough that without (Fesler) we're going to be fine. If we lose any of our top five runners we would still probably be able to make first at this meet," said Garrett, who finished 25th in 18:36.35. "For the first two miles I was happy. I didn't really stick to my plan. My plan is usually to stick with Talan and then that second mile I had a side stitch so I had a hard time pushing through."
"It's nice because we have a lot of people on our team who can step up. Like AJ, for example. He was out for a lot of meets, but he bounced back today and got first," said Shacklett, who placed 11th in 17:34.52. "It was really hard. I didn't feel really good, but I gave it my all. I put it all out there for my team. I know I have people who look up to me. We have a good team this year and we have a good chance of winning state."
"The first half didn't feel so great, but the second half I decided I have to push myself," said Whaley, who took 21st in 16:27.04. "I have to catch up. That's what I did. I really started striding out. I caught up with Cauy and I passed him and got 21st. I could have done better, but I'll take it. It was a great run."
For Evans, there was never any doubt. Even without Fesler, he had full confidence in the team to get the job done.
"They're good kids," Evans said. "Cauy Garrett, Talan Whaley and Jackson Shacklett all moved up and ran exceptionally well in his place. Jackson qualified as an individual, too. We had all of our to five in the top 25. It was nice to be a part of it. It was a great day."
Joining the Bears at the Class 2A boys state meet will be Van Buren County freshman Lincoln Bainbridge, who broke the Warriors' state drought on the boys side by placing 14th in 17:39.53.
Bainbridge, who had to push through the grueling middle portion of the race, gives all the credit to his mother.
"I've been running since seventh grade. I wanted to play football, but my mom convinced me to run. I really have to thank her. I don't regret it," Bainbridge said. "The middle of the run is usually my worst part, but I tried to pick it up. I thought I was going to go down at one point, but I knew what I had to do. I had to power through that one."
No area Class 2A girls qualified for state.
BOYS
TEAM SCORES
1. Danville-New London, 61; 2. Pella Christian, 73; 3. Mid-Prairie, 81; 4. Grundy Center, 89; 5. Interstate-35, 94; 6. Albia, 146; 7. Davis County, 154; 8. Central Lee, 263; 9. West Marshall, 266; 10. Union, 281; 11. Van Buren County, 290; 12. PCM, 307.
AREA TEAMS
CENTRAL LEE -- 32. Grant Anderson, 19:04.11; 43. Leo Thomas, 19:36.26; 60. Ayden Kent, 20:31.37; 69. Zach Manwill, 21:01.43; 79. Kyler Mulligan, 22:31.17; 85. Beau Boyd, 24:51.48; 88. Dan Seamons, 27:25.54.
DANVILLE-NEW LONDON -- 1. AJ Bonnesen, 16:27.67; 5. Rylan Martin, 17:11.34; 11. Jackson Shacklett, 17:34.52; 21. Talan Whaley, 18:27.04; 25. Cauy Garrett, 18:36.35; 38. Isaac Shinn, 19:13.82; 47. Nick Powell, 19:44.86.
VAN BUREN COUNTY -- 14. Lincoln Bainbridge, 17:39.53; 68. Blaine Benjamin, 20:58.36; 71. Oliver Tackett, 21:09.79; 77. Grant Lilley, 22:04.01; 84. Isaiah Meek, 23:57.63.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORES
1. Mid-Prairie, 49; 2. Albia, 54; 3. Pella Christian, 84; 4. Union. 107; 5. Grundy Center, 130; 6. Davis County, 143; 7. PCM, 190; 8. West Marshall, 196; 9. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 233; 10. Cardinal, 282; 11. Interstate-35, 288.
AREA TEAMS
CENTRAL LEE -- 68. Audrey Hand, 26:35.15; 77. Lauren Sanders, 27:57.82; 81. Sidney Gruntmeir, 30:53.22.
VAN BUREN COUNTY -- 37. Rylee Phillips, 23:14.58; 48. Ashley Fennel, 24:23.44.
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Danville-New London boys cross country team proves doubters wrong
