Photo Credit to Shashank Inampudi

A few members of the Pleasant Valley girls varsity team pose with frontline after winning the district meet.

Last Thursday, the boys and girls cross country teams competed in the state qualifying meet at crow creek park. After the spartan challenge was cancelled, the Bettendorf park board worked hard to get the course race ready. It was a perfect day for a race, with temperatures in the low sixties and sunny skies.

The girl’s team raced first. Senior Mallory Lafever led the team with a time of 19:49 (6:24 mile pace) and finished second. Senior Maddie Minard finished 6th with a time of 20:15. Junior Lauren Buechel ran a 20:25 and got 8th place. Senior Abby Riley and Senior Chloe Grieg finished with times of 20:27 and 20:38, respectively. The girls won the meet with a score of 43, and qualified for the state meet. Buechel said, “By really pushing our top pack into the top ten, we had a successful race.”

The boys also had an amazing race. Junior Max Murphy and senior Gavin Smith had a photo finish with an identical time of 16:31 (5:20 mile pace), and picked up 4th and 5th place. Kent Nichols and Parker Huhn were able to pick up 6th and 7th place with times of 16:42 and 16:43. Ian Kaffenberger rounded out the scoring 5 with a time of 16:52 and 12th place. With this strong showing, The boys were able to edge out Dubuque Hempstead by a point and win their 8th consecutive district meet.

Both teams have to now shift their focus to the state meet. “I was really happy with how our team did, and it motivates us going into state next Saturday,” said Murphy. The boys have had lots of success at state, and are looking to win their fifth total and second consecutive state title. This year, they came in to districts ranked third, and were able to beat 2nd ranked Dubuque Hempstead, putting them in perfect position for state.

The girls are in a slightly different position. They are going for their second overall state title, and are currently ranked fifth. Buechel said, “We’re coming in as the underdogs, so we’re excited to surprise everyone.” Good luck to everyone competing in the state meet on Oct. 27.