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Warriors run at Waukon Invitational
Central Cross Country 2026
The Central cross country team includes (front, left to right) Katalina Dunlap, Blair Scherf, MacKenna Fisher, Harper Bennington, Hannah Friedlein, Emersyn Wiley, Payton Stannard; (middle) Lilly Becwar, Anya Whittle, Hadley Mueller, Tenley Meyer, Mya Gregerson, Claire Orr, Keagan Sylvester, Ayce Clark, Keegan Sperfslage; (back) Griffin Koehn, Oliver Holdsworth, Tyce Zittergruen, Breckon Holst, Cruz Healy, Cade Zittergruen, Jesse Polkinghorn, Lukas Friedlein, Mason Koehn and coach Mark Bauder. Not pictured are Corbyn Clark and Arthur Thiese. - photo by Audrey Posten

The Central boys and girls cross country teams ran at the Sept. 22 Waukon Invitational, where only a few runners competed at the varsity level among a strong field of larger schools.

Jesse Polkinghorn earned the boys’ top time of 18:48, placing him 30th in the varsity race. Teammate Tyce Zittergruen was 35th after crossing the finish line in 19:21.

In the JV race, the Warrior boys finished with 93 points, edging North Fayette Valley by two points for third place. Decorah secured the top spot in the JV race with a score of 15, while Denver was the runner-up with 58.

Freshman Cade Zittergruen led Central, posting a time of 19:12 for seventh place. Cruz Healy was 29th with a time of 20:27, followed by Oliver Holdsworth in 34th at 20:35. Keagan Sylvester completed the course in 20:52, which was good for 41st, while Lukas Friedlein took the 45th spot with a time of 20:58.

Other Warrior times included a 23:07 for Keegan Sperfslage, for 77th place, then a respective 23:43 and 23:51 for Arthur Thiese and Ayce Clark, who finished 91st and 92nd. Griffin Koehn was 110th at 26:05 and Bently Banks 116th at 27:27.

In the girls race, Blair Scherf was the only Warrior who competed at the varsity level. The junior ran a 22:21, placing her 38th among the 78-person field.

Amid the JV field, Hadley Mueller cracked the top 20, placing 18th with a time of 23:04. MacKenna Fisher crossed in 23:37, for 27th place, and Payton Stannard was a close 29th with a time of 23:52. Emersyn Wiley and Harper Bennington were a respective 34th and 39th, after completing the race in 24:29 and 24:38.

Anya Whittle placed 50th on a time of 25:39, followed by Hannah Friedlein in 78th at 28:03, Claire Orr 82nd at 28:46 and Tenley Meyer 98th at 32:15.

Central was fifth in the JV team standings with a score of 120. Decorah led the pack with 21, while Denver was second at 71, Waukon third at 77 and MFL MarMac fourth at 82.

The Warriors continue to test themselves this week, competing against over 30 other schools at the Sept. 39 Jesup Cross Country Meet.