’Cats catch worm at Early Bird
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown senior Preston Johnson runs alone at the front of the field at Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird on the Marshalltown Community College course. Johnson won the race with a time of 16 minutes, 29.7 seconds.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown freshman Lillian Heil, right, and sophomore Grace Whitmore run side-by-side during Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird at Marshalltown Community College. Heil led the Bobcats in seventh place and Whitmore was 10th as MHS placed fourth out of nine scoring teams.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown junior Michael Downs nears the finish line with his personal-best time of 18 minutes, 11 seconds, to finish 12th in Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird at the Marshalltown Community College course.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Bobcat freshman Naysa Rottink, left, leads Newton’s Alivia Kingery to the finish line at the Bobcat Early Bird on Thursday on the Marshalltown Community College campus. Rottink finished in 19th place for MHS with a time of 23:31.7.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown freshman Lillian Heil nears the finish line to lead the Bobcat girls to a fourth-place finish at Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird on the Marshalltown Community College course. Heil placed seventh in 22 minutes, 10 seconds to lead MHS in its season opener.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown senior Preston Johnson runs alone at the front of the field at Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird on the Marshalltown Community College course. Johnson won the race with a time of 16 minutes, 29.7 seconds.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown freshman Lillian Heil, right, and sophomore Grace Whitmore run side-by-side during Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird at Marshalltown Community College. Heil led the Bobcats in seventh place and Whitmore was 10th as MHS placed fourth out of nine scoring teams.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown junior Michael Downs nears the finish line with his personal-best time of 18 minutes, 11 seconds, to finish 12th in Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird at the Marshalltown Community College course.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Bobcat freshman Naysa Rottink, left, leads Newton’s Alivia Kingery to the finish line at the Bobcat Early Bird on Thursday on the Marshalltown Community College campus. Rottink finished in 19th place for MHS with a time of 23:31.7.
T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE Marshalltown freshman Lillian Heil nears the finish line to lead the Bobcat girls to a fourth-place finish at Thursday’s Bobcat Early Bird on the Marshalltown Community College course. Heil placed seventh in 22 minutes, 10 seconds to lead MHS in its season opener.
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Preston Johnson's first race of his senior season was more than a minute slower than in the same race a year ago.
Senioritis?
Far from it.
The Marshalltown High School cross country juggernaut notched first place at Thursday's season-opening Bobcat Early Bird, easing across the finish line with a winning time of 16 minutes, 29.7 seconds at the Marshalltown Community College course.
Johnson had more than a 30-second cushion over the runner-up -- Will VandenBosch from Pella Christian (17:01.3) -- but it was how he helped his teammates along that made Johnson the frontrunner on this night.
Running within eyeshot of teammates Costin Piscitelli and Michael Downs, Johnson helped pace them to their personal-best times around the MCC course.
Piscitelli took third place overall, running 17:08.2 to smash his MCC personal record of 19:31, and Downs took 12th in 18:11.0. A year ago, Downs ran 20:02 over the same course.
Johnson's winning time in 2025 was 15:25.
"It was a very comfortable first race for (Johnson)," said MHS head coach Chad Pietig. "I appreciate his willingness to help his teammates. Costin and Michael both had huge lifetime bests."
Marshalltown turned in a handful of personal course-record times in finishing third in the season-opening meet, which included nine other teams. Class 2A No. 6 Pella Christian placed atop the field with 34 points, followed by 3A No. 20 Carlisle (58) and the Bobcats (79). Newton (133) was a distant fourth, South Tama took sixth (150) and Gladbrook-Reinbeck was ninth (244).
Marshalltown junior Thomas Stanley took 20th place with his new best time on the MCC course, clocking in at 19:00.5 a year after running 19:35. Elliot Kodis, a senior, came in 43rd (21:28.7) to close out the Bobcats' scoring times.
Sophomore Connor Faas finished 57th (22:31.0) and senior Cooper McLeod was 58th (22:34.5) as well for MHS.
"Thomas was the fastest he had ever run on our course," Pietig added. "Overall I'm pleased with the performances and we will keep working to close that gap between our number four and five runners."
South Tama's sixth-place team finish was paced by sophomore Max Schirmer, who crossed in 18th place in 18:47.6. Brady Jesina claimed 23rd in 19:22.2, Henri Martinez-Alvarado was 28th in 20:14.8, and Kyler Johnson-Whitefish was 31st in 20:21.6.
Nolan Arp was the Trojans' fifth scoring runner, finishing 52nd in 22:17.9.
Caleb Bowser led the way for Gladbrook-Reinbeck, placing 47th in 21:40.5. Mason Wrider (67th, 25:30.3), Campbell Gramer (68th, 25:51.1), Braiden Sager (69th, 26:08.2), Tavin Ruden (71st, 26:26.8) and Grayson Raffield (74th, 31:08.5) also ran for the Rebels.
Bobcat girls get fourth
The Marshalltown girls tallied fourth place in the team standings, just missing out on third by two points. Newton won with just 32 points, followed by Des Moines Roosevelt (86) and 1A No. 12 Grundy Center (104).
Marshalltown, with five underclassmen counting as the scoring runners, was fourth with 106 points. Neither South Tama nor Gladbrook-Reinbeck fielded complete teams.
The Bobcats got their anticipated boost from freshman Lillian Heil, who led the team with a seventh-place finish. She crossed the finish line in 22:10.0, just 44 seconds off the pace set by event champion Isabel Spradling of Des Moines Roosevelt (19:26.0).
Grace Whitmore, a Bobcat sophomore, took 10th place in a time of 22:34.1, while freshman Naysa Rottink was 19th in 23:25.1.
Lily Johnson finished 35th in 24:59.8 and fellow sophomore Betsy Wirin placed 37th in 25:15.1.
MHS senior Mattea Wright rounded out the varsity lineup for the night, finishing 45th in 25:28.1.
South Tama was represented by Livia Smith, a senior who scored 69th in 30:09.0, and Katelynne Brant, a freshman who finished 70th (30:10.1).
Gladbrook-Reinbeck's lone runner was Colbie Fevold, a freshman who placed 77th in 34:23.5.