Good as gold: BCLUW's Silver wins NICL title

WAVERLY – Caleb Silver figures he's proof that anyone willing to put in the consistent hard work can accomplish what he did Saturday.
 
The BCLUW senior won the individual title in the boys race at his final North Iowa Cedar League Championship at Max Championship Cross Country Course in Waverly after finishing as runner-up last season.
 
Silver won in 16:45, passing Union's Lake LeBahn in the final third of the race. LeBahn, last season's individual champion, finished 2nd in 17:03.
 
"I knew he was going to go out faster," Silver said. "I just had to run my race and catch up with him. My goal was to get up to him by the second-mile marker and the last mile I'd just push as hard as I could to get past him."
 
The plan went off without a hitch, and Silver finished as a league champion and one of two Comets earning first-team All-NICL, along with Ruben Montoya who finished eighth overall in 17:40.
 
"This shows that anyone can rise to the top," Silver said. "Freshman year I wasn't that good of a runner, I just had to work for it and stay consistent, keep doing what you're doing."
 
BCLUW finished third in the standings after coming up short in a sixth-runner tiebreaker with Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck after both teams scored 81 points with their top five runners.
 
GC/G-R's Brady Appel finished 57th, 17 seconds faster than BCLUW's Joseph Mason.
 
"The boys knew they wanted to be top three in the conference and we knew it'd be close," GC/G-R head coach Jackson Anderson said. "Winning the tiebreaker couldn't have happened at a better time for us. … Each person on the team has a role and this was a perfect reminder that every role matters.  Brady Appel made the difference for our team and I think we might have come home feeling a sense of defeat on Saturday if it weren't for his hard work."
 
All-NICL Cross Country Teams
(Based on individual finish at Saturday's race)
 
Girls
First team
1. Sophia Jungling (A-P) 19:34; 2. Grace Beck (Den) 19:59; 3. Taylor Kvale (D-NH) 20:12; 4. Natalie O'Connor (Jesup) 20:27; 5. Jenna Twait (Hudson) 20:29; 6. Megan Johnson (A-P) 20:31; 7. Amanda Treptow (Jesup) 20:37; 8. Taylor Stahl (GC/G-R) 20:41; 9. Emily Treptow (Jesup) 20:45; 10. Lily Hovenga (A-P) 21:01.
Second team (area only)
20. Cora Saak (GC/G-R) 21:41.
Honorable mention (area only)
23. Alexis Jensen (D-NH) 21:46; 24. Kaity Houts (D-NH) 21:47; 29. Rachel Wardell (D-NH) 22:07.
 
Boys
First team
1. Caleb Silver (BCLUW) 16:45; 2. Lake LeBahn (Union) 17:03; 3. Kolby Winter (SH) 17:14; 4. Derek Ciddio (GC/G-R) 17:26; 5. Alex Hassan (SH) 17:32; 6. Sam Hansen (Hudson) 17:34; 7. Paul Brockett (GC/G-R) 17:38; 8. Ruben Montoya (BCLUW) 17:40; 9. Jacob Vanderwilt (SH) 17:41; 10. Cade Curphy (EM) 17:42.
Second team (area only)
11. Conlee Lyons (D-NH) 17:45; 13. Seth Wibben (D-NH) 17:47; 16. Kenny Day (GC/G-R) 18:01.
Honorable mention (area only)
23. Henry Kaisand (BCLUW) 18:30; 24. Neifer Ralston (BCLUW) 18:34; 25. Treye Teske (BCLUW) 18:34; 26. Sam Schildroth (GC/G-R) 18:34; 27. Sawyer Loger (D-NH) 18:35; 28. Soren Cleveland (GC/G-R) 18:35.
 
For the full story and more info on both NICL races, see this week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here. 
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