Anytime you can bring home some hardware, it was a pretty good trip to the State Cross Country Meet.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon brought home a trophy for second place on the girls’ side, and finished in eighth place on the boys’ side, on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
“It felt pretty good,” MVL freshman Eastin Whisner said. “Our team was pretty nervous, but we had a lot of fun together.”
The Mustang girls finished second to Pella, who won with 80 points. Mount Vernon-Lisbon scored 129 points. Gilbert was third (142).
“We knew it’d be tough to get first,” Whisner said. “But we were running strong and tried to get as close to Pella as we could.”
And the Mustangs did it without any runner finishing in the Top 15.
“That’s the beauty of our team, you never know who is going to lead it,” MVL Coach Kory Swart said. “It was a total team effort.”
Emrie Johnson was 20th in 19 minutes, 37.9 seconds. She was followed by Whisner (23rd), Kiersten Swart (31st), Evelyn Moeller (39th) and Abbie Moss (87th). All but Moss broke 20 minutes.
“In practice we had really focused on keeping our first four together,” junior Emrie Johnson said. “We just do better when we’re together. We had success at district and tried to do the exact same thing at state.”
Johnson, Whisner both ran personal bests on a cold and windy day. So did sixth- and seventh-runners Rose Pisarik and Cora Smith.
“We really stayed packed together,” Whisner said. “I’m proud of us for that.”
The Mustang boys finished eighth with 223 points. Gilbert won with 57 and Pella had 63 for second. MVL finished eight points behind rival Solon and six points ahead of Clear Creek Amana.
Junior Grady Olberding placed 14th in 16 minutes, 10.7 seconds. He equaled his placing as a sophomore.
“I think he was hoping for Top 10,” Swart said. “But he was on the deck again (Top 15), which is awesome.”
Olberding was followed by Dawson Scheil (31st), Klayten Perreault (60th), Seamus O’Connor (93rd) and Wesley Sadler (100th).
“They tried to put it all together,” Swart said. “But it wasn’t our best performance of the season. They were hoping for a little bit more. Just off our game a little bit.”
Still, every member of the girls Top 7, and everyone on the boys Top 7 but Perreault, are set to return in 2024.
“They are going to be motivated for next season,” Swart said. “I’m super proud of them. I can’t say more great things.
“Klayten was a phenomenal leader by example for us, and one of our hardest workers. We’re going to miss him.”
Class 3A Girls 5K
Team scores – 1. Pella 80; 2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 129; 3. Gilbert 142; 4. Sioux Center 155; 5. Glenwood 172; 6. Ballard 176; 7. Marion 208; 8. Solon 209; 9. Clear Lake 209; 10. Sioux City Hellan 225; 11. Decorah 235; 12. ADM 250; 13. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 253; 14. Harlan 276; 15. Clear Creek Amana 332.
Top 15 – 1. Marissa Perebee (Pella) 18:36.6; 2. Lindsey Sonderman (Harlan) 18:42.1; 3. Audrina Jones (Sioux Center) 18:53.8; 4. Avery Rump (Fort Madison) 18:54.0; 5. Iris Dahl (Washington) 18:57.5; 6. Addison Dabroski (Marion) 19:03.3; 7. Avelyn Vance (Ballard) 19:04.0; 8. Grace Berglund (Glenwood) 19:08.3; 9. Amelia Roe (Decorah) 19:09.4; 10. Emee Dani (Gilbert) 19:13.3; 11. Tierney Carter (Oskaloosa) 19:14.1; 12. Claire Pellett (Atlantic) 19:16.8; 13. Grace Estling (CPU) 19:22.0; 14. Lucy Murphy (Dubuque Wahlert) 19:22.3; 15. Anna Feuerbach (Clear Lake) 19:22.5.
MVL – 20. Emrie Johnson 19:37.9; 23. Eastin Whisner 19:42.3; 31. Kiersten Swart 19:48.6; 39. Evelyn Moeller 19:59.5; 87. Abbie Moss 20:50.0; 109. Rose Pisarik 21:16.8; 110. Cora Smith 21:17.2.
Class 3A Boys 5K
Team scores – 1. Gilbert 57; 2. Pella 63; 3. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 100; 4. Carlisle 144; 5. Washington 186; 6. Winterset 196; 7. Solon 215; 8. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 223; 9. Clear Creek Amana 229; 10. Glenwood 241; 11. South Tama County 249; 12. MOC-Floyd Valley 259; 13. ADM 266; 14. Central DeWitt 297; 15. Sioux Center 357.
Top 15 – 1. Canaan Dunham (Pella) 15:18.5; 2. Ethan Eichhorn (CBLC) 15:25.5; 3. Nathan Vander Waal (Pella) 15:39.8; 4. Micah Rees (Washington) 15:47.9; 5. Andrew Smith (Glenwood) 15:51.2; 6. Quentin Nauman (WD) 15:52.5; 7. Tommy Tyynismaa (STC) 15:53.2; 8. Logan Bleich (Gilbert) 15:55.6; 9. Jacob Tallman (Gilbert) 15:59.5; 10. Bryant Keller (Glenwood) 16:05.0; 11. Devon Browne (Pella) 16:06.7; 12. Carson Squiers (Gilbert) 16:09.3; 13. Alik McIlravy (NP) 16:10.0; 14. Grady Olberding (MVL) 16:10.7; 15. Emmett Barber (Gilbert) 16:18.5.
MVL – 14. Olberding; 31. Dawson Scheil 16:46.4; 60. Klayten Perreault 17:06.1; 93. Seamus O’Connor 17:31.6; 106. Wesley Sadler 17:34.7; 104. Sawyer Feldman 17:37.6; 131. Chasen Caskey 18:42.7.
MVLXC Agate Class 3A Girls 5K Team scores – 1. Pella 80; 2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 129; 3. Gilbert 142; 4. Sioux Center 155; 5. Glenwood 172; 6. Ballard 176; 7. Marion 208; 8. Solon 209; 9. Clear Lake 209; 10. Sioux City Hellan 225; 11. Decorah 235; 12. ADM 250; 13. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 253; 14. Harlan 276; 15. Clear Creek Amana 332. Top 15 – 1. Marissa Perebee (Pella) 18:36.6; 2. Lindsey Sonderman (Harlan) 18:42.1; 3. Audrina Jones (Sioux Center) 18:53.8; 4. Avery Rump (Fort Madison) 18:54.0; 5. Iris Dahl (Washington) 18:57.5; 6. Addison Dabroski (Marion) 19:03.3; 7. Avelyn Vance (Ballard) 19:04.0; 8. Grace Berglund (Glenwood) 19:08.3; 9. Amelia Roe (Decorah) 19:09.4; 10. Emee Dani (Gilbert) 19:13.3; 11. Tierney Carter (Oskaloosa) 19:14.1; 12. Claire Pellett (Atlantic) 19:16.8; 13. Grace Estling (CPU) 19:22.0; 14. Lucy Murphy (Dubuque Wahlert) 19:22.3; 15. Anna Feuerbach (Clear Lake) 19:22.5. MVL – 20. Emrie Johnson 19:37.9; 23. Eastin Whisner 19:42.3; 31. Kiersten Swart 19:48.6; 39. Evelyn Moeller 19:59.5; 87. Abbie Moss 20:50.0; 109. Rose Pisarik 21:16.8; 110. Cora Smith 21:17.2. Class 3A Boys 5K Team scores – 1. Gilbert 57; 2. Pella 63; 3. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 100; 4. Carlisle 144; 5. Washington 186; 6. Winterset 196; 7. Solon 215; 8. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 223; 9. Clear Creek Amana 229; 10. Glenwood 241; 11. South Tama County 249; 12. MOC-Floyd Valley 259; 13. ADM 266; 14. Central DeWitt 297; 15. Sioux Center 357. Top 15 – 1. Canaan Dunham (Pella) 15:18.5; 2. Ethan Eichhorn (CBLC) 15:25.5; 3. Nathan Vander Waal (Pella) 15:39.8; 4. Micah Rees (Washington) 15:47.9; 5. Andrew Smith (Glenwood) 15:51.2; 6. Quentin Nauman (WD) 15:52.5; 7. Tommy Tyynismaa (STC) 15:53.2; 8. Logan Bleich (Gilbert) 15:55.6; 9. Jacob Tallman (Gilbert) 15:59.5; 10. Bryant Keller (Glenwood) 16:05.0; 11. Devon Browne (Pella) 16:06.7; 12. Carson Squiers (Gilbert) 16:09.3; 13. Alik McIlravy (NP) 16:10.0; 14. Grady Olberding (MVL) 16:10.7; 15. Emmett Barber (Gilbert) 16:18.5. MVL – 14. Olberding; 31. Dawson Scheil 16:46.4; 60. Klayten Perreault 17:06.1; 93. Seamus O’Connor 17:31.6; 106. Wesley Sadler 17:34.7; 104. Sawyer Feldman 17:37.6; 131. Chasen Caskey 18:42.7.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Photo submitted by Conni Swart

Mount Vernon junior Grady Olberding pushes the pace during the Class 3A boys state tournament Saturday, Oct. 28, in Fort Dodge.