Emma Peck runs for Webster City on Monday at the Lynx Invitational. Peck took 31st in the girls race. (DFJ photo by David Borer)

WEBSTER CITY — Cross country fans in the area were treated to a special race here Monday evening, as the Lynx Invitational returned to the Webster City Links Golf Course.

No. 2 (Class 3A) Ballard, a state contender year after year, placed all five runners inside the Top-10 to claim the girls title with 33 points.

Eighth-ranked (3A) North Polk was second followed by No. 4 (1A) St. Edmond. Algona finished fifth, Manson Northwest Webster sixth, Humboldt seventh and Eagle Grove eighth.

Paityn Noe of Ballard, one of the top distance runners in the state, won the race in 17:23.6. That shattered the previous record set by Humboldt standout and current University of Iowa Hawkeye Bryce Gidel in 2017.

The host Lynx were led by Emma Peck, as she clocked a time of 24:17 for 31st. Karina Murray (46th), Carly Appel (65th) and Aryana Toftee (75th) also were in action.

Eagle Grove’s Madie Axtell placed 40th in 25:01 with Savanah Gilbert (45th), Payton Terwilliger (58th), Lesley Mendez (64th) and Jocelynn Gonzalez (66th) completing the lineup.

For South Hamilton, Paige Doolittle crossed in 43rd with a time of 25:40.60. Hawk teammates McKenna Miller (27:50.36) and Olivia Beaune (27:51.07) were right next to each other in 56th and 57th, respectively.

Moriah Knapp of Algona claimed silver in 19:53, while Manson Northwest Webster’s Alyssa Richman was fourth (20:27). Freshman Anna Lursen finished seventh in 21:27 to lead the Gaels.

Noe is the defending 3A state champion and also placed third at the Fort Dodge Invitational last fall, an event that features many of the top 4A runners in the state.

Along with Lursen’s strong run, Michaela Leiting was 11th for St. Edmond in 21:39 and Hannah Landwehr placed 13th in 21:53.

Preslie Oswald was 14th for the Cougars in 21:58 with Raygin Anderson finishing 35th, Amber Aljets 41st and Abbi Shannon 52nd. Humboldt’s Claire Weydert crossed home in 22:27 for 19th followed by teammates Meg Zweibohmer (26th), Alana Malo (34th), Joslyn Orr (36th) and Elsie Stattelman (44th).

Fort Dodge ran for the first time this season, as Darylinn Cook went 27:24 for 54th overall and Carsyn Zehr placed right behind her in 55th.

For Algona, Malyn Davis placed 25th in 23:17, Allison Casey was 32nd, Reese Taylor 33rd and Loralei Brady 42nd.