Gallery • 6 Photos

Simeon Smith

Esti Brady runs to a third place individual finish at the Bud Williams meet with a time of 20:22.

In the humid five o’clock air on the University of Iowa’s Ashton Cross Country Course, teams from as far south as Ottumwa to as far north as Cedar Rapids Jefferson compete for their chance to prove that the summer training and early season competitions have payed off. Spectators gather around the starting line in suspense as the runners take off as retired City High Cross Country Coach Bud Williams fires the gun.

Men’s Varsity Cross Country started out with a clear lead within the first miles. The close City pack remained strong as the leaders of the pack swiped 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th place, ending the race with a total of forty-nine points collectively. Pleasant Valley took first place in the varsity division, but wasn’t a far-off second place.

“It felt pretty great coming out on the first and second mile but not so much on the third mile,” Varsity runner Olivier Shabani said.

Quenton Max ran City’s fastest time: 17:12.5, following behind Quenton in eighth place overall was Caden Turnbough with a time of 17:18.1, and Jonathan Brown with a time of 17:27.0.

Women’s Varsity did not disappoint their enthusiastic fans. The top runners took 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th place. The varsity team was together for a majority of the race remaining close behind the 7th ranked runner in the state, Kylie Latham of Ottumwa.

“Every step counts, if you slack off for even two minutes that’s two minutes slower,” Amelia Morrow, the overall seventh place finisher, said.

Women’s varsity top runners were Esti Brady with a time of 20:22.9, then Annalise Rummelhart with a time of 20:34.7, and Aly Hecker with a time of 20:52.3.

“I try to stay positive, stay stronger, and think about the finish line,”Janet Nyamboneka said.

City High’s next chance to compete comes next Thursday, October 5th at the MVC Divisional in Dubuque.