Kennedy Girls Cross Country

Katie Wampole will run at Bradley

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Katie Wampole has committed to run track and cross country at Bradley University in the Missouri Valley Conference next year.

Wampole placed 11th in the 800-meter run at the Class 4A state track meet last May and finished 16th in the Class 4A state cross country meet this fall.

She also helped the Cougars place sixth in the distance medley, 11th in the 4x400 relay and 15th in the 4x800 relay at the state track meet.

Kennedy placed fourth in the team standings at the state cross country meet.

Kennedy girls hurt by timing device at state X-C

The Kennedy girls cross country team was the innocent victim of modern technology Saturday at the state meet in Fort Dodge.

The Cougars were summoned to the clubhouse at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course and told they had finished third in the Class 4A standings and would be honored during the awards ceremony, only to be subsequently informed it was a mistake.

The Johnston Dragons actually finished third and the Cougars were fourth. The confusion was blamed on a problem with the electronic timing device.

The Kennedy girls had lined up and were ready to march onto the back porch of the clubhouse, receive their third-place trophy, acknowledge the fans and pose for pictures. When they learned the bad news, they unhappily left the scene.

The Cougars had already held their own celebration, only to find out it was premature.

"We were called to the awards stand as the third-place team, (and) at the last minute I was pulled aside by an official and told we finished fourth," Kennedy Coach Mark Jensen told the Des Moines Register in an article published Tuesday. "One minute, we are celebrating accomplishing our final goal of the season, the next we are walking away with no team award.

"It is an unfortunate situation that should not have happened, and should have been handled differently."

This was the second straight year that there was a timing problem at the state meet, and the Kennedy girls were not the only victim Saturday.

Jason Thomas of West Des Moines Dowling won the boys Class 4A race Saturday and originally credited with a record time, only to have it erased and revised from 14:51 to 15:02.

In the girls' race, Johnston senior Bailey Eppard was originally listed with a time of 4 hours for the 4-kilometer race. A review determined that Eppard had finished in 14 minutes and 32 seconds, good enough to lift Johnston ahead of Kennedy for third place.

Dave Anderson, an official with the Iowa High School Athletic Association, said there was a problem with the computer chips that were used to time the runners. The chips are imbedded in each runner's bib that are worn during the race.

"Not all of the chips were reading properly, and after a coach approached us believing a runner was not properly placed, we went to the backup systems," Anderson said.

Last year, nine seconds were added to the posted times for the top finishers in the Class 4A boys race, although that did not change the order of finish.

The timing and scoring service the past two years was provided by Accu-Split, a company based in Bettendorf, according to the Register.

Kennedy trio 1st team all-conference

Linn-Mar freshman Stephanie Jenks has been named the Athlete of the Year in the Valley Division for the Mississippi Valley Conference girls cross country team.

Linn-Mar teammates Amber Decker, Rachel Perry and Maddie Saville joined Jenks on the Valley Division first team. Shannon Gorman of Washington also made the first unit.

Kennedy teammates Alyssa Averhoff, Allison Culver and Katie Wampole were named first team in the Mississippi Division.

Mitch Pritts of Cedar Rapids Prairie was named the Athlete of the Year in the Valley Division on the boys all-conference squad. Joe Berry and Etienne Nzoyisaba of Washington made the first team, along with Chase Grabau and Tanner Rathje of Linn-Mar.

Todd Goodell of Linn-Mar was named the Coach of the Year in the Valley Division for both the girls and boys all-star teams. Mark Jensen of Kennedy was the named the girls Coach of the Year in the Mississippi Division.

GIRLS ALL-CONFERENCE
Metro Selections Only

VALLEY DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar), Shannon Gorman (Washington), Amber Decker (Linn-Mar), Rachel Perry (Linn-Mar), Maddie Saville (Linn-Mar).
SECOND TEAM: Morgan Garcia (Linn-Mar), Sydney Johnston (Linn-Mar), Jenny Dickes (Xavier), Maddie Rainey (Prairie).
HONORABLE MENTION: Katie Costigan (Prairie), Marinna Schroud (Xavier).
ALL-ACADEMIC: Mikayla Wilson (Prairie), Beth Heims (Prairie), MJ Kamin (Washington), Shannon Gorman (Washington), Cassie Busch (Xavier), Sarah Chicchelly (Xavier), Kelsey Brandt (Linn-Mar), Abby Sourwine (Linn-Mar).

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: Alyssa Averhoff (Kennedy), Allison Culver (Kennedy), Katie Wampole (Kennedy).
SECOND TEAM: Lauren Meyer (Kennedy), Michelle Zikes (Jefferson).
HONORABLE MENTION: Jessica Rodman (Kennedy), Meredith Koenigsfeld (Jefferson).
ALL-ACADEMIC: Carly Beastrom (Jefferson), Shaylee Maas (Jefferson), Sarah Manders (Kennedy), Tara Mittelberg (Kennedy).

BOYS ALL-CONFERENCE
Metro Selections Only

VALLEY DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: Mitch Pritts (Prairie), Joe Berry (Washington), Etienne Nzoyisaba (Washington), Chase Grabau (Linn-Mar), Tanner Rathje (Linn-Mar).
SECOND TEAM: Michael Mather (Linn-Mar), Keegan Cook (Linn-Mar).
HONORABLE MENTION: Kyle Read (Linn-Mar), Isaiah Vlasek (Prairie), Jay Halverson (Linn-Mar), Trevor Luebe (Washington), Zach Waite (Prairie).
ALL-ACADEMIC: Luke Galloway (Prairie), Tanner Mumm (Prairie), Joe Berry (Washington), Matt Wittman (Washington), Daniel Pape (Xavier), Colby Trace (Xavier), Will Fuhrmann (Linn-Mar), Kyle Read (Linn-Mar).

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

HONORABLE MENTION: Ryan Walker (Kennedy), Matthew Stevens (Kennedy).
ALL-ACADEMIC: Alex Archer (Jefferson), Joseph Petersen (Jefferson), Zach Grobstich (Kennedy), Taylor Moss (Kennedy).

No sweat, Cougars claim 1st banner

Before the Class 4A district cross country meet began Thursday afternoon at the Tuma soccer complex, Kennedy senior Katie Wampole said she and her teammates had one goal.

“To come and get a state qualifying banner for the first time ever.”

Once the race started on a cold, windy and rainy day, Wampole said her focus changed.

“I was just out there  running to get back into my sweats.”

Under far less than ideal conditions, the Cougar girls followed last week’s conference division title with a district championship over a pair of perennial powerhouses from Iowa City. The two new banners are the first in school history for the girls team.

“I’m excited and awfully proud of these girls,” said Kennedy Coach Mark Jensen, the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division coach of the year. “Now, we’ve got bigger fish to fry next week at the state meet. We've got a lot left yet to fight for.”

Besides qualifying for state as a team, Kennedy also had three girls finish in the top 10 and qualify as individuals. Junior Allison Culver finished a distant second to runaway champion Ashlynn Yokom of Iowa City West, Wampole was fourth and junior Alyssa Averhoff came in seventh.

Wampole was running third behind teammate Culver for much of the race but was barely edged out at the finish line by Ellen Carman of Iowa City High.

“She cut in front of me right at the end,”  Wampole said. “And I didn’t have time to bring it back."

For her part,  Culver said she felt good about her race despite a time (15 minutes, 12 seconds) that was far from her personal best of the season (14:28).

“The rain was hitting me in the face the whole way,” she said. “But I was happy to finish in the top three.”

Averhoff, who won the division championship a week ago, said she wasn’t too disappointed in her seventh-place finish.

“This wasn’t my best race,” she said. “But I’m glad two of my teammates finished ahead of me. And our goal was to get the banner. So that’s all that counts.”

Also qualifying for the state meet was Shannon Gorman of Washington, who came in fifth.

In the boys competition,  Prairie junior Mitch Pritts came in a strong second to Iowa City High’s Brook Price to vault the Hawks to third place in the team standings and a return trip to the state meet.

“My thinking was to stick with him the whole way and get him in the end,” said Pritts, who had beaten Price earlier in the season. “But with about a half-mile to go down the stretch, he picked up the pace. I did the best I could.”

Pritts said the inclement weather didn’t hamper Prairie’s  performance.

“We like to run in windy conditions,” he said. “We try to use it to our advantage.”

His team nudged Washington by only three points to claim the last of three state qualifying team positions.

Despite finishing fourth, the Warriors did place two runners among the top 10 qualifiers. Junior Joe Berry came in fifth, while senior Etienne Nzoyisaba finished a disappointing eighth.

“I was pretty happy overall,” said Berry. “At about the two-mile mark, I was feeling dead. But with about a half-mile to go, I picked it up. And down the backstretch, I kicked it  in and finished strong.”

Nzoyisaba said he didn’t feel right the whole race.

“I felt tired even before it started,” he said. “My legs just felt weird. I tried to stay with Joe (Berry) for the first mile and relaxed a little bit.

“But by the last 800, I just felt  beat.”

CLASS 4A STATE QUALIFIER
At Tuma soccer complex

Girls (4k)

Teams
1. Kennedy 38, 2. Iowa City West 42, 3. Iowa City High 54, 4. Prairie 145, 5. Jefferson 151, 6. Western Dubuque 166, 7. Washington 169, 8. Muscatine 191, 9. Waterloo East 295

Top 10 Individuals
1. Ashlynn Yokom (ICW)     14:33.81
2. Allison Culver (CRK)    15:12.04
3. Ellen Carman (ICH)      15:12.99
4. Katie Wampole (CRK)     15:13.35
5. Shannon Gorman (CRW)    15:18.82
6. Molly Leveille (ICW)    15:19.85
7. Alyssa Averhoff (CRK)   15:24.40
8. Courtney Bruns (ICH)    15:30.93
9. Lindsey Bruns (ICH)     15:36.30
10. Pombie Silverman (ICW) 15:39.12


Kennedy - 2. Allison Culver 15:12.04, 4. Katie Wampole 15:13.35, 7. Alyssa Averhoff 15:24.40, 11. Lauren Meyer 15:46.78, 14. Jessica Rodman 15:58.58, 24. Carolyn Stone 16:33.70, 28. Sarah Manders 16:47.02

Prairie - 19. Katie Costigan 16:19.45, 25. Maddie Rainey 16:39.42, 30. Beth Heims 16:51.23, 34. Amanda Weyer 17:11.89, 37. Sarah Meyers 17:19.22, 42. Anna Rubsam 17:45.10, 44. Holly Wisnousky 17:48.87

Jefferson - 15. Michelle Zikes 15:59.73, 23. Meredith Koenigsfeld 16:31.49, 27. Sarah Hanna 16:40.23, 38. Megan Ely 17:24.17, 48. Cara Voll 18:02.61, 52. Marcie Gaebler 18:37.96, 55. Sarah Fehlberg 19:06.58

Washington - 5. Shannon Gorman 15:18.82, 36. M.Stuckenschneider 17:16.75, 40. MJ Kamin 17:36.47, 43. M.Stuckenschneider 17:46.16, 45. Kristin Mackenburg 17:52.04, 49. Sarah Witt 18:12.92, 50. Megan Miller 18:17.85



Boys (5k)

Teams
1. Iowa City High 35, 2. Iowa City West 55, 3. Prairie 71, 4. Washington 74, 5. Muscatine 149, 6. Kennedy 156, 7. Western Dubuque 211, 8. Jefferson 228, 9. Waterloo East 289

Top 10 Individuals
1. Brook Price (ICH)        15:56.78
2. Mitch Pritts (CRP)       16:03.34
3. Bailey Wetherell (ICW)   16:11.47
4. Chris Ohrt (ICH)         16:15.11
5. Joe Berry (CRW)          16:15.81
6. Isaac Jensen (ICW)       16:16.99
7. Ryan Dorman (ICH)        16:24.23
8. Etienne Nzoyisaba (CRW)  16:31.98
9. Joseph Malanson (ICW)    16:37.55
10. Mohamed Traore (ICH)    16:40.73


Prairie - 2. Mitch Pritts 16:03.34, 14. Zach Waite 17:06.74, 15. Isaiah Vlasek 17:07.16, 19. Luke Galloway 17:16.78, 21. Jacob Moore 17:22.28, 23. Ross Adams 17:24.27, 25. Connor Neuhaus 17:27.01

Washington - 5. Joe Berry 16:15.81, 8. Etienne Nzoyisaba 16:31.98, 16. Trevor Luebe 17:07.69, 18. Matt Wittman 17:09.74, 27. Robbie Gearhart 17:31.78, 32. Jon Rockwell 17:38.72, 41. Finbar Berry 18:03.51

Kennedy - 12. Ryan Walker 17:03.22, 20. Matthew Stevens 17:18.82, 35. Addison Furry 17:48.04, 43. Austin Trotter 18:09.66, 46. Andrew Solsrud 18:20.72, 47. Derek Girling 18:23.08, 48. Reece Linder 18:28.32

Jefferson - 31. Devin Stone 17:36.46, 45. Alec Archer 18:16.26, 49. Lucas Vanous 18:32.26, 51. Jason Chung 18:38.36, 52. Ky Kramer 18:53.84, 53. Maverick Guyer 18:55.94, 54. Zeb Grimm 19:18.17