Hermanson ran 19 minutes, 37 seconds, to finish in sixth place in the race in a field that featured Class 4A No. 4 Waukee and No. 5 Southeast Polk.

“I’m very happy,” Hermanson said. “My goal was 19:30 and I came pretty close to that so I’m happy with that. I was definitely looking forward to racing with these girls because they are pretty talented.

“This [race] was real important because we hadn’t raced in a while, so I really wanted to have a race where we can build up some confidence for districts. We have a pretty tough district so I just wanted some confidence going into it.”

In the race, Hermanson found herself in third place at the mile-and-a-half mark, trailing Waukee’s two top runners in Sydney Schaffer and Peyton Kelderman.

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE - Marshalltown runners Rachel Smith (from right), Odaly Flores, Kaci Uhde and Makenna Ainsworth head down the homestretch at the CIML Iowa Conference meet Thursday at Marshalltown Community College.

“At Pella, I ran just ahead of the Waukee girl Peyton Kelderman and [Sydney Schaffer] so my goal was to try and stay with them as best as I can,” Hermanson said. “I know they had improved a lot since that point. I was just keeping them in my sights, which I think for most of the race I did decently which I was pretty happy with.

“They sped up a lot after mile one so I was just trying to keep them in my sights. I knew that there were girls coming up behind me and a couple of them got me at the finish. I hope to improve on my finish for districts and everything. I just want to stay focused and finish out hard.”

Both Waukee runners pulled away to finish first and second place in the race that helped lead the Warriors to a first-place team finish.

“I couldn’t be happier,” head coach Stacy O’Hare said. “It even started with the junior varsity kids. Last night we set some goals. Every kid picked a time that we wanted to shoot for and I would probably have to say that every one of them met their goals. The JV kids kind of set the goal for tonight they ran great. I think it just carried over into the varsity race. We haven’t run in a while so I wasn’t sure how things would play out but really pleased with our efforts.”

Rachel Smith finished in 27th place with a time of 22:27 and Odaly Flores ran 22:28 to finish in 29th place. Rounding out the top-five was Kaci Uhde who ran 22:29 to take 30th place while Makenna Ainsworth ran 22:33 to finish in 31st place.

Jade Tejada ran 22:43 to finish in 32nd place and Aida Almanza ran 24:43 to finish in 37th place.

Marshalltown finished in fifth place in the six-team meet beating Fort Dodge.

“We all set personal bests today,” O’Hare said. “Our goal team-wise was to beat Fort Dodge and Mason City today. We beat Fort Dodge and Mason City got us by four so disappointed a little bit but really pleased with their effort.”

“Phoebe ran really well. She got out well like she always does. She placed sixth against a competitive [field]. She ran a great race and she ran a personal best for her today too so look for good things from her next week.”

The Bobcats will compete in the District Meet at the MCC course next Thursday.

CIML Iowa Conference meet

At Marshalltown

GIRLS

Team Standings — 1. Waukee 26, 2. Southeast Polk 43, 3. Valley 71, 4. Mason City 119, 5. Marshalltown 123, 6. Fort Dodge.

Individual (top 10) — 1. Sydney Schaffer, WAU, 18:59; 2. Peyton Kelderman, WAU, 19:16; 3. Mattison Plummer, 19:30, SP; 4. Molly Bannister, WAU, 19:31; 5. Isabelle Schaffer, WAU, 19:35; 6. Phoebe Hermanson, MHS, 19:36; 7. Lauren Schulze, VAL, 19:38; 8. Jenna Francois, SP, 19:53; 9. Grace Larkins, SP, 19:57; 10. Magda McGowan, SP, 20:03.

Marshalltown (123) — 6. Phoebe Hermanson 19:36, 27. Rachel Smith 22:27; 29. Odaly Flores 22:28, 30. Kaci Uhde 22:29, 31. Makenna Ainsworth 22:33, 32. Jade Tejada 22:43, 37. Aida Almanza 24:43.