MARSHALL INDEPENDENT (© 2002 story reprinted with permission)
9-10-2002
-Marshall boys roll to another win
By Wayne Cook
Independent Sports Writer
MARSHALL � For the second straight meet, the Marshall boys� cross country team was bidding for a perfect score of 15. Paced by the 1-2 combination of Yahya Iman and Akey Jumale, the Tigers cruised to a convincing victory in a 12-team field Monday. Marshall won the New Ulm meet with 16 points. Monday afternoon, the Tigers won their own invitational with 21 points. Iman was timed in 16:03, while Jumale ran the 5,000 meters in 16:05. Both are sophomores Freshman Jon Tauer placed fourth in 16:43, while sophomore Tom Allen was fifth in 16:48.
�I don�t know if I�d had two runners under 17 minutes, but we had four,� Tiger coach Mike Jacobs said. �That�s incredible. These guys are for real.� While Marshall � rated sixth in the state � won by 70 points over Luverne, it also displayed excellent team pack running, with 1:21 separating the top five individuals.
�Akey, you guys ran pretty fast,� Allen said. �We tried to go out slow the first few laps because we knew (Canby�s Chad) Janiszeski would be up there. Then we wanted to pass him and take the lead.� Janiszeski, who was third (16:35), prevented Marshall from having the top four individuals.
Canby-Minneota/Lincoln HI was fourth in the team standings with 102 points. Shawn Leibfried finished sixth for the Lancers. Jumale said the emergence of Iman has made them both better runners. �He�s getting first everywhere,� Jumale said. �He got second at Morris. He�s the man. Yeah, he�s surprised me. �We lost one guy, Hussein (Jumale) ... our top guy ... and we got (Iman). It�s good to get him.� Allen said the Tigers� pack wasn�t as tightly bunched as it was at New Ulm. Hopefully, it will be Thursday when Marshall sees most of the sectional teams at the Hutchinson Invitational.
Monday, the Tigers just missed putting five runners in the top 10. Salah Mohammed, overcoming a sprained ankle suffered in weekend soccer action, was ninth overall in 17:24. Bart Johnson was 11th in 17:51. �For Bart to break 18 minutes, that�s tremendous for us,� Jacobs said. �For being the sixth guy and having 17:51. that gives us a lot of depth.� Eighth-grader Abadillahi Awali was the junior varsity winner in 14:41, while Blaine Kuiper finished third and Tyler Crowley fourth. Awali is pushing for a chance to run with varsity competition. He ran at the Morris Area meet and was among the Tigers� top six runners. �He�s looking to creep up,� Jacobs said. �By the end of the year, he could be up by Jon (Tauer) and Tom (Allen) ... if he�s consistent with his training.�
TIGER INVITATIONAL
Varsity Team scores � Marshall 21, Luverne 91, Jackson County Central 96, Canby-Minneota/Lincoln HI 102, Redwood Valley 145, Edgerton SWC 161, Springfield-Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 163, Windom 183, Worthington 207, Adrian 242, Renville County West and Murray County Central incomplete
Tiger placings: 1. Yahya Iman, 16:03; 2. Akey Jumale, 16:05; 4. Jon Tauer, 16:43; 5. Tom Allen, 16:48; 9. Salah Mohammed, 17:24; 11. Bart Johnson, 17:51; 18. Paul Carlson, 18:29
C-M-L placings: 3. Chad Janiszeski, 16:35; 6. Shawn Leibfried, 17:02; 14. Chaske Haas, 18:11; 36. Tanner Skillings, 19:13; 47. Tad Merritt, 19:38; 48. Nathan Heggeseth, 19:51; 50. James Wickre, 19:55 Tiger Junior varsity: 1. Abadillahi Awali, 14:41; 3. Blaine Kuiper, 15:33; 4. Tyler Crowley, 15:52; 17. Eric Ahmann, 16:44; 24. Luke Nelson, 17:05; 32. Malte Buecken, 17:32; 35. Tim VanMoer, 17:38; 41. Cobly Bruns, 18:15 Tiger Junior high: 1. Brian Byrnes, 7:09; 3. Jacob Carrow, 7:25; 4. Alex Christianson, 7:26; 11. Eric Carlson, 7:55; 12. Matt Calvin, 7:56; 37. Ben Petersen, 9:36
-Courtesy Marshall Independent