The Harlan girls cross country team and senior standout Regina Reinig looked every bit like a team on a quest for a repeat championship as they ran away with a victory at the Abraham Lincoln Invitational Cross Country Meet Saturday Morning.

Reinig, the individual Class 3A champion last season, sprinted away from the pack for a time of 16:01.98 at the Iowa Western Community College campus - nearly 27 full seconds ahead of runner-up Abby Mendlik of Denison-Schleswig.

"I thought it was a little bit closer," Reinig said. "I never really looked behind and I didn't really know where anybody was at."

The senior said coach Doug Renkly told her to begin her kick with 1 1/2 miles to go in the race.

"I thought it was a little bit early," she said, "but he knows best."

Being the defending champion does bring pressure, but Reinig said she's just worried about her race and getting better right now.

"I've thought about it," she admitted. "I try not to focus on it too much. I just try to put it out of my mind."

Reinig's teammates also made a statement, with six girls finishing in the top 10 as the Cyclones tallied a total of 26 points - 25 points better than the second-place Monarchs.

Jill Rueschenberg was third, with Jenny Hosack (sixth), Renae Schnack (seventh), Megan Jacobsen (ninth) and Katie Kroger (10th) rounding out the Harlan top six. The Cyclones finished just three points from perfection in winning a meet in Glenwood Tuesday.

"We knew what it took to win last year," said Reinig, noting her team's goal was to get five in the top 10. "So far I think it's going really good."

St. Albert finished third with a team total of 74, led by fifth-place finisher Jordan Williams (16:40). Lewis Central junior Hilary Sadler finished fourth in the Titans' first meet of the season, and L.C. finished fourth as a team with 89 points.

For Sadler it was the first race since finishing fourth at last year's Class 4A State Meet in Fort Dodge.

"It was good to just get out there and see how it feels again," she said. "It felt good and I have some room to improve."

St. Albert also had Abby Schlater, Trevour Yates and Audrey Weidman in the top 20, while the Titans' Jenny Hall and Arielle Huber were also in the top 20.

Abraham Lincoln finished sixth, nine points behind Red Oak, with Lindsay Sorensen leading the way for the Lynx with an 18th-place showing.

Freshman Courtney Ruff paced seventh-placed Thomas Jefferson with a 19th-place time of 18:05.

Team Scoring

1. Harlan 26, 2. Denison-Schleswig 61, 3. St. Albert 74, 4. Lewis Central 89, 5. Red Oak 154, 6. Abraham Lincoln 163, 7. Thomas Jefferson 165.

Top 20 Finishers

1. Regina Reinig (Har) 16:01, 2. Abby Mendlik (LC) 16:28, 3. Jill Rueschenberg (Har) 16:29, 4. Hilary Sadler (LC) 16:35, 5. Jordan Williams (SA) 16:40. 6. Jenny Hosack (Har) 16:53, 7. Renae Schnack (Har) 17:01, 8. Lindsey Miller (DS) 17:08, 9. Megan Jacobsen (Har) 17:15, 10. Katie Kroger (Har) 17:19. 11. Brooke Wehle (DS) 17:25, 12. Abby Schlater (SA) 17:27, 13. Emily Ludwig (DS) 17:30, 14. Jenny Hall (LC) 17:42, 15. Whitney Dooley (Missouri Valley) 17:48. 16. Trevour Yates (SA) 17:49, 17. Arielle Huber (LC) 17:50, Lindsay Sorensen (AL) 18:04, 19. Courtney Ruff (TJ) 18:05, 20. Audrey Weidman (SA) 18:09.

Other C.B. finishers: 21. Jennifer Liston (SA) 18:19, 23. Shelby Ellison (LC) 18:50, 24. Gabrielle Welch (SA) 18:51, 25. Lindsay McCoy (AL) 18:52, 26. Erin Schreiber (SA) 18:54, 30. Kiersten Ruff (TJ) 19:00, 31. Heather Gubbels (LC) 19:13, 35. Stephanie Wells (LC) 19:50, 36. Kara Neumann (TJ) 20:00, 37. Charis Oswald (TJ) 20:06. 38. Rosalie Warner (LC) 20:13, 39. Savannah Pike (AL) 20:51, 40. Courtney Davis (AL) 21:01, 41. Emille Lieber (AL) 21:08, 43. Rachel Kennet (TJ) 22:22, 45. Molly Battiato (TJ) 22:57.

~Jeff Deluca~ Daily Nonpareil Staff Writer 09.03.06