Prairie Girls Cross Country

Gorman makes 'presidential' run to title

Reagan Gorman lived up to her first name Thursday and made a presidential run at the Class 4A district country meet at Seminole Valley Park.

Gorman, a talented freshman at Cedar Rapids Washington, was partially named after Ronald Reagan because her parents are fans of the former president.

"Yup. That's exactly it," she said.

Gorman's first name is pronounced Ree-gan, not Ray-gan like the president, but her parents confirmed it's a true story. Joe Gorman, her father, said he's "Celtic Irish" and that Reagan (or Regan) is a good Celtic Irish name, so naming her Reagan was partly because of Pres. Reagan and partly because of his ancestry.

Gorman's mother, Mitsue, is originally from Japan, and the Gormans have given all of their children good Irish names.

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Gorman nipped for Mississippi title

DUBUQUE - Reagan Gorman of Cedar Rapids Washington finished second at the Mississippi Division cross country meet Thursday at the Dubuque Soccer Complex.

Mary Arch of Iowa City High won the 5K race in 18 minutes, 27.3 seconds. She edged Gorman, a freshman, by 1.5 seconds.

Jenny Dickes of Xavier finished sixth in 19:25.7.

Iowa City High won the team championship.

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Gorman excels as member of 'Team Jenks'

WATERL00 - Pound for pound, inch for inch, year for year, Reagan Gorman of Cedar Rapids Washington is the best distance runner in the Mississippi Valley Conference and perhaps the best in the state.

The petite freshman finished a resounding second at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on Thursday at Byrnes Park in Waterloo by a scant six seconds behind Iowa City High junior Mary Arch.

Gorman, who measures 5-foot-2 and about 85 pounds, might have caught Arch if the 5K race had been a little longer. She was getting closer and closer as the race wound around the Irv Warren Golf Course.

It's hard to believe a 14-year-old girl who is that small could have so much strength and energy, but Gorman has been running since was about 7 years old and excels in triathlons, a grueling event that combines running, swimming and biking.

Gorman trains for the triathlon with "Team Jenks," a group of outstanding young athletes that features Linn-Mar senior Stephanie Jenks and is operated by the Jenks family. Gorman placed 31st at the national triathlon meet in Westchester, Ohio, this August in the youth elite 13-to-15 age group and is the second-highest ranked triathlete in the state in her division.

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Young Prairie runners win race

EPWORTH - The Cedar Rapids Prairie cross country team rested most of its top runners Thursday and still captured top honors at the Western Dubuque Invitational with a young squad.

The Hawks nipped Monticello, 56-60, for the title in the 17-team field.

Colton LaGrange finished third in 16:37 to lead Prairie. Elijah Vlasek finished sixth and Robert Laue was eighth.

The Prairie girls placed fourth in their race. Alissa Neubauer led the Hawks in 13th place.

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