Another deck walk for Nodaway Valley

Corning's Tabitha Shepherd finished fourth in Class 1A.

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FORT DODGE — It’s pretty easy to say that the best is yet to come for the Nodaway Valley girls cross country team. Without a senior in the starting seven, Nodaway Valley finished in the top-3 for the fourth time in five years at the State Cross Country Championships after Saturday’s second-place performance in Class 1A. Pekin and Nodaway Valley were the only two teams in the Class 1A girls race without a senior on their teams, and both were the top-2 teams. Pekin won with 59 points while Nodaway Valley finished with 89 at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. “Pekin ran just a great race today and our girls did too,” said Nodaway Valley coach Darrell Burmeister. “We had our best race of the year and that’s all we can ask. We had three girls in the 15s and two in the low 16s. We thought that would be good enough to get on the deck (top-3 teams) and we were in the second spot.” Teammates and sisters Bethni and Brittni Johnson were low runners for the Wolverines, with Bethni placing 16th with a time of 15:40 while Brittni was 18th in 15:43. Freshman Paige Jones was 19th with a time of 15:43 while Lauren Bricker and Susan Herr were also counting runners at 16:19 and 16:20 to gain that runner-up trophy. “We’ll take second. It’s a great place to get, but first would have been that much more amazing,” said freshman Bethni Johnson. “We all work hard together. Our team pushes each other hard.” For the Wolverines, it’s the 20th trip to the state meet in boys and girls cross country since 1997, with the girls making the voyage for the 11th time in 12 years. “We’re just trying to prove that you can run in southwest Iowa,” said Burmeister. “We’re consistently getting on the deck — six of the last seven years between boys and girls.” Two freshmen jumped to the early lead in the Class 1A girls race. Nodaway Valley’s Brittni Johnson started fast out of the pack before Pekin’s Celsey Conger stole her thunder. At the mile mark, Sara Stoakes of North Tama had the lead and won by nine seconds to win the 4K race in a time of 14:35. Corning’s Tabitha Shepherd ran in the top-10 through the entire race, but couldn’t quite make that push for the lead as she finished 18 seconds behind. “I ran pretty consistently in fifth or sixth, and up the hills I’d catch them,” said Shepherd. “They got me in the final sprint. They were faster, bigger, stronger — I just have to go out and train harder next year.” Shepherd, a four-time placewinner at the state meet, did best Abby Schlater of Council Bluffs St. Albert by 39 seconds Saturday. Schlater was the only runner to beat Shepherd going into Saturday’s race. To get to this point, Shepherd increased her summer mileage by 10 to 15 miles a week and also used longer workouts to gain an increased stamina. Even though it wasn’t a championship, Shepherd was proud of what she’s accomplished. “That’s a lot more than usual people can say,” said Shepherd about four placewinning medals. “I’m proud of myself. I didn’t do as well as I expected, but that’s OK.” Shepherd wasn’t the only area senior to end a career Saturday as Matt Carr of Orient-Macksburg took 85th in the Class 1A boys race. Drew Sikkema of Clinton Prince of Peace beat out Griswold’s Jamie Meek by four seconds to win the title. Carr, donning a mohawk, ran in a time of 18:28. “I didn’t do as well as I hoped, but I felt tired,” said Carr. “It’s still a good memory — lots of fun over the years. I’ll have this forever.” STATE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS CLASS 1A GIRLS TEAM SCORES 1. Pekin 54; 2. Nodaway Valley 89; 3. Valley (Elgin) 140; 4. Central Elkader 167; 5. West Sioux 195; 6. Council Bluffs St. Albert 197; 7. Earlham 208; 8. Mason City Newman 211; 9. Galva-Holstein 224; 10. St. Edmond 226; 11. Griswold 227; 12. BCLUW 243; 13. Bellevue Marquette 262; 14. Durant 276; 15. Clinton Prince of Peace 335. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS Top 10 — 1. Sara Stoakes, North Tama, 14:35; 2. Audrey Griffin, Clinton Prince of Peace, 14:44; 3. Katy Moen, Wapsie Valley, 14:46; 4. Tabitha Shepherd, Corning, 14:53; 5. Celsey Conger, Pekin, 14:59; 6. Grace Moore, Mason City Newman, 15:00; 7. Ashley Corrin, Tri-Center, 15:01; 8. Haddie Vawter, BCLUW, 15:20; 9. Shelbie Beatty, East Buchanan, 15:21; 10. Olivia Diggs, Ogden, 15:22. Nodaway Valley — 16. Bethni Johnson 15:40; 18. Brittni Johnson 15:43; 19. Paige Jones 15:43; 47. Lauren Bricker 16:19; 38. Susan Herr 16:20; 55. Kristin Kincaide 16:27; 92. Rachel Held 17:19. Corning — 4. Tabitha Shepherd 14:53. BOYS TEAM SCORES 1. South Winneshiek 99; 2. Iowa Mennonite 106; 3. Belle Plaine 138; 4. Woodbine 159; 5. BCLUW 166; 6. Council Bluffs St. Albert 170; 7. Griswold 191; 8. Battle Creek-Ida Grove 200; 9. Durant 204; 10. Clinton Prince of Peace 207; 11. Laurens-Marathon 233; 12. Logan-Magnolia 234; 13. Grundy Center 277; 14. Bellevue Marquette 303; 15. Turkey Valley 338. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS Top 10 — 1. Drew Sikkema, Clinton Prince of Peace, 15:58; 2. Jamie Meek, Griswold, 16:02; 3. Dane McDonald, BCLUW, 16:05; 4. Brett Losen, South Winneshiek, 16:08; 5. Zach Baker, Eddyville-Blakesburg, 16:11; 6. Shane Warehime, Prairie Valley, 16:26; 7. Bill Spencer, Iowa Mennonite, 16:27; 8. Parker Drake, AGWSR, 16:27; 9. Garret Ehlers, Battle Creek-Ida Grove, 16:28; 10. Brandt Moore, Bellevue Marquette, 16:29. Orient-Macksburg — 85. Matt Carr 18:28. —————— Ben Frotscher can be reached at 782-2141, ext. 246 or bfrotscher@crestonnews.com