On Wednesday, October 20, 2021, The Independence Varsity Cross Country Team ran in the 3A State Qualifying Meet in Decorah Iowa. Here are the results. For Varsity Girls, Senior Alyssa Larson ran a time of 22:33.90 placing overall in 41st place. The closest Mustang was Freshman Reaghan Ressler running a 24:06.90 finishing 61st. Also, Junior Bella Ressler ran a close time of 24:55.10 ending at 69th place. The Independence Varsity Girls placed 13th out of 13. On the boy’s Varsity side, leading the Mustangs was Senior Robert Hansen who ran a 19:39.60 placing 56th for the boys. Also, Junior Kale Wieland ran a time of 20:09.00 placing 68th. And close by was Senior Matt Tudor running a 20:30.50 ending in 73rd. The Varsity Boys finished as a team in 13th place out of 13 also. Although no one qualified for the State Meet, this team had a great season! Congrats to all the Varsity runners and their hard work this year. All times and results for the Mustangs are posted below.

Varsity Girls

Place Overall Girls	Name	Time	Grade
#41	Alyssa Larson	22:33.90	SR
#61	Reaghan Ressler	24:06.90	FR
#69	Bella Ressler	24:55.10	JR
#79	Gabby Toale	26:25.90	SO
#82	Ashlyn Martin	27:14.60	SR
#83	Laura Smith	27:18.90	SR
Out of 86	—	—	—

Varsity Boys

Place Overall Boys	Name	Time	Grade
#56	Robert Hansen	19:39.60	SR
#68	Kale Wieland	20:09.00	JR
#73	Matt Tudor	20:30.50	SR
#81	Ethan Calahan	21:10.50	FR
#82	Carter Straw	21:21.40	JR
#87	Blake Gates	21:59.20	SO
#89	Will Perry	22:41.60	JR
Out of 90	—	—	—

On Thursday, October 14, 2021, the Indee Mustang Cross Country team ran at WaMaC in Solon, Iowa. This was a super tough race as it is WaMaC but the Indee team did very well! For Varsity, Senior Alyssa Larson placed 46th running a 22:47.2 and Freshman Reghan Ressler ran a 23:26.5 finishing in 58th. Also, Senior Robert Hansen placed 65th running a time of 19:48.8, and close behind was Freshman Ethan Calahan placing 70th running a 20:22.5. For Junior Varsity for the girls, Junior Sydney Schwartz ran a 27:37.5 placing 92nd and Senior Maddie Toulouse ran a 29:01.0 placing 104th. On the boy’s side, Freshman Ethan Wilcox ran a PR of 21:52.1 placing 93rd. Close by was Sophomore Carter Homan running a 22:01.7 finishing 95th. Congratulations to all the runners on this incredible team and to the Seniors as well! It was a great season for the Mustangs. (times are listed below)

Varsity Girls 
#46 Alyssa Larson 22:47.2  SR
#58 Reghan Ressler 23:26.5 FR
#70 Bella Ressler 25:14.4 JR
#76 Gabby Toale 25:59.1 SO
#78 Ashlyn Martin 27:13.0 SR
#79 Laura Smith 27:33.7 SR

Varsity Boys
#65 Robert Hansen 19:48.8 SR
#70 Ethan Calahan 20:22.5 FR
#75 Kale Wieland 20:47.3 JR
#78 Yoshito Hirohara 21:22.3 
#79 Matt Tudor 21:26.2 SR
#83 Blake Gates 22:00.2 SO
#85 Carter Straw 22:07.8 JR

JV Girls
#92 Sydney Schwartz 27:35.5 JR
#104 Maddie Toulouse 29:01.0

JV Boys
#93 Ethan Wilcox 21:52.1 FR PR
#95 Carter Homan 22:01.7 SO
#108 Kyle Justason 22:41.8 SO
#127 William Hansen 25:23.1 FR

On Saturday, October 10, 2021, the Independence Mustangs Cross Country Team traveled to North Linn to run in the Lynx Invitational. For Varsity Girls, Senior Alyssa Larson ran a 23:077 placing 59th while Freshman Reaghan Ressler was close behind running a 23:237 finishing 62nd. On the boy’s side for Varsity, Junior Kale Wieland ran a 20:206 placing 89th for the Mustangs. In a close finish, Sophomore Blake Gates finished 95th with a 20:486 and Freshman Ethan Calahan was close running a 20:536 placing 96th. Congrats to all the runners who competed on Saturday. The Mustangs will run on Thursday, October 14, 2021, for Varsity WaMac at Solon High School (4:00 pm). 

Varsity Girls
#59 Alyssa Larson 23:077:26
#62 Reaghan Ressler  23:237:31
#78 Bella Ressler  25:368:14
#80 Gabby Toale  25:508:19
#87 Maddie Toulouse 30:549:56

Varsity Boys
#89 Kale Wieland 20:206:33
#95 Blake Gates 20:486:42
#96 Ethan Cahalan 20:536:43
#110 Will Perry  21:457:00
#111 Carter Straw  22:097:08
#116 Ethan Wilcox  24:117:47
#121 Cael Post  27:398:54

On Tuesday, October 5, 2021, the Independence Mustang Varsity Cross Country team traveled to West Delaware, Manchester to run a 5k. For the girls, Senior Alyssa Larson and Freshman Reaghan ran the same time of 23:027.25 and they shared 65th and 66th place. Incredible run for those two. Sophomore Gabby Toale had a PR of 25:158.07. On the boy’s side, Senior Robert Hansen lead the pack of Mustangs and ran a 19:076.09 placing 89th, close by was Junior Kale Wieland running a 19:466.22 placing 107th. Lastly, Freshman Ethan Calahan placed 110th running a 19:506.23. Congrats to all the runners that ran last night! The Varsity team will run Monday, October 11, 2021, at Center Point Urbana. 

For the JV team, Junior Will Perry ran a 21:436.59 placing 64th, and close behind was Freshman Ethan Wilcox who ran a 21:436.59 placing 65th. Also, Sophomore Carter Homan placed 74th running a 22:057.01. Congrats to all of the JV runners as well. (times are below)

JV BOYS
#64 Will Perry, 21:436:59
#65 Ethan Wilcox, 21:507:01
#74 Carter Homan,  22:057:06
#77 Kyle Justason,  22:137:09
#119 William Hansen, 26:138:26
#120 Cael Post, 26:298:31

VARSITY GIRLS
#65 Alyssa Larson,  23:027:25
#66 Reaghan Ressler, 23:027:25
#85 Bella Ressler, 24:528:00
#92 Gabby Toale,  25:158:07
#104 Ashlyn Martin,  26:218:29
#105 Laura Smith,  26:308:32

VARSITY BOYS
#89 Robert Hansen,  19:076:09
#107 Weiand Kale,  19:466:22
#110 Ethan Cahalan,  19:506:23
#123 Matt Tudor,  20:366:38
#128 Gates Blake,  21:186:51
#137 Carter Straw, 21:446:59
#143 Yoshito Hirohana, 22:547:22

On September 30, 2021, the Mustang Cross Country Team traveled to Western Dubuque to race in a 5k. Leading the pack for the girls was Freshman Reaghan Ressler placing 46th running a 25:06 and finishing 55th was Junior Bella Ressler who ran a 27:04. Lastly, Sophomore Gabby Toale was close to Ressler with a time of 27:38 placing 57 and so was Senior Laura Smith with a time of 28:04 finishing 58th. On the boy’s side, Senior Robert Hansen ran a 20.31 placing 52nd. In a close finish, Freshman Ethan Calahan finished 53rd with a time of 20:32, and also very close was Junior Yoshito Hirohara running 20:57 placing 59th. Overall the times were super close and everybody did a great job. The Mustangs will run again on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, at Hart Ridge Golf Course at 4:15.

VARSITY GIRLS

46  Reaghan Ressler F, FR      25:06    
55 Bella Ressler F, JR            27:04  
57 Gabby Toale F, SO              27:38  
58  Laura Smith F, SR              28:04    
65  Ashlyn Martin F, SR            29:59  
66 Maddie Toulouse F, SR          31:11  
67   Elizabeth Kremer F, FR         32:38 

VARSITY BOYS

52    Robert Hansen SR            20:31 
53    Ethan Calahan FR            20:32  
59    Yoshito Hirohara  JR         20:57  
61    Matt Tudor  SR               21:11  
67    Blake Gates  SO              21:53 
77    Kale Wieland  JR             23:40  79   
Carter Straw JR             23:48 

On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, the Independence Mustang XC team traveled to Jesup to run a 5k. There was some very good competition but overall the Mustangs did pretty well. Leading the Mustangs was Junior Kale Wieland placing 115th running a time of 20:02.5. Following Wieland was Senior Robert Hansen with a 20:21.1 placing 123rd. On the girl’s side of the race, Senior Alyssa Larson ran a 23:03.0 placing 56th, and Freshman Reaghan Ressler running a 24:24.2 placing 92nd. Some of the Mustangs had some PRs at this meet, Senior Matthew Tudor ran a new best-of 20:38.4. Yoshito HiroHara also ran a personal best of 21:00.00. Congratulations to both of those athletes on PR’s. Also congratulations to the runners who ran at this meet. The Mustangs will run Thursday, September 30, 2021, at Western Dubuque.

VARSITY BOYS
#115 Kale Wieland 20:02.5
#123 Robert Hansen 20:21.1
#127 Matt Tudor 20:38.4 PR
#132 Ethan Calahan 20:52.5
#138 Yoshito Hirohara 21:00.00 PR
#144 Carter Straw 21:13.2
#160 Blake Gates 21:52.0

VARSITY GIRLS
#56 Alyssa Larson 23:03.0
#92 Reaghan Ressler 24:24.2
#115 Bella Ressler 26:01.06
#137 Gabby Toale 27:43.9
#138 Ashlyn Martin 27:46.8
#143 Laura Smith 28:27.3
#149 Elizabeth Kremer 29:33.6

On Saturday, September 25, 2021, the Independence Mustang Cross Country team ran in the Independence 5k. The Mustangs ran very well, on the boy’s side Senior Cameron Kriens placed 11th running a 19:10.3, and not too far behind was Senior Robert Hansen running a 19:33.1 placing 18th. For the girls, it was a close race for 4th but Freshman Reaghan Ressler ends up placing 4th against Senior Alyssa Larson who place 5th in a very close race. Close by was Junior Bella Ressler placing 12th running a 25:21.00. Congrats to all the runners who ran in this race. And, thank you to all of the helpers and the support for this event! The Mustangs will run on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, at Jesup.

Varsity Boys

#11 Cameron Kriens 19:10.3
#18 Robert Hansen 19:33.1
#30 Blake Gates 20:49.6
#32 Matthew Tudor 21:18.4
#34 Yoshito Hirohara 21:42.5 
#37 Ethan Calahan 21:54
#38 Carter Straw 22:01
#42 Ethan Wilcox 22:24.1
#43 Will Perry 22:25.2
#46 Kyle Justason 23:32.2
#55 William Hasen 24:45.8
#64 Cael Post 27:52.4

Varsity Girls

#4 Reaghan Ressler 22:50.3
#5 Alyssa Larson 22:56.7
#12 Bella Ressler 25:21
#16 Gabby Toale 25:35.7
#22 Ashlyn Martin 27:00.9
#28 Laura Smith 27:44.7
#30 Elizabeth Kremer 28:31.3
#31 Maddie Toulouse 29:30.8

On Tuesday September 21, 2021, the Varsity Independence Cross Country team traveled to Vinton, Iowa to run in the Vinton Invite running a 5K. For the Mustangs Senior, Cameron Kriens ran a 19:21.7 placing 21st overall with Freshman Ethan Calahan was close placing 28th running a PR of 19:36.4. Yoshitio Hirohara, placed 56th but also had a PR with a time of 21:35.4. On the girls side, Senior Alyssa Larson ran a 22:35.0 placing in the top 20 (18th). Close behind was Freshman Reaghan Ressler, running a PR of 22:43.5 finishing 22nd. Other PR’s on the girls side were Freshman Elizabeth Kremer running a 28:20.04 in 90th and Senior Maddie Toulouse with a 28:42.4 in 104th. Overall the boys finished 7th out of 10 and the girls finished 8th out of 9. Congrats to all the runners who ran in this meet! The next time you can catch the Mustangs is on Saturday September 25 at Independence MHI, Varsity starting at 8:45 a.m. and middle school starting at 9:45. Come out and support the Mustangs!

RESULTS

BOYS FINAL 176 points 7th place
GIRLS FINAL 191 points 8th place

Varsity Boys 
#21 Cameron Kriens 19:21.7 SR
#28 Ethan Calahan 19:36.4 PR
#35 Robert Hansen 19:48.1 SR
#44 Kale Wieland 20:28.4 
#48 Blake Gates 20:48.6 
#53 Carter Straw 21:07.4 SR
#56 Yoshito Hirohara 21:35.4  PR
Out of 70

Varsity Girls
#18 Alyssa Larson 22:35.0 SR
#22 Reaghan Ressler 22:43.5 PR
#56 Bella Ressler 25:26.9 SR
#73 Gabby Toale 26:46.9
#77 Ashlyn Martin 26:54.7 SR
#90 Elizabeth Kremer 28:20.4  PR
#98 Maddie Toulouse 28:42.4 PR
#104 Laura Smith 29:27.4
Out of 116

On September 14, 2021 the Independence Mustang Cross Country team traveled to Starmont to race in the Starmont Invitational. There were JV runners and Varsity runners in this race. For JV, Freshman Elizabeth Kremer represented the Mustangs and ran a 29:12.25 placing 88th. On the boys side, for JV Junior William Perry ran a 22:44.09 placing 60th and not too far behind was Freshman Ethan Wilcox running a 22:52.13 placing 65th. Also, one place behind Wilcox was Sophomore Carter Homan running a 22:58.09. For the girls varsity, Senior Alyssa Larson was once again a top runner for the Mustangs running a 23:11.27 finishing 46th. Junior Bella Ressler placed 96th running a 25:44.97. On the boys side Senior Cameron Kriens led the Mustangs running a time of 20:04.52 placing 63rd and close by was Junior Kale Wieland running a 20:18.47 finishing 72nd. This was a great meet for the Mustangs, congrats to everyone who ran tonight (the rest of the reams results posted). The next time this team will run is next Tuesday September 21, 2021 at Vinton Shellsburg. 

Junior Varsity Girls 
#88 Elizabeth Kremer 29:12:25
OUT OF 129

Junior Varsity Boys
#60 Will Perry  22:44.09
#65 Ethan Wilcox 22:52.13
#66 Carter Homan  22:58.09
#107 Cael Post 26:07.15
OUT OF 132

Varsity Girls
#46 Alyssa Larson 23:11.27
#96 Bella Ressler 25:44.97
#102 Gabby Toale 26:19.40
#107 Laura Smith 27:39.65
#112 Ashlyn Martin 28:09.74
#120 Maddie Toulouse 30:19.40
OUT OF 123

Varsity Boys 
#63 Cameron Kriens 20:04.52
#72 Kale Wieland 20:18.47
#80 Robert Hansen 20:40.58
#87 Ethan Calahan 21:02.01
#97 Carter Straw 21:21.25
#101 Matt Tudor 21:35.39
#124 Yoshito Hirohara 22:21.20
OUT OF 145

Tomorrow, Saturday September 11, 2021, the Independence Cross Country Team will be racing in the Benton 5k Invitational. The teams they will be running against are Don Bosco, Williamsburg, Benton, Clear-Creek Amana, Vinton, Mount Vernon, Columbus-Catholic, Valley Luthern, Isaac Newton Christian Academy and Meskwaki Settlement. Good luck to the Mustangs running tomorrow morning!

—————————————————–

Updated … Results

On Saturday, September 11th, 2021 the Independence High School Cross Country team traveled to Atkins, Iowa to participate in the Benton 5K Invitational. On the girls side, there were two runners to make it to the top 20! The Mustangs top runner was Senior Alyssa Larson who ran a time of 23:00.2 finishing in 12th place. Not too far behind was Freshman Reaghan Ressler ending up in 17th place with a time of 24:03.1. For the guys, Junior Kale Wieland led the Mustangs with a time of 20:24.5 placing 37th, and following in 43rd was Senior Robert Hansen with a time of 20:39.8. Congrats to all the Mustang runners today. The Mustangs will be competing again on Tuesday September 14, 2021 at Starmount High School. (Results posted below)

Boys 5k	Grade	Time	Place
Kale Wieland	Junior	20:24.5	#37
Robert Hansen	Senior	20:39.8	#43
Yoshito	Junior (Exchange)	21:23.2	#55
Blake Gates	Sophomore	21:31.8	#59
Ethan Calahan	Freshman	21:45.4	#62
Carter Straw	Junior	22:00.2	#66
Matthew Tudor	Senior	22:24.7	#70
Will Perry	Junior	22:34.7	#72
Ethan Wilcox	Freshman	23:00.0	#76
Carter Homan	Sophomore	23:07.0	#77
William Hansen	Freshman	25:05.2	#93
Cael Post	Freshman	28.23.7	#101

Girls 5k	Grade	Time	Place
Alyssa Larson	Senior	23:00.2	#12
Reaghan Ressler	Freshman	24:03.1	#17
Bella Ressler	Junior	25:50.2	#38
Laura Smith	Senior	28:08.6	#49
Maddie Toulouse	Senior	30:08.4	#55
Elizabeth Kremer	Freshman	30:44.1	#59