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Team Scores

1. Algona 37; 2. Boone 68; 3. Roland-Story 110; 4. Webster City 120; 5. Eagle Grove 150; 6. Fort Dodge Senior 156; 7. Belmond-Klemme 207; 8. Fort Dodge St. Edmond 220; 9. Prairie Valley 259; 10. Clarion-Goldfield 292; 11. Hampton-Dumont 296; 12. Southeast Webster-Grand 342; 13. South Hardin 387; Humboldt and AGWSR NTS.

Individual Top 10

1. Ryan McMahon (Alg) 16:35; 2. Mitch Hill (EG) 17:11; 3. Parker Drake (AGWSR) 17:13; 4. Zach Thompson (EG) 17:16; 5. Derek Beaumier (Alg) 17:31; 6. Andrew Thiel (Bo) 17:42; 7. Alex Lamp (WC) 17:44; 8. Alex Kenne (Alg) 17:50; 9. Nick Yaeger (Bo) 17:51; 10. Bryce Phillips (Bo) 18:02.

Other Webster City Results

15. Matt Severe 18:27; 25. Mason Hedeen 19:23; 31. Andrew Laird 19:41; 42. Jacob Clabaugh 20:08; 68. Lucas Poland 21:45; 84. Ethan Glenn 23:01.

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WEBSTER CITY Alex Lamp called it just average. If that's the case, then the Webster City boys' cross country team will take just average meet after meet, all season long.

Lamp, the Lynx expected kingpin entering the first meet of the season, showed a bit of moxie and quite a bit of talent on Tuesday at the Lynx Invitational. He went out with the lead pack right from the start, maintained contact with the first wave throughout the first mile, and eventually found a home in the top 10 en route to a seventh-place result at the Webster City Links Golf Club.

Webster City was fourth as a team with 120 points, 10 in back of third-place finisher Roland-Story. Top-ranked Algona (Class 3A) blitzed the field as expected with 37 points, while 10th-ranked Boone (3A) settled for the runner-up spot with 68.

Lamp sprinted across the finish line in 17 minutes 44 seconds and earned a medal for the first time at his home meet. But that wasn't good enough for him.

"I felt good at the beginning of the race, but then I basically died at the end," Lamp said just moments before accepting his top 10 medal. "I wanted to go out fast and keep up with (the leaders) for as long as I could, but I didn't expect to die. So it was just an average race."

Webster City head coach Tony Bussan appreciated Lamp's competitive attitude, but he couldn't have disagreed with him more.

"When you've got Boone and Algona in a meet, you've automatically front-loaded a race, so I told the kids before the meet that if you medal at this meet then you've really done something special," Bussan said. "I was just really proud of Alex's leadership, and his effort matches perfectly with what he's been doing in practice."

Algona junior Ryan McMahon collected the individual title for the third straight year, as he ran alone for the final mile and won in 16:35. Boone's Brogan Austin ran stride for stride with McMahon for two miles, but he pulled up with a side cramp with a mile to go and was unable to complete the race.

Webster City finished 30 points in front of fifth-place finisher and seventh-ranked (2A) Eagle Grove, a fact that wasn't lost on Bussan.

"Finishing fourth and finishing ahead of a conference opponent like Eagle Grove was good racing for us in our opening meet," he said. "We were pretty untested, but I thought the boys did a good job of competing."

Matt Severe shrugged off the strong field and finished 15th in 18:27 for the Lynx. Mason Hedeen was 25th in 19:23, and just 18 seconds back in 31st was Andrew Laird, a sophomore who was competing at the varsity level for the first time.

"Andrew Laird was one of the highlights of the whole meet for us," Bussan said. "He was a middle of the pack runner on our JV team a year ago, but he's worked his tail off and he's had a great attitude. From the middle of the race on he was passing people."

Webster City's three freshmen Jacob Clabaugh (20:08), Lucas Poland (21:45) and Ethan Glenn (23:01) placed 42nd, 68th and 84th, respectively. Glenn finished the race despite a leg injury that Bussan is afraid might force him to miss considerable time.

Algona put three runners in the top 10 despite competing without arguably its most talented athlete, senior Chad Rutledge, who broke his foot last month. Rutledge is the defending North Central Conference champion.