Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
The Hawks' Ashleigh Vermeer (left) is intent on passing a Cherokee runner at the Deb Hankens Invitational on Aug. 26.
George Vargas was the top varsity runner for H-M-S at the Deb Hankens Invitational, placing 10th overall.
Comparing results from one season to the next is not always a fair way to gauge athletic performance, but times and finishes for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's cross country runners at the 2021 Deb Hankens Invitational indicate improvement compared to those of a year ago.
Veterans and newcomers took advantage of less-stressful weather conditions, as the temperature during the Aug. 26 meet at the Cherokee Country Club was moderate compared to the mid-90s during the 2020 opener.
Senior Madison Otto ran a time of 22:58 to finish fifth in girls' varsity. Freshman Kamryn Ebel finished 15th in her first varsity race and another freshman, Gracie Knobloch, posted a 19th-place finish. Juniors Juliana Pasillas and Ashleigh Vermeer finished 20th and 23rd, respectively.
Otto took a minute off her time and improved her finish by two spots compared to 2020, while Pasillas shaved 8-1/2 minutes off her time and finished 15 places higher this year.
Leading the boys' varsity runners were sophomore George Vargas, who earned a Top 10 finish, and junior Bryce Dodge who came in 12th. Freshmen Aiden Bush and Blaine Finster ran 24th and 30th, respectively, and senior Aiden Jensen placed 34th in his first varsity race.
Vargas' final time was more than eight minutes faster compared to his freshman effort and his finish was 19 places higher. Dodge placed 10 spots higher and ran three minutes faster this year.
The Hawks' team scores also improved this year. The varsity girls finished second with 56 points; they scored 129 a year ago and came in sixth. The boys were fifth with 110 points, an improvement of 21 points compared to 2020.
Running JV were freshmen Damian Dodge (eighth) and Ryan Grotluschen (12th), and sophomore Gavin Faulkner (17th).
The Hawks are scheduled to compete in meets hosted by Okoboji on Sept. 2 and Sibley-Ocheyedan on Sept. 7.
DEB HANKENS INVITATIONAL
Girls' Varsity: Madison Otto, 5th, 22:58; Kamryn Ebel, 15th, 26:25; Gracie Knobloch, 19th, 29:48; Juliana Pasillas, 20th, 30:20; Ashleigh Vermeer, 23rd, 30:59.
Girls' Team Scores: Cherokee 20, H-M-S 56, Ridge View 58.
Boys' Varsity: George Vargas, 10th, 21:17; Bryce Dodge, 12th, 22:02; Aiden Bush, 24th, 23:54; Blaine Finster, 25:01; Aiden Jensen, 34th, 25:57.
Boys' Team Scores: West Monona 49, Cherokee 73, Gehlen Catholic 75, Ridge View 98, H-M-S 110, Alta-Aurelia 118, South O'Brien 139.
Boys' JV: Damian Dodge, 8th, 26:28; Ryan Grotluschen, 12th, 27:33; Gavin Faulkner, 17th, 29:55.
