Knights cross country runner Brynn Albertsen chases down Vinton-Shellsburg’s Lainey Phippen as they head toward the finish line during the Union Invitational held on the grounds of La Porte City Golf Club on Thursday, Sept. 11. Albertsen took eighth in the race, a mere fraction of a second behind Phippen. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

LA PORTE CITY – The Union Knights cross country team hosted their home invitational on the rolling hills of the La Porte City Golf Club on Thursday, Sept. 11, for the first time in two years after last season’s meet was canceled following the death of Union senior Gavin Rohrbach who lost his life in a car accident only two days earlier. In a change from past meets, the start was moved this year from the traditional sixth fairway hill to the seventh hole’s more flat tee area.

On Thursday, the North Tama girls cross country team claimed third out of eight scoring teams with 88 points behind Vinton-Shellsburg in second (77) and Aplington-Parkersburg in first (44). Union’s girls captured fifth with 100 points just behind Edgewood-Colesburg (94).

For the Redhawks, junior Rachael Murty led her team, finishing in ninth place with a time of 22 minutes, 26 seconds. Sophomore Shawna Cibula finished close behind in 10th with a time of 22:46. The winner of the girls varsity race was 1A No. 9 Abbi Waskow of Dunkerton who finished in 19:34. Additional Redhawk girls varsity finishes included sophomore Isla Breakenridge 15th, senior Gabby Seda 33rd, freshman Lucy Monat 40th, freshman Aniston Cooper 41st, and sophomore Brynley Seda 64th.

Senior Brynn Albertsen led the Union Knights with an eighth place finish and a time of 22:23. Freshman Kayla Toenges was the next Knights runner to cross the finish line, placing 17th with a time of 23:57.

Additional Knights girls varsity finishes included senior Addie Tudor 21st, senior Lorolei Hinebaugh 28th, junior Katie Jackson 45th, and sophomore Skylar Pearson 77th.

Like the girls, Union’s boys team finished fifth this year out of 11 scoring teams with 148 points. Powerhouse Vinton-Shellsburg took gold with 18 points, while Aplington-Parkserburg claimed a distant second with 75 points. Nashua-Plainfield was third with 136 points and Waterloo East fourth with 148 points.

Only senior runner Sawyer Spence placed in the top-10 for Union’s boys, coming in fourth with a time of 17 minutes, 51 seconds. Vinton-Shellsburg took all three of the top places with Class 3A No. 10 senior Alex Torres in first (17:05), senior Jack Blais in second (17:39), and senior Zachary Dickinson in third (17:41).

Additional Knights boys varsity finishes included sophomore Tristan Keister 16th, freshman Phineas Beermann 30th, junior Ian Grimm 44th, freshman Anderson Karr 54th, and sophomore Cayden Stoneman 59th.

Union junior Cooper Davis began the race but was unable to finish due to injury.

NORTH TAMA GIRLS (88) — 9 Rachael Murty 22:26; 10 Shawna Cibula 22:46; 15 Isla Breakenridge 23:44; 33 Gabby Seda 25:20; 40 Lucy Monat 25:54; 41 Aniston Cooper 25:55; 64 Brynley Seda 28:08

Knights runners including junior Cooper Davis and senior Sawyer Spence take off from the starting line of the boys varsity race during last Thursday’s Union Invitational held at the La Porte City Golf Club. While Davis would go on to finish fourth to lead the Knights, Davis suffered an Achilles injury and was unable to finish. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

UNION GIRLS (100) — 8 Brynn Albertsen 22:23; 17 Kayla Toenges 23:57; 21 Addie Tudor 24:21; 28 Lorolei Hinebaugh 25:05; 45 Katie Jackson 26:05; 77 Skylar Pearson 35:23

UNION BOYS (148) — 4 Sawyer Spence 17:51; 16 Tristen Keister 19:44; 30 Phineas Beermann 21:01; 44 Ian Grimm 23:00; 54 Anderson Karr 24:07; 59 Cayden Stoneman 25:17

North Tama freshman runner Lucy Monat, right, leads fellow Redhawk Aniston Cooper as they approach the finish line during the Union Invitational last Thursday afternoon. Out of 81 scoring girls, Monat finished in 40th while Cooper, a freshman, finished 41st. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER