CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - An early-morning fog burned off into heat and humidity as the sun pounded down on the varsity races here Saturday at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational. There was plenty of post-meet recovery happening around the course.
The Waukee boys and girls made their trip across the state to Eastern Iowa a worthwhile one, capturing team titles. Mid-Prairie's Marie Hostetler finished first in the girls race, while Iowa City West's Kolby Greiner claimed gold for the boys.
The Warrior boys scored 56 points to easily outdistance second-place Cedar Rapids Prairie (127). Cedar Falls (142), Iowa City West (150) and Clear Creek Amana (170) rounded out the Top 5.
The Warrior girls posted an impressive 35. Mid-Prairie was a distant second with 119. Cedar Falls (124), Cedar Rapids Prairie (158) and Linn-Mar (173) followed them across the finish line.
Hostetler led start to finish on Saturday after finishing second to here sister Anna here a year ago. The competition took a lot out of her.
"The first race is always a little tough. Your body isn't used to racing. It also was hot and the mud was a little rough. I could feel my calves a little bit during the race but they cramped really bad when I was done," she told Milesplit.
She logged a time of 18:53.
"I wasn't super happy with my time but I think I ran hard in the middle of the race and kept that lead," Hostetler said.
Linn-Mar's Micah Poellet grabbed second place with a time of 19:03.
"I felt like I was going out pretty strong at the beginning, but after the first lap I just felt like my legs were starting to feel heavy. I just had to keep pushing through," she said.
Waukee's Peyton Kelderman finished third in 20:06. She was followed by Cedar Rapids Washington's Reagan Gorman (20:09) and Madison Judas of Waukee (20:32).
It was a satisfying opening race for Greiner, who ran all last season with a spine fracture. He crossed the finish line Saturday in 16:35.
"It's not about how fast you go the first race. I'm not too worried about what the other side of the state is doing. I'm kind of just focused on our guys," he said.
Cedar Rapids Prairie's Jack Perdergast took second on his home course with a time of 16:56. Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Jacob Green (17:04), Waukee's Moe Smith 17:11 and Prairie's Colton LaGrange (17:16) rounded out the Top 5.
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