Cross country: Sterling reigns supreme at Twin Cities Meet

STERLING – It was a strong overall showing for Sterling at the Twin Cities Cross Country Meet on Tuesday evening at Hoover Park, as the Golden Warrior boys and girls each beat out Rock Falls and Newman to top their respective three-team fields, while also claiming the individual champion for each race.

The Sterling girls finished their day with 26 points, led by six top-10 finishers; Rock Falls totaled 30 points, paced by four top-10 finishers; and Newman competed with an incomplete team.

On the boys side, Sterling was the runaway winner, landing six runners in the top 10 while accumulating 23 points. Led by two top-10 finishers, Newman (54 points) edged Rock Falls (55 points) for second place.

In the 22-runner field for girls, Sterling’s Rhylee Wade was the champion, clocking a 19:35 for her initial first-place finish of the season.

“During the whole race, I felt pretty good – better than I normally do with my races,” Wade said. “It was weird taking first. That constant thought that someone’s going to come up behind you was kind of there the entire time.”

Fellow Golden Warrior Delia Block also had a big contribution for the team champions, clocking a 20:52 for fourth place.

Sterling runners finished sixth through eighth, as Megan Gingrich ran a 21:29, Kylie Nicklaus clocked a 22:01, and Lainey Zuithoff recorded a 22:26. Connie Ibarra rounded out the top 10 for the Golden Warriors, running a 22:30.

The Rock Falls girls had a good outing as well, led by second-place finisher Hana Ford, who ran a 20:19.

Close behind her was teammate Ariel Hernandez, who clocked a 20:45; and fifth-place Rock Falls finisher Kat Scott, who ran a 21:17. Brooke Howard came in ninth for the Rockets, running a 22:30.

“It was good,” Hernandez said of her performance. “I’ve only had three [other meets], this is my first year of cross country, but this is like way better than usual.”

Claire Crisham was the top Newman runner, clocking a 23:57 for 14th.

In the 37-runner field for boys, Sterling’s Dale Johnson was the cream of the crop, recording a time of a 16:05. Last week, Johnson took third at the River City Race in Peoria.

“It was a good race. I felt comfortable the entire time, and I think our team did really well today, too,” Johnson said. “We had two guys that finally hit a point where they need to be hitting, and they did really good.”

Jordan Britt, a state track & field relay teammate of Johnson’s, was next to finish, clocking a 17:03.

Early in the race, Britt wasn’t sure he’d have enough in the tank to finish near the front, but as it progressed and he conserved his energy, he realized he’d be able to go all-out at the end.

“During the race, first mile was kind of scary, because I was really tired, and my plan was just to stay with the front pack,” Britt said. “Second mile kind of grew off a little bit, and I really wanted to drop off, but in my mind, I was like, ‘Compared to last weekend, I really need to get my game back.’ So I figured if I stayed back and waited a little bit, I’d be able to use the energy I saved at the end, and that’s exactly what happened.

“And finishing second, I feel absolutely amazing about that.”

Parker Janssen completed the Sterling podium sweep, running a 17:08 for third place.

The Rock Falls boys had fourth- and fifth-place finishers in Jose Gomez (17:12) and Anthony Valdivia (17:15). Newman nabbed the sixth and seventh spots as Lucas Simpson crossed the finish line in 17:21, and Lucas Schaab came across in 17:39.

Sterling secured the eighth through 10th spots as well, with Thomas Holcomb running a 17:44, Owen Anderson running an 18:20, and Aalin Schmidt running an 18:23.