Koester finishes fourth at Dick Bell Invite

The latest running of the historic and prestigious Dick Bell Invitational saw beautiful weather and both strong teams and individual runners last Tuesday at the Eagle Grove Country Club course. The Eagles team took fifth in the final standings, scoring 137 points. A talented Gilbert squad used four runners in the top 10 to propel themselves to the Class A crown with 37 points, followed by Humboldt at 51, Clear Lake at 112, Forest City at 120 and the Eagles. Quinton Orr of the Wildcats crossed in 16:32.72 to break the tape individually.

“It was an electric atmosphere, and I thought that our guys gave a great effort in their home meet,” stated head coach Ben Demuth. “We were up a class due to our enrollment, and several teams entered the meet at the last minute due to cancellations around the state. Our guys were ready to run regardless of who they had to run against. The home meet is always my favorite, as it is on a tough course and we always have a great crowd to cheer on our teams throughout the course. We were the last race of the night, and I could tell that times were pretty good in the other races as the weather was the best we’ve had all season. When we stepped to the line for our race, it could not have been better conditions.”

Demuth hoped for an upper-division finish, and fifth was one spot lower than he wanted considering they have beaten Forest City in the past. “The Indians had a great night as well so hats off to them,” said the head coach. “Jon lead the way for us, and he is really recognizing his talents and abilities out on the course. He tried to run with the Humboldt kid the first mile and a half, and stayed with him for the most part until he just turned it on and left Jon behind. I was glad to see Jon’s strategy, as he will need to build his speed stamina for his end of the season goals and this was a great time for him to that end. Our guys all ran together (varsity and JV), with Drake having a fantastic night in the third spot on the team and dropping almost 45 seconds off his personal best (PB). He has really started to embrace his role and knows that he has much more in the tank for meets. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with the next few years.”

For the full story, see this week's Eagle Grove Eagle. Subscribe by calling 1-800-558-1244 ext 122 or email Deb at circulation@midamericapub.com or by clicking here.