×

Veterans guide Lynx boys to 3rd against 4A field

Bultena and Piaszynski both in top 10 at Marshalltown Early Bird; Piper paces WCHS?girls

Webster City’s John Piaszynski (center) and Tyler Bultena (right) compete at Marshalltown on Thursday. Marshalltown T-R photo/Thorn Compton

MARSHALLTOWN — Veterans of the cross country circuit, Tyler Bultena and John Piaszynski know what they can and can’t do during a race.

Can: Run at a balanced pace and come on at the end.

Can’t: Test the leaders early on and expect to be in contention over the final mile.

Webster City’s front runners stuck to the script and gradually moved forward at yesterday’s Marshalltown Early Bird. By the time they reached the finish line, both had vaulted into the top 10 against a field loaded with Class 4A teams at the Marshalltown Community College Course.

Bultena’s long stride down the stretch pushed him into fourth place with a 5K time of 17 minutes, 49 seconds. Piaszynski was just five seconds behind; his clocking of 17:54 was good enough for sixth.

Webster City’s Kaelyn Butz (left) and Haley Flaws head down the course together yesterday in Marshalltown. Marshalltown T-R photo/Thorn Compton

“They just did an amazing job of knowing their pace and bringing it home in the best possible way,” WCHS head coach Joe Lambert said. “It matters a lot more what you do right before you cross the finish line than it does the first 200 meters.”

The duo helped to propel the Lynx into third place in the team standings with 93 points. They trailed only meet champion Urbandale (39) and Southeast Polk (63), and finished in front of Waterloo West (105), Ottumwa (165) and Marshalltown (176).

“As a team we competed very well,” Lambert said.

Max Harfst (18:43) and Tucker Judkins (19:15) paced one another for much of the trek and wound up in 19th and 30th place, respectively. Freshman Sam Vanderpool (19:35) provided the fifth score by slotting into the 34th position.

Lambert opted to insert 10 runners into the unlimited varsity race. The Nos. 6-9 runners were separated by just 41 seconds.

Marshalltown T-R photo/Thorn Compton

“There wasn’t much of a gap between our sixth runner and our ninth runner,” Lambert said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how the year winds up. It could look a lot different by the time the conference meet rolls around.”

The WCHS girls’ squad tallied 177 points and placed seventh in the field of eight. Urbandale (23), Ottumwa (57) and Des Moines Roosevelt (62) held down the top three spots.

Emma Piper was the top performer for the Lynx, as she turned in a time of 24:42 to place 31st. Kaelyn Butz (25:30), a rookie, was next in 38th. Haley Flaws (26:19, 44th), Kaitlyn Wagner (26:57, 47th) and Elycia Obrecht (27:37, 50th) also factored into the scoring.

WCHS will now get set to host the Lynx Invite. The Links will again host the meet on Tuesday. Racing will get underway at 5 p.m.

Marshalltown Early Bird

Marshalltown T-R photo/Thorn Compton

Thursday at MCC Course

GIRLS

Team Standings

1. Urbandale 23; 2. Ottumwa 57; 3. Des Moines Roosevelt 62; 4. Waterloo East/West 104; 5. Marshalltown 123; 6. Belle Plaine 173; 7. Webster City 177; 8. Sigourney 217.

Webster City Results

31. Emma Piper 24:42; 38. Kaelyn Butz 25:30; 44. Haley Flaws 26:19; 47. Kaitlyn Wagner 26:57; 50. Elycia Obrecht 27:37; 55. Haley Johnson 32:28; 56. Sharina Desroches 34:10.

BOYS

Team Standings

1. Urbandale 39; 2. Southeast Polk 63; 3. Webster City 93; 4. Waterloo West 105; 5. Ottumwa 165; 6. Marshalltown 176; 7. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 182; 8. Belle Plaine 183; 9. Sigourney 192.

Webster City Results

4. Tyler Bultena 17:49; 6. John Piaszynski 17:54; 19. Max Harfst 18:43; 30. Tucker Judkins 19:15; 34. Sam Vanderpool 19:35; 36. Jacob Willson 19:44; 39. Isaac Bernard 20:01; (non-scoring) Jackson Moberly 20:07; Matt Johnson 20:16; Brock Blake 22:08.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $3.46/week.

Subscribe Today