Chargers' Harriers Have a Good Day at Pella

The ACGC cross country teams had a successful day on Saturday as the boys' harriers took the top spot at Central College in Pella and the girls' finished fourth among nine teams. The Chargers competed in the small school category.

With the top five runners figuring in the scoring, Trevin Suhr led the Charger place winners when he ran the 5k course in 16:43.6 and finished second among the one hundred and two runners participating in the boys' race.

Justin Reinhart finished second among the ACGC runners and fifth overall with a time of 18:29.5. The next three runners figuring in the Chargers' team scoring were within ten seconds of one another. That pack included Bo Arrasmith (7th;18:38.2), Lance Bunde (9th;18:48.2), and Andrew Mahaffey (11th;18:51.1).

Also running for the Chargers were Noah Kading (13th;18:52.1), who finished just one second behind Mahaffey, and Kaden Thompson (16th; 19:14.1).

The boys' team continues to be ranked second in the state in class 1A behind WCAC rival Earlham. Charger boys among the top thirty ranked runners include Suhr in the eleventh spot, Reinhart at number twenty, and Thompson in the twenty seventh position.

"The boys were able to take fourth place among all teams in all classes, losing only to class 3A teams North Polk, Pella, and Glenwood," Charger coach Colin Shawgo said after the meet. "They were able to beat three ranked teams in head to head competition including Des Moines Christian, Mid Prairie, and Columbus Community.

"Our boys' performances were extremely impressive when you consider that they were all forty first or higher among the two hundred and forty five runners from all classes. Our goal this year as a team is to win a state championship, and today was a great stepping stone to proving that we are deserving of being the front runners in that sort of conversation."

A young ACGC girls' team claimed fourth place among the nine small school girls' teams with a total of one hundred and twenty eight points. Sophomore Hayden Coffman was the top ACGC runner as she finished tenth among the seventy nine participants in 22:19.7.

Three freshmen followed Coffman to the finish line including Adalyn Benson (16th;23:16.0), Ava Campbell (27th;24:03.6), and Paige Van Meter (37th;24:59.8). Katelyn Schafer (38th;25:00.6) also figured in the team scoring and Mia Ocheltree was the sixth Charger runner (51st;27:43.2).

As a team, the ACGC girls are ranked sixteenth in 1A, with Campbell currently ranked eighteenth among individuals.

Shawgo was also pleased with the girls' performance. "The girls ran well, putting in a sold performance. They were able to finish eighth overall out of fifteen teams and fourth in the small school division.

"This is even more impressive if you take into account how inexperienced this girls' team is. With only one returning runner for last year's fifth place team at the state meet, we held up really well in the first taste of real competition. That runner, Hayden Coffman, turned in a stellar performance getting seventeenth among all classes and improving her time by a minute and three seconds from last year's performance."

Girls Team Scores:

Mid-Prairie 21, Des Moines Christian 83, Collins-Maxwell 121, ACGC 128, Baxter 133, Montezuma 140, Pella Christian 147, Lynnville-Sully 166, Columbus Community 244

Boys' Team Scores: ACGC 34, Mid-Prairie 54, Des Moines Christian 80, Pella Christian 115, Columbus Community 116, Eddyville-Blakesburg 195, Collins-Maxwell 198, Montexuma 211, Baxter 229