Paige Horner leads 1-3-4 finish for Johnston girls

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Sophomore Paige Horner led the Johnston girls cross country team to a dominating performance Saturday at the Iowa State Cross Country Championships at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. 

Horner ran 18 minutes, 4.3 seconds for a 15-second victory and Johnston won its second straight 4A title as its first three runners placed in the top five. 

On the boys side, junior Tim Sindt of Ankeny clocked 15:23.7 to edge out Matthew Carmody of Dowling Catholic (15:24.6) for the individual title. 

In 3A, sophomore Adrianna Katcher of Center Point-Urbana ran 18:23.5 to win the girls title, while senior Myles Bach of Center Point-Urbana won the boys race in 15:49.1.

The 2A girls race produced the fastest time of the day as sophomore Marie Hostetler of Mid-Prairie clocked 17:51.2 to win. Older sister Anna was right behind her in 18:06. Mid-Prairie won is first state title with 65 points.

For the boys, senior Gable Sieperda of George-Little Rock guided his squad to a 2A team crown, clocking  15:18.6 to take first place. 

In 1A action, Riley Bauer of North Union won the boys title (16:14.2), with sophomore Emily Staal of Central City running 18:36.5 for the win.

Team Champions

4A Boys - Pleasant Valley 57 points

4A Girls - Johnston 74 points

3A Boys - Gilbert 72 points

3A Girls -  Dubuque Wahlert 72 points 

2A Boys - George-Little Rock 79 points

2A Girls - Mid-Prairie 65 points

1A Boys - Nodaway Valley 56 points

1A Girls - Hudson 104 points