Amelia Roe was crowned the NEIC champion Tuesday with a time of 19:37.9. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)
The race to the postseason started with a bang for the Decorah cross country teams Tuesday, as the Vikings claimed three of the four titles and a runner-up finish.
The girls, ranked 14th in Class 3A, finished with 43 points, besting No. 20 Waverly Shell-Rock with 65 points. The boys, No. 15, secured second place with 51 points, behind Class 2A No. 2 Waukon who had 43.
The JV squads also did their job, sweeping their races.
Five All-NEIC
The girls secured the title with five of the seven earning all-conference honors by finishing in the top 15. They had a spread of 2:07 and the average time for the DHS runners was 21:10.
Individually, Decorah’s Amelia Roe took home the conference crown. The Viking, ranked 15th, had a time of 19:37.9. Brinlee Courtney crossed the finish line sixth in 21:02.6. Earning her first all-conference honor, senior Grace Brynsaas finished 10th. She had a time of 21:43.2. In 21:44.2, Amelia Wadsworth toured the course to a 12th place finish. Concluding the team score was freshman Olivia Volkmann. In a time of 21:45.1, she earned 14th.
Lily Sandhorst and Deborah Hougen were also suited up for the varsity. Sandhorst toured the course in 21:58.8, good for 19th, while Hougen finished the 5K in 23:13.1 in 28th place.
“Our seniors came into the season with high goals and expectations, their leadership has been amazing. The team was not afraid to work hard and more importantly to celebrate each other all season. We, as coaches, are so excited and proud of the effort and accomplishments of this group,” said Viking girls coach Cristy Nimrod.
Varsity girls team results
1. Decorah 43; 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 65; 3. Crestwood 68; 4. Waukon 79; 5. New Hampton 108; 6. Charles City 160
So close
For the third year in a row, the Viking boys were the runners-up, with five athletes being named all-NEIC.
As a squad, Decorah had an average time of 17:37, with a spread of only 36 seconds.
The individual title went to Austin Soldwisch of Waverly-Shell Rock. He broke the tape in 16:47.9.
Decorah junior Grant Zilka earned his second all-conference nod with a sixth place finish in 17:15.8. After finishing 18th a year ago, sophomore Garrett See moved up to ninth place. He had a time of 17:38.2. Finishing 10th was D’mitry Lesser in 17:39.2. A year ago, Lesser was the silver medalist of the JV race. Landyn Hook stopped the clock at 17:40.8, good for 12th — a big leap from his 28th place finish in 2022. Earning his second all-NEIC nod, in 14th with a time of 17:52.5 was Henry Weis.
Also on the varsity scorecard for the Vikes were Oliver Bollinger and Thomas Hammel. Bollinger posted a time of 18:08.7, good for 18th while Hammel was 26th in 19:09.8.
“This was a great run by the team with excellent efforts by all,” noted Decorah boys coach Brad Johansen.
Varsity boys team results
1. Waukon 43; 2. Decorah 51; 3. Charles City 67; 4. Crestwood 93; 5. Waverly-Shell Rock 105; 6. New Hampton 171
JV results
Both the JV squads were on top of the podium again.
The girls earned first with 18 points, an average time of 22:15 and a spread of 38 seconds.
Ana Simon was the individual champion. Her time was 21:56.2. Also counting for the Lady Vikes were Danielle Losen (2nd, 21:56.7), Stella Pole (4th, 22:21.3), Natalie Goodner (5th, 22:28.8) and Elsa Johnson (6th, 22:34.6).
The boys tallied 19 points, with an average time of 18:34 and spread of 34 seconds.
Taking home the title was Jack DeLaRosa with a time of 18:13.8. Completing the JV scoring were Mitchell Stemper (3rd, 18:27.8), Liam Huang (4th, 18:28.8), Max Grimstad (5th, 18:46.1) and Kyan Oftedahl (6th, 18:48.7).
JV girls team results
1. Decorah 18; 2. Waukon 64; 3. Crestwood 81; 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 84; 5. Charles City 153
JV girls individual results
1. Ana Simon, 21:56.2; 2. Danielle Losen, 21:56.7; 4. Stella Pole, 22:21.3; 5. Natalie Goodner, 22:28.8; 6. Elsa Johnson, 22:34.6; 7. Natalie Stevens, 22:41.0; 8. Kamryn Steines, 22:51.5; 9. Grace Blikre, 22:59.8; 10. Brynn Storhoff, 23:03.7; 11. Nora Lesmeister, 23:13.4; 13. Ellie Adams, 23:27.1; 14. Vivian Searcy, 23:32.5; 15. Lulu Bellrichard, 23:41.8; 16. Elayna Hook, 23:51.9; 18. Lillian Dahlen, 23:57.6; 23. Olivia Rissman, 24:24.6; 25. Claire Storhoff, 24:26.3; 28. Willow Blair, 24:47.9; 29. Lillian Olson, 24:50.4; 32. Kathryn Kelly, 25:11.7; 34. McKenzie Riley, 25:22.3; 37. Lauren Severtson, 25:33.6; 39. Jillian Volz, 25:57.4; 42. Regine Hougen, 26:10.4; 45. Addison Lukes-Smith, 26:19.9; 46. Emily Myers, 26:23.4; 50. Olivia Huinker 26:54.9; 51. Morgan Miculinich, 27:00.0; 52. Marley Harmening, 27:08.0; 57. Myla Leitz, 27:20.0; 63. Nina Sessions, 28:01.6; 64. Teagan Menke, 28:01.7; 72. Kylie Lemke, 28:59.4; 75. Kyra O’Hara, 29:14.0; 77. Maria Riveros, 29:20.0; 81. Drew Zwart, 31:19.4; 82. Abie Valkosky, 32:16.0; 83. Ava Hanson, 33:53.9; 85. Abigail Larson, 34.42.0; 86. Ella Carlson, 35.26.5
JV boys team results
1. Decorah 19; 2. Waukon 44; 3. Charles City 88; 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 102
JV boys individual results
1. Jack DeLaRosa, 18:13.8; 3. Mitchell Stemper, 18:27.8; 4. Liam Huang, 18:28.8; 5. Max Grimstad, 18:46.1; 6. Kyan Oftedahl, 18:48.7; 7. Spencer Christiansen, 18:52.3; 9. Kelton Casterton, 18:58.4; 10. Riley Berns, 19:05.9; 12. Keaton Nalean-Carlson, 19:29.0; 13. Aidan Nalean-Carlson, 19:31.1; 16. Lucas Arendt, 19:43.3; 18. Montana Jump-Gerleman, 19:49.2; 19. Carson Bohner, 19:53.0; 20. Peter Essa, 19:54.3; 21. Owen Rix, 19:54.3; 22. Andrew Olson, 20:05.7; 23. Reid Berns, 20:07.6; 26. Kyle Pattison, 20:26.9; 28. Travis Nordheim, 20:45.9; 30. Adam Walter, 20:47.2; 34. Lucas Hanson, 21:07.3; 35. Phoung Doan, 21:18.2; 36. Esteban Fernadez, 21:18.9; 42. Nathan Swarbrick, 21:54.4; 45. Evan Madsen, 22:08.7; 50. Will Robinson, 22:56.1; 53. Noah Vilardo, 23:15.0; 55. Doug Bentley, 24:06.4; 66. Noah Potvin, 26:43.6; 72. Keagan Steines, 41:25.7
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