ALLEMAN — Quinton Grove isn’t the type of runner who will wear his emotions on his sleeve. But you better believe he was dancing on the inside Monday evening.

For more than a month, the South Hamilton senior and 2018 all-state cross country runner has waited for that breakout race, that one 5K where everything just clicked into place.

And that moment couldn’t have come at a better time.

Feeling like he put a complete race together for the first time this season, Grove turned in a career-best time and finished second in the always competitive field at the Heart of Iowa Conference meet. His time of 16:34 shaved five seconds off his previous best, set a season ago, and left him just five seconds behind the school record time of 16:29, established by AJ Samuelson at the same HOIC meet back in 1995.

“I felt good from the get go,” Grove said. “This just gives me loads of confidence.”

Grove broke away from eventual fifth-place finisher Griffin Ruba (17:11) of Gilbert one mile into the race, but he was never able to track down gold medalist Zach Sporaa (16:18) of North Polk.

“(Sporaa) took off and led the race the whole way,” Grove said. “Whenever I tried to pull closer to him, he’d pull away again.”

Grove had 16 days between meets to get prepared, both mentally and physically. He says the time away from the competitive circuit proved to be a good thing.

“It was good that our bodies could recover, but training wise I just had to come to work every day,” he said.

Grove was the only runner not wearing either a North Polk or Gilbert jersey to land a spot in the top 10. The sixth-ranked (Class 3A) Comets and fourth-ranked (3A) Tigers both tallied 32 points, but North Polk seized the team title away from two-time defending state champion Gilbert on the sixth runner tiebreaker. Nevada was a distant third with 102, followed by Roland-Story (105) and South Hamilton (126) in the fifth slot.

Ty Skartvedt, the Hawks’ usual No. 2 runner, was forced out of the race before its conclusion. Aaron Hegland took over the role and placed 15th in 18:17. Clay Willadsen (19:13) was 33rd, Logan Austin (19:24) took 35th and Seth Pencook (19:44) rounded out the scoring in 41st.

The 12th-ranked North Polk girls also hoisted the team hardware. The Comets, who scored 50 points to nip Gilbert (56), had the individual gold medalist in Liza Schaffer (18:59) and two other top-10 finishers.

The South Hamilton girls were sixth with 164. Paige Doolittle and Abby Ervin were the Hawks’ top performers, as they placed 27th and 28th, respectively, in matching times of 22:58.

Kelbe Krumm and Anna Lammers raced close together for South Hamilton. Krumm (23:39) slotted into 34th and Lammers (23:51) took 36th. Chandler George (24:42) also broke into the top 40; she was 39th.

HOIC Meet

Monday at Alleman

BOYS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. *North Polk 32; 2. Gilbert 32; 3. Nevada 102; 4. Roland-Story 105; 5. South Hamilton 126; 6. PCM 152; 7. Greene County 176; 8. Saydel 224.

*Won Tiebreaker

Individual Top 10

1. Zach Sporaa (NP) 16:18; 2. Quinton Grove (SH) 16:34; 3. Nathan Patel (GIL) 16:41; 4. Max Sporaa (NP) 16:48; 5. Griffin Ruba (GIL) 17:11; 6. Rees Tyler (GIL) 17:11; 7. Will Ford (NP) 17:11; 8. Tad Hatfield (GIL) 17:22; 9. Caleb Henderson (NP) 17:23; 10. Jacob Buchele (GIL) 17:43.

Other South Hamilton Results

15. Aaron Hegland 18:17; 33. Clay Willadsen 19:13; 35. Logan Austin 19:24; 41. Seth Pencook 19:44; 48. Landon Grove 21:05.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. North Polk 50; 2. Gilbert 56; 3. PCM 85; 4. Nevada 91; 5. Roland-Story 92; 6. South Hamilton 164; 7. Greene County 176; 8. Saydel 224.

Individual Top 10

1. Liza Schaffer (NP) 18:59; 2. Kylie Tjernagel (R-S) 19:58; 3. Paige Steenhoek (PCM) 20:13; 4. Sophie Vanderpool (GIL) 20:44; 5. Kaitlyn Kilstofte (R-S) 20:51; 6. Eliana Hornbuckle (NEV) 21:04; 7. Allison Weiler (GIL) 21:21; 8. Hailey Volz (NP) 21:25; 9. Abby McGuire (GIL) 21:30; 10. Josie Dresen (NP) 21:34.

South Hamilton Results

27. Paige Doolittle 22:58; 28. Abby Ervin 22:58; 34. Kelbe Krumm 23:39; 36. Anna Lammers 23:51; 39. Chandler George 24:42; 50. Natalie Johnson 27:13.