Atlantic Boy’s 4th, Girl’s 6th at Ballard Cross Country Meet

(Huxley) The Atlantic boys finished fourth out of 12 teams at the 41^st annual Mike Carr – Ballard Invitational Cross Country Meet Class B Division on Monday.

The Trojans led by Drew Engler and Zane Berg finished with 124-points. Engler finished 11^th, and Berg crossed the finish line in 16^th place.  Alex Sonntag legged out a 31^st place finish, Tyrell Williams, 32^nd, Bennett Whetstone, 34^th, Isaac Altman, 40^th, and Nathan Pobanz, 45^th.

“I felt good about our boy’s performance,” said Atlantic Head Coach Dan Vargason. “We ran against some of the best teams in the state. Drew finished in the top 15, Zane finished just out of it in 16^th, and I thought Alex Sonntag and Tyrell Williams did a great job. Bennett Whetstone and Isaac Altman closed the gap as well, followed by Nathan Pobanz. I thought our top seven battled and gave us a good chance to finish high in our division.

North Polk won the Class B title with 45-points, Solon, 2^nd, 53, Des Moines, Christian, 3^rd, 77, Atlantic, 4^th, 124, Nevada, 5^th, 144, Ballard, 6^th, 192, IFA-AGWSR, 7^th, 205, Eagle Grove, 8^th, 217, Roland Story, 9^th, 219, Madrid, 10^th, 225, Nodaway Valley, 11^th, 272, and Woodward-Granger, 12^th, 321.

The Atlantic girl’s finished sixth out of 11 teams in the Class B Division with 128 points. Ava Rush led the way with a second-place finish. Claire Pellett finished 23^rd, Belle Berg, 26^th, Mariah Huffman, 34^th, Hailey Huffman, 43^rd, Faith Altman, 44, and Aspen Niklasen, 49^th.

“Ava’s second-place finish is impressive with a loaded field of close to 11 individually ranked runners across the state,” said Vargason. “For her to finish in the top two is amazing and says a lot about what she’s done with her training and commitment to running and I’m proud of her and all of the other runners as well.

“I thought Claire Pellett and Belle Berg ran strong races; everyone we ran against was solid,” said Vargason. “Mariah Huffman, Hailey Huffman, and Faith Altman ran well, and Aspen Niklasen rounded out our top seven. We talked before the race, pressure can make diamonds or burst pipes, and I feel we are heading in the right direction, and we didn’t burst any pipes today.

North Polk won the Class B title with 45-points, Solon, 2^nd, 53, Des Moines, Christian, 3^rd, 77, Atlantic, 4^th, 124, Nevada, 5^th, 144, Ballard, 6^th, 192, IFA-AGWSR, 7^th, 205, Eagle Grove, 8^th, 217, Roland Story, 9^th, 219, Madrid, 10^th, 225, Nodaway Valley, 11^th, 272, and Woodward-Granger, 12^th, 321.