FORT DODGE - Imagine running more than three miles with sore knees and a stabbing pain in your foot.

Imagine competing against the elite distance runners in the state, trying to help your team win the championship.

Now you know how Linn-Mar senior Carolyn Newhouse felt Saturday at the Class 4A state cross country meet.

Despite her painful ailments, Newhouse finished 13th in the state meet to help the Lions capture the runnerup trophy at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.

"Oh, gosh," Newhouse said. "It was a fight."

Dowling Catholic won the Class 4A title with 63 points. Linn-Mar finished second with 91 markers, four points ahead of Pleasant Valley.

Newhouse has been battling plantar fasciitis in her left arch, which may have contributed to soreness in both knees. Her courageous performance helped Linn-Mar have a good day.

"The girls all ran good races, a lot of P.R.'s (personal records), a great day of racing," Coach Todd Goodell said. "We feel good about what we did."

Sophomore Rachel Perry led Linn-Mar in 11th place, the first time she's led the Lions in a race all season. She's not quite sure how she did it, but was happy she did.

"It went so fast I honestly can't remember," she said. "It was a hard race."

Morgan Uridil finished 18th for the Lions, Brooklynn Kascel placed 21st and Maddie Saville ran 28th. Caitlin Novak and Olivia Miller also competed for Linn-Mar, and they all kissed the second-place trophy before heading home.

The Lions would like to come back and win the top prize some day.

"We're liking the look of things coming up," Goodell remarked. "We lose a couple of really good seniors (Newhouse and Kascel), but we've got some really nice runners coming up out of our middle school so we hope to be strong for a while."

Cedar Rapids Kennedy finished 12th in the 15-team field with 239 points. Alyssa Averhoff led the Cougars in 15th place in 14:34.

Shannon Gorman of Cedar Rapids Washington placed 22nd in 14:40.

Grace Gibbons of Dowling Catholic won the race in 14 minutes.

Team Standings

1. Dowling Catholic 63, 2. Linn-Mar 91, 3. Pleasant Valley 95, 4. West Des Moines Valley 165, 5. Cedar Falls 175, 6. Waukee 181, 7. Johnston 186, 8. Iowa City High 191, 9. Des Moines Roosevelt 218, 10. Bettendorf 223, 11. Iowa City West 228, 12. Kennedy 239, 13. Ames 340, 14. Ankeny 354, 15. Dubuque Senior 381.

Top 10 Individuals

1. Grace Gibbons, Dowling                14:00
2. Mahnee Watts, Bettendorf           14:06
3. Allison Gregg, Cedar Falls              14:10
4. Kate Kaster, Clinton                    14:18
5. Anna Peer, Bettendorf                14:20
6. Emma Huston, Roosevelt             14:20
7. Karissa Schweizer, Dowling           14:21
8. Lydia Saggau, WDM Valley           14:23
9. Brianna King, Cedar Falls               14:23
10. Maddie Reynolds, Pleasant Valley  14:27

Linn-Mar -- 11. Rachel Perry 14:29, 13. Carolyn Newhouse 14:31, 18. Morgan Uridil 14:37, 21. Brooklynn Kascel 14:43, 28. Maddie Saville 14:48, 61. Caitlin Novak 15:14, 88. Olivia Miller 15:54.

Kennedy -- 15. Alyssa Averhoff 14:34, 36. Katie Wampole 14:56, 39. Jessica Rodman 14:57, 69. Allison Culver 15:20, 80. Lauren Meyer 15:42, 86. Megan Terukina 15:51, 87. Tara Mittelberg 15:52.