WEBSTER CITY – Logging that extra half-mile plus that girls now put in on the cross country course took a toll on plenty of runners on a hot and humid Tuesday evening at the Webster City Links.

Those that pushed through the mental block persevered.

Go ahead and add Webster City sophomore Haley Johnson to the list of successes.

Undeterred by the tough conditions, the field and, yes, the added distance, Johnson maintained a steady rhythm around the bends and up the small inclines to place 14th in a field of 78 runners at the Lynx Invitational. That was good enough to easily lead the team and give her a bit of satisfaction of conquering the 5-kilometer distance.

“I think it’s a lot harder mentally than it is physically because we do the work and the training,” Johnson said after wrapping up her run in 23 minutes, 22.90 seconds. “That last .5 or .6-mile is all in your head. You just have to stay strong and finish.”

The jump from a 4K to a 5K really didn’t play a factor in Webster City’s day, but it’s inability to stay packed together hurt its chances of contending for one of the top spots on the team leaderboard.

WCHS had a gap of 2 minutes, 12 seconds between Johnson and No. 5 runner Courtney Biere. The top six pretty much paired up – Johnson and Allie Flaws at the front for the team, Ashley Flaws and Larae Ebrecht in the middle, and Biere and Haley Flaws a little farther back.

Six working together would have paid dividends. The splintering led to a sixth-place team finish with 144 points in the field of 11.

“We’re the type of team where we’ve got to stay pretty tight together and narrow the gaps,” WCHS head coach Tony Bussan said. “Those gaps widened out (on Tuesday).”

Johnson and Allie Flaws stayed in stride throughout the first mile, but a side stitch left Flaws in noticeable pain and she slipped back. Johnson stayed with the same pace and it got her into the top 15.

“It went better than I thought it would,” Johnson said. “It was hot and it was humid, but it was a good challenge.”

Bussan was pleased with his leader’s effort.

“Haley Johnson had probably one of her better races,” he said. “She’s one of those athletes hat I think the move to a 5K was to her benefit because she does have a strength.”

Still clutching her side, Allie Flaws moseyed home in 24:51.06 to place 25th. Twin sister Ashley was next across in 24:51.06, good enough for 32nd, and Larae Ebrecht (25:05.36) wasn’t far behind in 36th. Biere’s 44th place finish (25:34.66) rounded out the scoring.

Haley Flaws (25:40.64) added a 46th-place result, while Cassidy Bultena (26:46.04) placed 58th.

No. 12-ranked (Class 3A) Humboldt overwhelmed its adversaries by taking individual silver and bronze and placing all five of its scorers in the top 17 en route to 43 points. The Wildcats’ No. 6 Avery Terwilliger didn’t even factor into the scoring, but her 22nd-place effort would have led three teams, been second on two others and third on an additional three squads.

“Humboldt was just completely dominant,” Bussan said.

Southeast Valley (77), Algona (100), No. 5-ranked (1A) Fort Dodge St. Edmond (104) and Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (142) rounded out the top five.

Boone junior Dianna Slight led wire-to-wire and captured gold in 21:20.47. Humboldt’s Gabby Kent (21:29.26) and Isabella Luu (21:33.59) narrowed the gap over the final half-mile, but never threatened as they all raced down the final straightaway.