The men's cross country team finished 5th at the Knoxville Invitational.  Austin Shoen would lead the Bombers finishing 21st in a time of 18:41.7.  Senior Gage Long finished 25th with Jack Chism coming in 29th.  Seth Pencook (39th), Chase Brekke (45th), Wyatt Borg (48th), and Trent Payne (50th) would finish up the scoring for the Bombers.

Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:

"The boys ran their best team race of the year also finishing in 5th place in a really good field of 12 teams. Sophomore Austin Shoen was the leader on the team for the 2nd meet in a row finishing 21st in a time of 18:41. Seniors Gage Long and Jack Chism added their typical steady races to finish close at hand in 25th and 29th places with times of 18:50 and 19:00. Sophomore Seth Pencook surged forward the entire race and finished in 39th place with a time of 19:27. Junior Chase Brekke remained consistent throughout the race finishing in a time of 19:35 which was good enough for 45th place. Senior Wyatt Borg and Sophomore Trent Payne rounded out varsity placing 48th and 50th overall with times of 19:46 and 19:58. 

There are several signs that show we ran our best team race of the year and also showed more growth. The first sign is that this is the first time all season that we had all runners under the 20 minute barrier, even though we ran on what could be our hilliest course of the year. In doing so, we shrank the gap between our scores to under 1 minute - also a first for the season. Another sign would be in comparing our boys against a Marshalltown team that beat us by 16 points at Heartland Classic and we beat them by 18 points tonight (a 34 point switch). We are also cutting the gap on a solid team in Winterset - closing the gap by 16 points tonight. 3 out of the 4 teams that beat us tonight are ranked in the top 15 in class 4A - we are getting better! 

I think we are starting to see our workouts paying off and taking steps forward as a team. I saw a lot more confidence in the guys tonight. They went out strong and maintained their competitiveness throughout the entire race. I really enjoy working with these guys. They sometimes get overshadowed by the girls team, but I am extremely proud of how they are developing and the work ethic that they have. The best part is I think we still have more 'in our tanks' to give. The guys are asking about strategy and how to get better. I expect continued growth over the next two weeks heading into conference and regional meets.

 I am so pleased with the results tonight. It was fun watching the girls go out and run dominantly against good competition. It was equally as fun for me seeing the guys making progress and having fun in the process. I really could not ask for more at this point in the season as I think both teams are on the right track."

The Bombers are back in action on Thursday, October 1 when they compete at the Perry Invitational.  The meet will feature the MS/JV/V and will start at 4:15 PM.

KNOXVILLE INVITATIONAL TEAM SCORES

1. Norwalk, 32

2. Ankeny Centennial, 35

3. Urbandale, 120

4. Winterset, 125

5. Ballard, 159

6. Oskaloosa, 166

7. Marshalltown, 177

8. Pella Christian, 211

9. Knoxville, 244

10. Chariton, 299

11. Indianola, 324

12. PCM, 366

KNOXVILLE INVITATIONAL INDIVIDUAL TIMES

21 Austin Shoen, 18:41.7

25 Gage Long, 18:50.15

29 Jack Chism, 19:00.65

39 Seth Pencook, 19:27.91

45 Chase Brekke, 19:35.76

48 Wyatt Borg, 19:46.33

50 Trent Payne, 19:58.24

Photo Credit: Ellie Shepherd