ELDORA — An early wake-up call on Saturday was well worth it for the Webster City boys’ cross country team.

Hill after hill … after hill is what awaited the Lynx at Pine Lake, but they tackled them with determination and won the team title at the South Hardin Invite.

WCHS placed all five of its scorers in the top 11 and tallied 30 points. East Marshall was second with 44, and South Hardin was a distant third with 77.

“It’s great for the boys and I think they’re really coming along with their confidence,” WCHS head coach Derek Turner said after he enjoyed a meet crown for the first time as a coach. “Having five in the top 11 is outstanding for us and our spread from one to five right now is great. It’s just over a minute right now and it was 21⁄2 minutes at the beginning of the season, so we’ve come a long way in that regard.”

Usually the team’s pace setter, Jose Ramirez again took the early team lead and then never gave it up. He showed his teammates the way throughout the 5K and crossed the finish line with a time of 18:21.77 to place third.

“It was one of those days where Jose had the gas to get it done,” Turner said.

Jacob Willson, who led WCHS in every meet prior to Saturday, wasn’t far behind in fifth at the 18:36.69 mark. Matt Perin (18:53.95) was seventh, Cole Reiling (19:00.23) eighth, and Codey Berg (19:26.23) 11th.

West Marshall’s Nicolas Thompson claimed the gold medal in 17:59.15.

The trio of Emma Peck, Kaelyn Butz and Jacie Crutcher continued to carry the weight for the WCHS girls’ team. All three placed inside the top 15, as the Lynx accrued 84 points to hold down the fourth-place spot.

Emma Peck raced inside the top 10 throughout and sprinted home in ninth with a clocking of 23:17.68.

“It’s a really hard course with all hills, so a lot of times were about a minute slower than our averages,” Turner said. “So Emma’s time on that course was excellent.”

Kaelyn Butz (23:51.73) was next across for WCHS in 11th, and Crutcher (24:17.85) was two spots back in 13th.

Carly Appel (27:36.64, 33rd) and Brynna Croy (30:01.62, 42nd) rounded out the scoring.

Iowa Falls-Alden/AGWSR’s Ellie Meyer was the wire-to-wire girls’ winner in 19:38.20.

South Hardin Invite

Saturday at Pine Lake

Eldora

BOYS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Webster City 30; 2. East Marshall 44; 3. South Hardin 77; 4. Iowa Falls-Alden/AGWSR 105; 5. West Marshall 124; 6. GMG 190; 7. Baxter 199.

Individual Winner — Nicolas Thompson, West Marshall, 17:59.15.

Webster City Results

3. Jose Ramirez 18:21.77; 5. Jacob Willson 18:36.69; 7. Matt Perin 18:53.95; 8. Cole Reiling 19:00.23; 11. Codey Berg 19:26.23; 19. Reece Sadler 20:05.77; 27. Wyatt Bingham 20:57.31.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Iowa Falls-Alden/AGWSR 38; 2. West Marshall 52; 3. East Marshall 71; 4. Webster City 84; 5. South Hardin 104.

Individual Winner — Ellie Meyer, IF-A/AGWSR 19:38.20.

Webster City Results

9. Emma Peck 23:17.68; 11. Kaelyn Butz 23:51.73; 13. Jacie Crutcher 24:17.85; 33. Carly Appel 27:36.64; 42. Brynna Croy 30:01.62.