Mount Vernon-Lisbon cross country swept both team titles and both individual titles Thursday, Oct. 16, at the WaMaC Championships at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids.
Both teams were impressive.
Junior Evelyn Moeller might have been the most impressive, winning the girls’ race in 18 minutes, 9 seconds, almost a full minute ahead of runner-up Carson Meskimen of Clear Creek Amana.
“She’s on fire right now,” MVL coach Kory Swart said. “She looks so good and under control. I can’t wait to watch next two meets for her.”
The next two are the final two, at West Delaware on Wednesday, Oct. 22, for the SQM (State Qualifying Meet) and then State on Friday, Oct. 31, in Fort Dodge.
Behind Moeller, the third-ranked Mustangs scored 42 points to beat No. 10 Solon (82 points), No. 14 Williamsburg (85) and No. 17 Center Point-Urbana (92).
Kiersten Swart finished seventh (19:49.1) and Rose Pisarik was ninth (19:56.9). Miranda Sellner and Edith Dawson rounded out the team scoring.
“I’m really happy for Kiersten,” Swart said. “We’ve had to hold her out a couple meets with a nagging injury. She had a nice race coming back.
“All five of our runners finished in the Top 15, that’s when you know you’ve had a good night.”
What’s more, the pack behind Moeller all finished within 35 seconds of Kiersten Swart.
“We put everything together,” Swart said. “They really looked good. Hopefully we can keep that momentum going. It is championship season.”
As tight as the Mustang girls’ scoring pack was, the boys were tighter.
Dawson Scheil won the race in 15 minutes, 49.1 seconds. He was followed by freshman Benjamin Brinkmann in fourth (16:06.8) and senior Sawyer Feldman in sixth (16:12.3). Juniors Chasen Caskey and Anthony Armstrong completed the scoring.
Scheil also looked really good 10 days after failing to finish a race in Waverly.
“Dawson put the whole race together and ran super smart,” Swart said. “He didn’t get ahead of himself and ran a complete race.”
Brinkmann set a personal best and continues to ascend during his freshman season.
“He’s coming on,” Swart said. “He looks better almost every time to you watch him race. To do it as a freshman is almost unheard of.”
Swart also complimented Feldman, who is running this fall after an injury cut short his season last year.
“He’s taken advantage of every opportunity,” Swart said. “He’s a tough kid.”
And, as mentioned, the entire pack is within one minute of Scheil.
“We’re getting closer to where we thought we could be,” Swart said. “(The Top 5) all broke 17 minutes. That showcases what we can do as a team. We’ll be dangerous the next couple of weeks.”
The boys scored 34 points, to beat No. 4 Grinnell (64), No. 6 Clear Creek Amana (89) and No. 17 Vinton-Shellsburg (128).
While the biggest race is yet to come, it was a night to celebrate for the Mustangs.
“It was a fun night for MVLXC,” Swart said. “They don’t happen very often, so you have to appreciate it. We brought home two trophies.”
