Williamsburg, IA- A lot can be said about placing high expectations upon an incoming class and most of it does not benefit the student-athletes as the jump from junior high to high school is not an easy one. Yet, the Mt. Pleasant girls’ cross-country team could have a star on their hands.
The hype surrounding Avery Fedler has been seen all over the United States, as her track exploits took her to wins at the Blue Oval in Des Moines and silver-medal finish in Seattle over the summer. She left her mark in her first bit of high school action.
The competition was stiff at the Williamsburg Invitational last night, as the #1 team in Class 2A, Mid-Prairie, was in attendance touting three runners ranked in the top eight individually: #2 Rachel Hostetler, #6 Kendal Landstrum, and #8 Brooklyn Stutzman.
The Golden Hawks competed how most expected as the team won the meet with an incredible 29 points compared to PCM Monroe who generated 77 points.
In terms of placing, you could not have asked for better with Stutzman taking 2nd place with a time of 19 minutes and 22 seconds, while Hostetler and Landstrum settled for 3rd and 4th place, respectively.
Yet, it was a Panther atop the leaderboard, and it was not necessarily close. The freshman turned in a 1st place time of 19 minutes and 7 seconds—15 seconds faster than second place.
Additionally, Fedler was not the only underclassmen for Mt. Pleasant entering the season with lofty goals. Quintrie Lee, who qualified for state last season, nabbed 11th place with a time of 21 minutes and 19 seconds. Senior Nelle Peterson’s 36th place finish helped the Panthers finish in 6th place as a team.
Danville has their own freshman making waves for the Bears as KoraRae Stott claimed 27th place with a time of 23 minutes and 14 seconds. The anchor for the Bears is still #4 Alaina Gourley as she turned in a time of 21 minutes and 53 seconds, which was good enough for 17th place.
The Bears managed 7th place as a team. Mediapolis was led by Avery Dietz’s 28th place time of 23 minutes and 27 seconds.
On the boys’ side, #13 Mediapolis had something to prove with three runners with state experience returning to the roster and they produced as the Bulldogs finished in 5th as a team.
Simon Wendel led the team with a time of 16 minutes and 49 seconds, which gave the senior the bronze. Will Schmidgall clocked just outside the top ten with a time of 17 minutes and 56 seconds, while Mason Lindeen took 29th place.
Silas Hulett marked the third Panther of the night to finish within the top 11 as the junior nearly beat his personal best from last season with a time of 17 minutes and 49 seconds to cross in 10th place. Ben Leishman was next for Mt. Pleasant with a 48th place finish.
Danville will be relying on the Shinns this season as sophomore Eli actually outpaced senior Isaac with a 37th place time of 19 minutes and 59 seconds, while Isaac finished in 41st place with a mark of 20 minutes and 23 seconds.
The season is just getting under way—first meet for Mediapolis and Mt. Pleasant—so runners are still trying to find their pace and improve their conditioning. Nevertheless, it was an impressive showing by the big names of Southeast Iowa.
West Burlington, Iowa, Great River Health awarded a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® to Shelly Peterson, RN. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care nurses provide patients and families every day.