Mediapolis boys headed to state cross country meet for first time in 16 years

Matt Levins, The Hawk Eye
·5 min read

It has been 16 years since Mediapolis High School sent a boys team to the state cross country meet.

That will change Oct. 28 when the Class 2A boys hit the course at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

Led by the trio of Solomon Zaugg, Owen Schmidgall and Jeff Campbell, the Bulldogs punched their ticket to the state meet for the first time since 2006 and the second time in school history, finishing third at a Class 2A state qualifying meet Thursday in Monticello.

Mediapolis finished with 71 points, five better than fourth-place Monticello.

Zaugg won the individual race in 16 minutes, nine seconds.

Schmidgall was third in 16:48, while Campbell was sixth in 17:10.

Also for the Bulldogs, Logan Rosas was 12th in 17:15, Tyler Bratkowski was 49th in 19:20, Ben Rice was 55th in 19:41 and Mak Kennedy was 78th in 21:39.

Louisa-Muscatine finished ninth with 236 points. Kellan Walsh led the Falcons, finishing 29th in 18:20.

Also for the Falcons, Gavin Mills was 33rd in 18:45, Ty Muntz was 46th in 19:04, Ben Coder was 61st in 20:15, Skyler Beck was 67th in 20:38, Talin Brewer was 68th in 20:43 and Jacob Schrieber was 74th in 21:13.

No 2A girls qualified for state. Mediapolis was eighth with 241 points, while Louisa-Muscatine was ninth with 248 points.

Vivian Pfeiff led the Mediapolis girls, taking 34th in 22:52. Also for the Bullettes, Shelby Schulz was 46th in 24:17, Chloe Tekell was 51st in 25:32, Aubrey Kuntz was 53rd in 25:42, Ellie Vincent was 57th in 26:35, Grace Schmidgall was 58th in 26:36 and Katelyn Campbell was 61st in 28:25.

Isabel Stout led Louisa-Muscatine, finishing 43rd in 23:42. Also for the Falcons, Lexie Eaton was 45th in 24:15, Karlee Harris was 49th in 25:16, Emilee Salek was 55th in 25:54, Jasmine Negron was 56th in 26:29, Samantha Schreiner was 59th in 27:19 and Maggie Gomez was 60th in 28:18.

Danville’s Kamryn Gourley gets a hug from teammate Alaina Gourley after the Class 1A State Qualifier at Iowa City. Both girls qualified to compete in the state cross country meet. Gourley finished second and Sherwood placed seventh.
Danville’s Kamryn Gourley gets a hug from teammate Alaina Gourley after the Class 1A State Qualifier at Iowa City. Both girls qualified to compete in the state cross country meet. Gourley finished second and Sherwood placed seventh.

CLASS 1A

Danville's Gourley, Sherwood punch tickets to state

Four area runners qualified for the state cross country meet at a Class 1A state qualifying meet at Kickers Soccer Park in Iowa City.

Danville freshman Alaina Gourley finished second in 21:06.9 to qualify, while teammate Kamryn Sherwood took seventh in 22:04.7 to punch her ticket to state.

They will be joined by Columbus junior Damian Vergara, who finished sixth in the boys race in 17:59.3, and Kohlby Newsom, who placed seventh in 18:15.1

The Danville girls finished third in the team standings with 88 points, 37 points behind runner-up Iowa City Regina.

Also for the Bears, Ava Ourth was 27th in 24:26.8, Penelope Sowell was 39th in 25:36.7, Ryann Logan was 41st in 25:50.5 and Madelyn Buck was 42nd in 25:51.3.

Danville’s Alaina Gourley (left) and Hudsons Desi Lang lead the field early in the race at the Girls Cross Country Class 1A State Qualifier at Kicker Soccer Complete in Iowa City. Lang placed first followed by Gourley to qualify for the state meet.
Danville’s Alaina Gourley (left) and Hudsons Desi Lang lead the field early in the race at the Girls Cross Country Class 1A State Qualifier at Kicker Soccer Complete in Iowa City. Lang placed first followed by Gourley to qualify for the state meet.

Columbus finished sixth with 151 points. Ariana Vergara was 22nd in 23:54.9, Naveiah Garza was 34th in 25:13.4, Kimberly Gonzalez was 45th in 26:12.2, Averi Sipes was 49th in 26:29.2, Isabel Rendon was 52nd in 26:52.6, Frannie Sosa was 58th in 27:44.2 and Alexa Alcala was 67th in 20:57.9.

Wapello's Kenadee Helscher finished 32nd in25:06.7 , while Tatum Wolford was 33rd in 25:10.9 and Claire Anderson was 60th in 27:56.2.

Winfield-Mount Union was led by Karlyn Titus, who was 55th in 27:06.2. Also for the Wolves, Emma Richardson was 63rd in 29:03.6, Bayla Thomson was 70th in 35:24.4 and Olivia Martinez was 71st in 36:19.8.

McKenzie Vradenburg led WACO, finishing 48th in 26:24.2. Also for the Warriors, Justine Lynnw as 56th in 27:34.0, Hannah Dennis was 64th in 29:45.5 ad Avery Waterhouse was 69th in 32:39.7.

Columbus’ Damian Vergara crosses the finish line and placed sixth at the Class 1A State Qualifier in Iowa City and advances to the Class 1A State Cross Country meet.
Columbus’ Damian Vergara crosses the finish line and placed sixth at the Class 1A State Qualifier in Iowa City and advances to the Class 1A State Cross Country meet.

Columbus finished fourth in the boys team standings with 104, while Winfield-Mount Union was fifth with 127 points, WACO was seventh with 188 points and Wapello was ninth with 261 points.

Also for the Columbus, Tyler Humiston was 14th in 1859.2, Bryan Tlatenchi was 26th in 19:46.8, Cael Phillips was 36th in 20:11.8, Alex Rees was 37th in 20:17.1 and Oscar Alcala was 49th in 21:23.4.

Winfield Mt. Union’s Gabe Hemsworth crosses the finish line in eleventh place and just misses advancing to the Class 1A State Cross Country meet.
Winfield Mt. Union’s Gabe Hemsworth crosses the finish line in eleventh place and just misses advancing to the Class 1A State Cross Country meet.

Also for Winfield-Mount Union, Gabe Hemsworth was 11th in 18:43.8, Bowen Thomson was 32nd in 20:01.1, Jacob Haines was 48th in 21:22.6, Jaiden Beeding was 51st in 21:29.7, Nicholas Sparrow was 52nd in 21:42.6 and Ty Scorpil ws 53rd in 21:45.9.

Keriran Lutjens led WACO, finishing 28th in 19:47.5. Also for the Warriors, Tristan Lutjens was 42nd in 20:45.6, Isaac Rich was 46th in 21:00.5, Mattias Lutjens was 50th in 21:28.3 and Tanner Egli was 55th in 21:51.1.

Sheldon Kruse led Holy Trinity, finishing 33rd in 20:06.7. Also for the Crusaders, Maddox Rung was 41st in 20:42.2 and Layne Rung was 74th in 24:16.1.

Garret Dickey paced Wapello, finishing 45th in 20:57.6. Also for the Indians, Ashton Slaton was 58th in 22:18.1, Will Parsons was 62nd in 23:09.3, Jack Boysen was 78th in 25:56.7, Jordan Chamberlin-Johnston was 82nd in 27:32.7 and Holden Helmig was 83rd in 27:33.8.

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: Zaugg, Schmidgall, Campbell lead Mediapolis to state cross country meet