POSTSEASON CHILL: Rams hold their own at state qualifying meet in Winterset

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor
sports@beeherald.com

The Greene County Rams co-ed cross country teams were in action on a crisp afternoon last week in Winterset. The boys’ and girls’ units navigated the rolling hills of southern Iowa with relative ease, but fell short of this week’s state meet.

The Class 3A state qualifying meet Oct. 21 featured a throng of strong runners, which kept the Rams from advancing much higher in what would be the season finale.

Though the boys’ placed eighth as a team and the girls’ were 11th, head coach Jeff Lamoureux was pleased with the overall production on a blustery evening that failed to touch 45 degrees on the temperature gauge.

“Both boys and girls teams continued to improve as the season progressed,” the coach said. “We had several personal records, which is a great way to end the season. 
We have a lot of good things to build on and a great core of runners returning next year for the boys. I am very proud of the effort given throughout the season.”

The Greene County boys’ were paced by junior Logan Woodruff, who finished 30th overall with a time of 18:01.
Dallas Center-Grimes captured the overall team title thanks to three runners in the top five, and five in the top 10, padding their impressive point total of 26. ADM’s Nate Mueller captured the individual title with a time of 15:15, well ahead of DC-G’s Aidan Ramsey (15:41) and Jacob Ewers (16:13).

Fellow junior Jayden Carstensen was joined by sophomore Dakota Mobley just a hair outside of the top 45. Carstensen slid into 47th thanks to a time of 18:53 while Mobley managed to finish 50th with a time of 18:58. Sophomore Ethan Frederick wasn’t far behind, placing 54th thanks to a time of 19:04.

The Rams scored 239 team points, just squeaking by ninth-place Boone (242). ADM finished a distant runner-up with 68 points while Glenwood (103), Winterset (114) and Atlantic (117) rounded out the top five. All but one of Greene County’s boys’ runners will return for the 2021 season, boosting a team that should compete for the Heart of Iowa Conference title.

Greene County female runner Conner Allender paced the Rams with a top 60 finish, placing 56th overall with a time of 24:12. The girls’ only brought five girls to the meet, each of which managed to finish inside the top 100. Senior Makala Kafer was 62nd in her final meet with a time of 25:13 while Olivia Shannon and Autumn Stevens went back-to-back, finishing 66th and 67th, respectively with times of 25:13 and 25:29.
Autumn Stevens rounded out Greene County’s top four with a time of 25:41, good for first place.

Dallas Center-Grimes completed the co-ed sweep by capturing the girls’ title with 43 points, outlasting runner-up Glenwood (66). The Mustangs secured three runners in the top 10 while ADM’s Geneva Timmerman captured the individual crown with a time of 18:15, well in front of DC-G’s Kami Smith (19:24) and Megan Sterbenz (19:34).

Greene County finished 11th out of 12 teams with 322 points, just six points outside of the top 10. Boone placed 10th with 316 points while Saydel was just a shade behind Greene County with 323 points.