Two Atlantic Cross Country runners qualified and competed at the State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge Saturday afternoon. The weather was hanging in the low 30’s and the wind chill was even colder. For the girls side Pella’s Marissa Ferebee won the individual title with a time of 18:38, closely beating out Lindsey Sonderman from Harlan. In third from Sioux Center was Audrina Jones, fourth Avery Rump with Fort Madison, and fifth place was awarded to Iris Dahl from Washington.

Atlantic senior Claire Pellett improved her placing from last year at 15th, to 12th Saturday afternoon. Pellett ran a quick 19:16 pace and commented on how the weather conditions helped her compete.

After the race was over for Pellett she had time to reflect on what being a part of Atlantic’s Cross Country Program had done for her and the many reasons to be grateful.

The final girls team standings had Pella winning first with 80 points, Mount Vernon-Lisbon at second, Gilbert third, Sioux Center at fourth, and Glenwood at fifth.

Girls Team Standings:

1. Pella (80)
2. Mount Vernon-Lisbon (129)
3. Gilbert (142)
4. Sioux Center (155)
5. Glenwood (172)

The boys side of the State Meet also had impressive individual performances. Canaan Dunham from Pella won first place with a quick time of 15:18. In second place following closely behind was Ethan Eichorn from Lewis Central. Third place was Nathan Vander Waal from Pella, fourth was Micah Rees, and fifth place from Glenwood was Andrew Smith.

The top boy’s team was Gilbert was a score of 57 points and all runners finishing at 18th or better. In second was Pella, third Lewis Central, fourth Carlisle, and fifth Washington.

Boys Team Standings:

1. Gilbert (57)
2. Pella (63)
3. Lewis Central (100)
4. Carlisle (144)
5. Washington (186)

Atlantic’s lone male runner was senior Bennett Whetstone finishing at 103rd and with a time of 17:37. The goal of the meet for Whetstone was to run hard, but also take in the whole experience of what it’s like to run at State. He was surprised at what he found.

Whetstone’s cross country career ended when he crossed the finish line. He will miss the people he ran with it and knows the goodbye will be hard.

Atlantic Head Cross Country Coach Dan Vargason is continually impressed by the runners in his program and how they continue to improve Atlantic Cross Country as a whole.

Even with the strong performances and positive results from Trojan Cross Country every year. Coach Vargason did discuss that they need more kids to come out for next year.

Atlantic Cross Country will hold their end of the year banquet Sunday October 29th at Atlantic High School.

CORALVILLE, Iowa — University of Iowa volleyball fell to Rutgers, 3-2, Friday evening inside Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

Caitlan Buettner led the way for the Hawkeyes with 13 kills. Anna Davis followed closely behind, posting 12 kills and hitting at a percentage of .375. Kaia Mateo led the team in assists with 26, and Sydney Dennis registered a team high on the night with 24 digs.

Set 1 (Rutgers, 25-21): Rutgers came out with motivation, securing the first three points. Davis and Buettner quickly put up a pair of kills for the Hawkeyes. The Scarlet Knights went on an offensive run, but freshman Rosa Vesty responded by putting down a kill. Iowa trailed behind but did not back down, as Bailey Ortega assisted Delaney McSweeney for a kill out of the middle. A couple of Rutgers errors lessened the spread to one. Vesty put down another kill before Rutgers went on another offensive run. The Hawkeyes then went on a 4-0 run. Toward the end of the set, McSweeney registered back-to-back kills, helping the Hawkeyes close the gap. At match point, Rutgers posted a kill and won the set.

Set 2 (IOWA, 25-21): The Hawkeyes posted the first point thanks to a Rutgers error. The two teams battled back-and-forth from the get-go, tying at one, two, and then again at four after Ortega went back to serve an ace. The Scarlet Knights went on an offensive run early. The set remained close throughout, and Michelle Urquhart brought it to a tie again at 13 after serving an ace. Both teams fought to keep the lead, but the set came to a tie again at 14, 16, and 17. Then, the Hawkeyes jumped ahead by three thanks to a pair of kills by McSweeney and an ace by Buettner. Iowa held the lead toward the end of the set, but a 3-0 run by Rutgers closed the gap and brought the score within one. The teams were neck-and-neck at the end, 24-24, until Iowa secured the last two points and the set.

Set 3 (IOWA, 25-21): Vesty and Nataly Moravec shut down a Rutgers kill attempt to post the first point of the set. The Hawkeyes continued the momentum with a Vesty kill and an ace by Moravec. The Scarlet Knights tried to catch the Hawkeyes early, but the Hawkeyes kept the lead. McSweeney and Moravec teamed up at the net to register a block. Moravec recorded a pair of kills to increase the Hawkeye lead to three. Rutgers met Iowa at 10, and then tied it up again at 11. The Scarlet Knights then pushed ahead, but Iowa fought to keep it close. Iowa kept the spread within two for six possessions. Coming out of a timeout, Ortega put one up for Vesty to put down. Iowa continued to climb back to Rutgers and tied it at 20. A 5-0 Hawkeye run brought Iowa ahead, 23-20. Following a pair of kills, the Hawkeyes clinched the third set.

Set 4 (Rutgers, 25-21): Rutgers came out swinging, recording four kills. Vesty stopped their run by posting a solo block. Iowa continued the momentum and went on an offensive run, quickly catching the Scarlet Knights at four. Rutgers took a small lead, but McSweeney responded by putting down a kill from the middle. The set remained close, tying consecutively at points seven through nine. McSweeney and Moravec paired up at the net to post a block. Rutgers held the lead, but a Rutgers error and an ace by Moravec lessened the gap. McSweeney and Buettner stood strong at the net to shut down a Rutgers kill attempt. Iowa tried to catch the Scarlet Knights but fell short and Rutgers landed on top.

Set 5 (Rutgers, 15-9): Rutgers took the first point, but Iowa quickly met them at one. Ortega assisted Moravec for a kill early in the set. Rutgers went on an offensive run, until a solo block by Davis put the ball back in the Hawkeye’s hands. Iowa held Rutgers at six points for five possessions until tying it up. Moravec served an ace to give Iowa the lead. The Scarlet Knights jumped ahead until Buettner put down a kill. Although Rutgers kept the lead, Davis continued to fight for Iowa and posted a kill. The Scarlet Knights continued pushing ahead and won the last two points, securing the set and the match.

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes return to Xtream Arena to play on Saturday, Oct. 28 against Maryland. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on B1G Network.

Friday night had the playoff football feeling up in the air. As the temperature dropped down into the 30s the play by both teams continued to get better. This football game went back and forth from the start and it started on the first possession of the game for each team as the defense came up with huge stops on 4th down to force the turnover on downs. West Bend Mallard stuffed a QB sneak attempt on 4th and goal from the 1 yard line and that sparked the Wolverine offense to get going as Logan Montag led the Wolverines on a 79 yard goal line to goal line drive for a touchdown for the first points of the night. The Wolverines rushing trio of Logan Montag, Cole Fehr, and Leyden Grimm had their way vs the Cougars defense as the Wolverines would rush for nearly 400 yards of offense on the night. In 4 four possessions in the 2d quarter the Wolverines would score on all four to put up 28 points in the 2d quarter alone. Cam’s offense would strike for two huge plays in back to back possessions as Chase Spieker would hit his intended receiver Jack Follmann for a touchdown from 52 yards out and 48 yards out to make it a 28-14 game going into the half. Spieker would finish with over 200 yards in the air with two touchdown passes.

The third quarter would look similar to the first as both offenses struggled to get going as the defenses made some big plays on crucial downs to get off the field as both teams would score once to give West Bend Mallard a 12 point lead going into the final quarter and that is right when the drama and excitement really kicked in. After forcing a punt the Cougars offense got the football with about eight and a half minutes to go in the game. Spieker led the cougars on a touchdown drive but failed the 2pt attempt and the Cougars cut the lead to six. The defense on the biggest play of the night stuffed the Wolverines for a loss of yards and forced a punt. The Cougars had three minutes to go for a chance to stay undefeated and advance to next week. Spieker and the Cougars would put together their best drive of the night running the football. And with the time winding down under the 30 second mark Spieker took the snap and scrambled to the right side where he was able to dive into the endzone for a touchdown to tie the game up with the all-important 2pt attempt deciding between the game or overtime. Spieker would dive into the endzone and with under 30 seconds to play the Cougars had their first lead of the night and would survive the Wolverine hailmary attempt and come out victorious 36-34 to improve to 11-0.

Cougars head football coach Barry Bower said after the game in all his years coaching his teams have never played a team like the Wolverines.

The Cougars went through adversity throughout the night and Coach Bower credited his team’s toughness and mentality to help them pull off the win.

The Cougars will advance to the next round of 8 Player Playoffs where they will take on the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears next Thursday night.