Muddy track limits Central runners
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
It was a week of adversity for Central’s cross country team, starting with the cancellation of the Clayton Ridge meet on Tuesday and ending with a muddy track on Thursday at the Fayette Valley meet, where the weather conditions led to the team underperforming.
As the varsity girls race got underway, it was apparent that the wet, muddy conditions were having an effect on their ability to compete. Hannah Asche, who ran a 21:53, was the only Central runner to finish in the top 10. The track conditions also impacted the ultra-consistent, Delaney Scherf, who has finished in the top 10 every race this season, but came in 15th, running a 22:45. The other seven runners all finished outside the top 40, so only Scherf and Asche were medalists. One runner however, Mylee Wingert, despite the harsh weather, managed to run a personal course record at 28:20 for 89th place.
Where the weather impacted Central was in the team score, where they finished eighth out of 10 teams with a total score of 164. The first-place team, South Winneshiek, scored 66.
The varsity boys were down to only one runner, Parker Vaughn, who finished in 68th place out of 111 runners with a time of 23:47. Central did not have enough runners to compete for a team score.
Talking about the meet, assistant coach Martha Bauder said, “It was good to get the meet in after a cancellation on Tuesday, but the wet, muddy course didn’t allow for any season bests for our runners…It was good to get a meet in, as there’s always some experience to be gained by competing no matter the conditions.”
The team will compete next at the only home meet of the season, on Sept. 17, at the Elkader Golf Course.