Mile posts: Items on Jack Brown, Cody Baele, Niki Borner, Cody Baele, Kassie Parker, Lance Sobaski, Adam Gray, Lili Denton

Central College seniors Jack Brown and William Wadsley and freshman Isaac Rankin look about as evenly matched as three teammates could be. Wadsley topped Brown, a Norwalk grad, by 6.1 seconds at the season-opening 6K Dutch Invite in Pella on Sept. 4. Rankin was 9.8 seconds behind Wadsley in that race.

Last weekend, at the 64th annual Les Duke Invite in Grinnell, it was Brown who fought off Wadsley, a Gilbert product, and ex-Knoxville runner Rankin to claim the 8K title in 26:00.4. Wadsley was just .4 of a second behind his teammate, who is the reigning NCAA mile indoor champion, with Rankin crossing the finish line in 26:00.9.

They lead off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and post collegiate distance runners and triathletes.

Central showed it had much more than these three standouts in winning the team title with 16 points, just one off a perfect score. Freshman Carter Nunn claimed fourth overall in 26:19.6. Nunn hails from Marshalltown. Grinnell ended the Dutch's dominant run with Jack Lakin in fifth, but Central finished off the scoring with a sixth from ex-Norwalk runner Donovan Card, who ran 26:29.9. Grinnell was 45 points behind the Dutch.

William Penn senior Andrew Miller, an All-American in the NAIA 3,000 steeplechase final in May, claimed seventh in 26:41.4. Miller prepped at Pleasant Valley. Central junior James Brant, a former South Tama athlete, was next to finish in 26:43.8. Junior teammate Austin Vander Werf claimed ninth in 26:45.9. He attended Interstate 35 (Truro). The Central run continued with senior Mason Back in 11th in 26:55.6. Back went to Winterset. Former Lake Mills runner Knute Rogne, now a Central freshman, kept the Dutch run going by running 27:07.0. for 12th.

Central also won the women's team crown, but by a far less dominant spread. The Dutch scored 1-2-7-9-14 to win with 33 points, 13 ahead of host Grinnell. Central didn't have the individual champion, however, as Runablaze Iowa athlete Niki Borner, 40, of Indianola cruised to victory in the 6K race in 22:32.7, a 6:02.8 pace per mile. Borner is a former Bethel (MN) standout.

Settling for runner-up was Central College sophomore and former Dallas Center-Grimes prep Maddy Stevens in 23:01.5. Senior teammate Teah Miller, who prepped at Iowa Falls-Alden, ran 23:29.4 for third place. Grinnell junior Cindy Wang was the No. 2 finisher for the Pioneers in 23:52.0. Wang is an Iowa City West grad. Central true freshman Audrey Dummermuth, who starred at Johnston, took eighth in 24:00.1. A freshman paced Simpson College to third with 87 points. Former Indianola runner Ady Mason was ninth overall for the Storm in 24:01.2. Central freshman Morgan Back, sister of Mason, rounded out the top 10 in 24:01.5. The leader for William Penn was sophomore and former Central Springs prep Claire Rye in 12th in 24:12.1. Simpson freshman and former Woodward-Granger competitor Eva Fleshner grabbed 13th in 24:21.2. Her sophomore teammate, Ava Bussey, was next in 24:22.3. Bussey attended Council Bluffs Lewis Central. Central sophomore Bryann Wilson completed the top 15 in 24:23.2. Wilson competed for Ballard (Huxley).

Moving to the roads, where Des Moines man Cody Baele won the 44th annual Capital Pursuit 10-mile race for the second time in three years. The Fitness Sports Distance Project athlete rolled to victory at Easter Lake in 48:40.66. That time by Baele, 31, was just off his best at Capital Pursuit in 2024, when he ran 48:35.9. That time was No. 2 in Iowa road racing history, trailing only the 1985 mark of 48:03 by Clinton legend Phil Coppess at Pursuit.

Baele has run faster than Coppess' mark. He posted a personal-best 47:48 at the Cherry Blossom race in Washington, D.C., in April of 2024. That race is ineligible for Iowa records because it was held out of state. Baele won by more than 2:30 over Runablaze Iowa's Blake Whalen, 31, of Des Moines. Whalen, a Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central Community College grad, ran 51:22.60. He has run 50:09 at Capital Pursuit.

Recent Wartburg College grad Jack Kinzer, now a Driftless Distance Project athlete and living in Waverly, was third in his Capital Pursuit debut in 51:32.87. Kinzer, 23, is now a Wartburg cross country assistant coach. He is a Liberty High product. Taking fifth place was fellow Driftless runner Michael Goodenbour, also a former Wartburg runner. The ex-Cedar Falls runner, 23, was timed in 52:26.55. The Driftless run continued with former University of Dubuque runner Anthony Carney, 22, of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in sixth in 54:01.08.

Runablaze and Driftless alternated over the next four spots. Runablaze's Don Agisha, 22, of Norwalk, was seventh in 54:50.17. Former Urbandale and Simpson College runner Cole Leggett, a Driftless runner, was next to finish on a cool and rainy morning in 54:55.07. Runablaze's Artur Mueller, 43, of Davenport was the top masters finisher and ninth overall in 55:48.99.

Seven-time Loras College NCAA champion Kassie Parker, 27, took a break from her pursuit of the USATF Running Circuit season-long title to grab the women's title for a second consecutive year. The Crown Running athlete and ex-Clayton (Guttenberg) prep was just a few seconds off her winning effort of 59:00.39 from a year ago that was sixth best in Iowa history. Parker crossed the finish line in 59:07.54. Splitting Parker and runner-up Lexi Brown was Joshua Burbidge, 26, of Des Moines in 59:27.10. Brown, another ex-Wartburg runner who competed for New London in high school, took runner-up in the women's category in 1:00:08.10. Brown, 25, moves into the top 15 in Iowa history with that performance. Rob Semelroth, 51, of Des Moines was the second-best masters finisher in 1:00:28.03. Semelroth ran at Northern Iowa. Rounding out the top three in the women's race was former Newton and Drake University competitor Casey McDermott, 37, of Malcom in 1:00:25.99.

Runablaze's Pasca Cheruiyot, the 2024 winner of this race, took fourth in 1:01:01.29. The Ankeny woman, 40, moved into second in Iowa masters history. Next to finish was Runablaze teammate Melanie Hamilt, 31, of Iowa City in 1:01:40.01. Taking 19th was recent Wartburg grad Maddie Merna, now with the Driftless squad. Merna, 22, ran 1:02:28.14. The second-best female masters runner was Runablaze's Susie Duke, 46, of rural Searsboro. Duke was timed in 1:02:58.41. Runablaze teammate Lauren (Schulze) Wood, a former Valley prep, was 23rd overall in 1:03:24.64. Wood, 23, lives in Des Moines.

In the four-mile race, recent Wartburg grad Lance Sobaski of the Driftless squad was the winner in 19:03.30, a 4:45 pace per mile. The Des Moines man, 22, was NCAA runner-up in the 3,000 steeplechase in May. Sobaski cruised to victory over Runablaze's Karim Achengli Benmouais. The Urbandale man, 34, ran 20:28.99. Runablaze teammate Chase Bulten, 29, of Lehigh was third in 21:04.69. He is a Manson Northwest Webster and Northwestern College grad who started at Iowa Central. Former Drake runner Aziz Jdai, 26, captured fourth in 21:50.54. Ex-Waterloo West and Indian Hills Community College athlete Presley Berns, 20, of Evansdale was next to finish in 21:55.93. The women's winner was Runablaze athlete and former Southeast Warren and Simpson College competitor Elise Wieland, 26, of Des Moines in 24:43.23.

Moving briefly to track and field and the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary, over the weekend. Fourteen-time USATF national champion Shelby Houlihan, 33, competed in the women's 5,000 Sept. 13 and settled for 12th place in 15:18.65. The winner was Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw in 14:30.36. Houlihan is a 2016 Olympian who won 16 state titles competing for Sioux City East.

Luther College true freshman Adam Gray has a chance to be a four-time winner of the All-American Race hosted by the Norse. The Cedar Rapids Kennedy product won the men's four-mile race on Sept. 12 in 20:27.2. He topped senior teammate Michel Heinrich by 6.6 seconds. The Luther men won the team title with 32, six ahead of Iowa Central. Former Luther runner Kaeden Fellingham grabbed fourth in 21:04.3. Luther junior Jacob Bruns, another ex-Kennedy athlete, was fifth and the No. 3 scorer for the Norse in 21:11.9. Iowa City High grad Linus McRoberts, competing unattached, was next to finish in 21:31.3. A Luther Alumni runner, Tom Altier, secured seventh in 21:34.6. He attended Johnston. Taking a top-10 spot was Iowa Central freshman Anthony Valles, a Fort Dodge St. Edmond product, in ninth in 21:42.2.

Runablaze's Flannery Cerbin-Bohach is a past champion of the All-American Race hosted by Luther College in Decorah. This time, on Sept. 12, the former Norse runner settled for third place. The rural Cresco woman covered the 5K course in 19:26.9. Luther College true freshman Mia Deegan, a former Cedar Rapids Kennedy competitor, was fourth in 19:38.0. Wisconsin-Platteville took the victory with 42 points, 24 ahead of Luther. Third-place Iowa Central had the individual champion with freshman Zosia Zdobylak in 18:23.9.

Former Council Bluffs St. Albert runner Lili Denton continues to make a nice impact as a freshman for the University of Texas. Denton finished as the No. 2 athlete for the seventh-place Longhorns at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas, on Sept. 11. Denton ran the 5K distance at the Watts Cross Country Course in 18:21.1, a 5:54.4 pace per mile. Texas' top finisher was five spots ahead of her. SMU took the team title with 21 points and sophomore Rose Mburu was the winner in 17:01.0.

Two Iowans finished in the top 25 at the WSU Cougar Classic XC Extravaganza in Colfax, Washington, on Sept. 11. Iowa City High grad Truman Thompson, a senior, crossed fifth for the Grizzlies in the 8K race in 25:31.3. He was just seven seconds off his PR. Montana was runner-up in the team race with 44 points, 27 behind Washington State. Junior Evans Kurui of Washington State was the champion in 22:36.8.

Former Southeast Polk prep Libby Hartz, a junior for the Montana women's team, secured 25th place in the 5K race in 19:55.7. Hartz also was the No. 5 finisher for the Grizzles, who ended up fourth in the team race with 77 points. Washington State won with a perfect score of 15 at Colfax Golf Course and Country Club. Freshman Millie Bii was the winner in 16:20.8.

Sophomore Emmett Swartzentruber looks like a pivotal member of the Black Hills State men's team. The Mid-Prairie (Wellman) product from Kalona was eighth overall and sixth on the winning team at the Gage McSpadden invite at the Fort Meade Facility in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Sept. 11. Swartzentruber claimed a new personal record for 6K of 19:14.8, a 5:09.7 pace per mile, as Black Hills State rolled to the team title with 20 points. Senior teammate Jaxon Straus was the winner in 18:50.6.

The flat course for the Dordt Sunflower Open is always a fast one and the meet Sept. 12 in Sioux Center was on par with past efforts. The host Defender women took the title of the five-team meet with just 20 points, 39 ahead of St. Mary (NE).

Taking runner-up honors behind sophomore teammate Joy Koole was Dordt sophomore Addison Liston. The Unity Christian (Orange City) product ran a new PR of 18:06.5 on the 5K course for a 5:49.7 pace per mile. Koole was the winner in 18:04.7. Northwestern College senior Emily DeGroot, an MOC-FV (Orange City) grad, was the leader for the Red Raiders in third in 18:21.2. Junior teammate Kayden Spencer, an Ogden native who first attended Des Moines Area Community College, ended up seventh in 18:54.9. Completing the top 10 was Dordt sophomore Elyse Zwart, a former Boyden-Hull athlete, in a new best of 19:11.8. Dordt senior Isabella Webb continued Dordt's deep run in 12th place in 19:17.9. Webb ran for Waukee High. Freshman teammate Katie Young was next to finish in 19:18.2. Young is a former Unity Christian runner. Defenders sophomore Raegan Snieder claimed 14th in 19:25.5. She competed for Pella High.

A former Dordt runner bested all of the collegians in the men's competition. Fitness Sports Distance Project's Jacob Vander Plaats claimed victory in the 6K race in 18:21.5, a 4:55.4 pace per mile. Vander Plaats is a Unity Christian product who won by 12.8 seconds.

The Dordt men took victory with a perfect 15 points, however, 38 ahead of Northwestern College. Running third for the Defenders and fourth overall was junior and former Le Mars Community performer Trace Obbink in 18:40.6. Senior teammate Caleb Van Beek, who attended Western Christian, was seventh in 18:47.4. Northwestern freshman Davis Johnson was the leader for the Red Raiders in eighth in 18:47.5. Johnson prepped at Ankeny Centennial. Yet another ex-Unity Christian athlete, freshman Tyler Rozenboom, rounded out the top 10 in 19:02.5. Rozenboom runs for Dordt. Junior teammate Brett Gifford, a former Dowling Catholic prep, was 13th in 19:09.2. Dordt grad Luke Swanson captured 14th in 19:09.2 and Derrek Vander Leest, another ex-Defender who has graduated, was the last of the 15 best finishers in 19:14.6.

Shifting to the Queen City Invite, where North Florida junior Cohen Kooker was the No. 5 finisher for the Ospreys. The Valley grad covered the Larry McAfee Course at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 18:39.6 for 28th place on Sept. 11. North Florida finished fourth in the team race with 88 points. The 5K winner was Marshall senior Rachael Withrow in 16:18.9.

Pleasant Valley grad Ani Wedemeyer and her Johns Hopkins squad stepped up against big schools at the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 11. The sophomore for the Division III program placed 47th in the 5K race at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Virginia, in 18:56.3. Wedemeyer was sixth on the Blue Jays, who were fifth in the team race with 132 points, trailing North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest and William & Mary. Tar Heels junior Ciara O'Shea was the champion in 16:46.0.

Truman State junior Clare Stahr led the Bulldogs to the team crown at the Larry Young Invitational in Columbia, Missouri, on Sept. 11. The Gilbert product was fourth overall and the No. 2 runner in 19:10.1 for Truman State, which scored 26 points to easily top Park (Mo.) by 68 points in the 5K race at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. Senior Hailey Gerard of Columbia (Mo.) was the leader in 18:27.5.

North Iowa Area Community College hosted the Trent Smith Invitational in Mason City on Sept. 12 and a Trojan runner was the 8K champion. North Iowa (Buffalo Center) grad Gavin Grunhovd, a NIACC sophomore, ran 26:16.7 to top ex-Iowa City West and Iowa Central athlete Seth Cheney by 26.6 seconds. Cheney competes for the FSDP squad.

Ankeny Christian Academy grad Alex Davis paced the third-place Faith Baptist squad. Davis ran 28:10.3 for fourth place. DMACC freshman Brady Sanger, who competed for Bondurant-Farrar, was fifth in 28:31.5. DMACC won the title with 24 points.

The DMACC women also claimed a title with 36 points, nine ahead of Faith Baptist. Ridge View (Holstein) product Addy Tesch was runner-up in the 5K in 19:41.0. Sophomore teammate Cece Thompson, who ran for Valley, was third in 20:55.6. The winner was Carlie Blevins of Faith Baptist in 19:34.4.

Milwaukee freshman Grace Storjohann took 47th overall for Milwaukee at the Phoenix Open in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sept. 12. The ex-Grundy Center prep ran 24:26.0 for the 6K distance and was the No. 4 finisher for Milwaukee, which was sixth in the team race. St. Thomas (MN) won the title with 28 points.

On to triathlon where former Cedar Rapids Washington and Luther College athlete Carson Christen placed ninth overall at Ironman Wisconsin in Madison on Sept. 13. Christen covered the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run in 9:25:12. His times were 56:20, 5:04:52 and 3:15:47 for those disciplines. Nathan Kim of the U.S. was the winner in 8:43:00.

Ending with the roads and the MVRA Benefit Classic half marathon in Dubuque. Former Loras College standout Joey Schultz, now with Runablaze, picked up second overall in 1:11:52. Schultz, 27, resides in Dubuque. Crown Running's Michael Eyres, a former Luther athlete, was next to finish in 1:13:43. Taking fourth overall and winning the women's crown was Runblaze's Amanda Edwards, 38, of Dubuque. The ex-Wartburg runner was timed in 1:29:26. The winner ran 1:11:25.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

Want to hear more about distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: