After their Sept. 3 home meet was canceled, MFL MarMac cross country runners returned to competition last week with meets hosted by Clayton Ridge on Sept. 8 and North Fayette Valley on Sept. 10.
In Clayton Ridge’s meet at the Guttenberg Golf and Country Club, five Bulldog runners placed within the top 15 to propel the girls team to second place in the team standings. MFL MarMac’s score of 50 trailed only the 22 put up by champion Maquoketa Valley.
The Bulldogs were led by senior McKenna Kozelka in sixth place and senior Brooke Donlon in eighth place with respective times of 20:57.40 and 22:08. Freshman Trinly Trappe, junior Evie Fritz and sophomore Brooklyn Landt filled out spots 12 through 14 based on times of 22:51.50, 22:55.90 and 23:01.20.
Four more MFL MarMac runners finished in the top 20, as sophomore Grace Swatek was 16th in 23:08.20, sophomore Emma Grau 17th in 23:56, freshman Mackenzie Birdnow 18th in 24:01.50 and junior Taryn Moser 19th in 24:19.
Freshman Kinley Trappe and sophomore Aaliyah Corcoran turned in respective times of 24:34.70 and 24:40.40, earning them 23rd and 24th place. Senior Skylar Fisk crossed in 24:59.50, which was good for 28th, while fellow senior Samantha Ruff was 30th with a time of 25:46.50.
Other results included senior Brynlee Fritz 39th in 27:25.20, senior Emma Driscoll 43rd in 28:47.40, senior Kaylee Hoth 51st in 29:46.20, sophomore Charlotte Koether 52nd in 30:05, freshman Brenna Schlein 67th in 34:25.40 and freshman Maeve Koether 69th in 36:05.50.
Bulldog sophomore Trace Moser had a stellar third-place finish in the boys race, his time of 19:15.20 just two-tenths of a second behind runner-up Cade Zittergruen from Central.
A quartet of Bulldogs—Jude Onken, Bryce Jones, Tristan Bacon and Cooper Kuehl—landed in the top 20. Onken was 16th with a time of 20:50.40, followed by Jones in 17th at 20:53.40 and Bacon 18th at 20:59.70. Kuehl posted a 21:14.50 and crossed the line 20th.
Seniors Gavin Kishman and Adian Reynolds placed a respective 31st and 32nd for MFL MarMac. Kishman did it in a time of 22:40 and Reynolds in 22:57.70. Noah Breuer claimed 45th after completing the course in 26:49.
The Bulldogs combined for fourth place as a team with 66 points. Beckman Catholic won the meet with a score of 45, just ahead of Clayton Ridge’s 49. Central was third with 52 points.
MFL MarMac continued its strong running at the Bob Scott Invitational, where the girls boasted another pair of top-15 finishers in Kozelka (eighth in 21:43) and junior Charlotte Meyer (12th in 21:58).
Donlon’s time of 22:46 pushed her to 24th, just ahead of teammate Trinly Trappe in 25th and Evie Fritz in 27th. Trappe ran the course in 22:49, while Fritz recorded a 22:59.
Landt came in 40th on a time of 23:50, followed by Moser in 46th and Birdnow 47th with respective marks of 24:37 and 24:38. Kinley Trappe hit 24:39, which was good for 49th, and Fisk was 51st with a 24:46.
Other results included Grau 67th and Ruff 68th, both in 25:58, then Brynlee Fritz 91st in 27:52, Hoth 93rd in 27:53, Charlotte Koether 122nd in 30:43, Driscoll 124th in 30:50, Maeve Koether 143rd in 34:35 and Schlein 146th in 36:37.
MFL MarMac’s team score of 93 was only outpaced by Jesup (60) and Waukon (86). Sumner-Fredericksburg placed fourth with 126 points.
In the boys race, Moser continued to lead the Bulldogs, a time of 19:43 ranking him 21st. Onken was 35th, after crossing the finish line in 21:01. Bacon and Kuehl placed a respective 50th and 51st on times of 21:43 and 21:45, while Jones took 54th on a 22:02.
Kishman and Reynolds hit 23:01 and 23:02 for 74th and 76th place, then Breuer was 118th with a time of 26:58 and junior Payton Schultz 123rd at 28:18.
Just one race is on the docket this week: Thursday, Sept. 15, at Central.
