The Fairfield and Van Buren County cross country teams competed at the third annual Ron Hunderdosse Invitational on Thursday, September 10th at Fairfield’s home course at Waterworks Park for Fairfield’s one and only home meet of the season, with Fairfield’s boys finishing second and girls third in the 3A/4A division, and Van Buren County’s girls finishing second in the 1A/2A division while the boys placed fourth.
The meet also served as the centerpiece of Fairfield’s Go Gold Week, with fans, athletes, and community members encouraged to wear gold in honor of Jack Polonsky, a 15-year-old Fairfield cross country runner who passed away July 23rd, 2025 following a battle with T-cell Lymphoma. The Fairfield volleyball and football teams came out to support their cross country teammates at the meet, adding to the spirit of the occasion. The Go Gold campaign, organized by Jack’s mother Kristi Polonsky alongside the school district and Fairfield Superheroes, raises funds for the Pediatric Cancer and Hematology Fund at the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, with 100 percent of donations going directly to pediatric cancer research, treatment, and care. Click here for more details.
Girls Results
In the 3A/4A division, No. 3-ranked Williamsburg dominated the girls race, placing their top five runners in the top nine and top six in the top eleven to win the team title with 23 points. Fairfield finished third with 100 points, edged out of second by Fort Madison’s 99. Burlington finished fourth with 116, Mount Pleasant fifth with 129, Oskaloosa sixth with 136, Washington seventh with 142, and Ottumwa eighth with 144.
The finish was an encouraging sign for Fairfield heading into the rest of the season. The Trojans finished just one point behind conference opponent Fort Madison for second place, while also placing ahead of Southeast Conference foes Washington, Mount Pleasant, and Burlington on the day.
Harper Winegarden of Williamsburg won the individual title at 18:56.870. Alex Jo Steward led Fairfield in 10th place at 22:12.197, followed by freshman Ava Jones in 13th at 22:17.497, Kensley Fligg in 24th at 23:47.160, freshman Madilyn Miller in 31st at 24:29.547, Naomi Stiemsma in 32nd at 24:31.170, and Fernanda Baez in 57th at 29:21.697.
In the 1A/2A division, No. 13-ranked PCM won the team title with 38 points, followed by No. 6-ranked Van Buren County in second with 46. EBF finished third with 86, WACO fourth with 103, Belle Plaine fifth with 113, and Cardinal sixth with 125.
Josie Dykstra of WACO won the 1A/2A individual title at 20:00.167. Kayley Snowgren led Van Buren County in seventh place at 22:33.747, followed by Rory Philips in 13th at 23:27.857, Adalyn Snowgren in 14th at 23:39.210, Gabby Titus in 17th at 23:57.493, Cami Daugherty in 18th at 24:27.510, Brystol Wiley in 22nd at 24:49.243, and Hailey Bailey in 55th at 38:08.557.
Boys Results
In the 3A/4A division, No. 19-ranked Washington won the boys team title with 64 points. Fairfield finished second with 92 points, edging out Williamsburg on a tiebreaker despite both teams finishing with identical scores. Fort Madison followed with 99, the same score as their girls squad, Oskaloosa with 104, Mount Pleasant with 139, Keokuk with 154, Ottumwa with 177, and Burlington with 201.
Similarly encouraging for Fairfield on the boys side, the Trojans claimed second place on a tiebreaker over Williamsburg while also finishing ahead of Southeast Conference opponents Fort Madison, Mount Pleasant, Keokuk, and Burlington on the day.
Parker Tschantz of Washington won the individual title at 17:03.183. Fairfield was led by Elijah Hamilton in 13th at 18:22.657, Brice Boatright in 16th at 18:41.547, River Fulton in 17th at 18:48.420, Parker Reid in 20th at 19:02.180, John Miller in 26th at 19:18.300, Kalen Patterson in 27th at 19:19.737, Elisha Vander Linden in 32nd at 19:51.207, Liam Dowd-Robbins in 36th at 19:54.633, Aaron Wellnitz in 42nd at 20:20.650, Jordan Miller in 49th at 20:54.423, Sam Nelson in 61st at 21:44.663, Elijah Bar-Shimon in 72nd at 22:33.923, Kellen Copeland in 78th at 22:45.380, Aiden Holthus in 79th at 22:46.597, Josh Abraham in 88th at 23:40.640, Sawyer McCready in 92nd at 23:57.280, Kris Powell in 94th at 24:07.027, Daniel Snyder in 97th at 24:49.417, Alex Hudson in 103rd at 26:41.107, and Quimby Scotton in 104th at 27:32.470.
In the 1A/2A division, PCM won the team title with 36 points, followed by No. 17-ranked West Burlington-Notre Dame in second with 53, Hillcrest Academy third with 90, Van Buren County fourth with 126, Highland fifth with 158, Cardinal sixth with 181, Belle Plaine seventh with 188, New London eighth with 198, EBF ninth with 205, and Wapello tenth with 243.
Owen Osterhaus of PCM won the 1A/2A individual title at 16:48.637. Landry Loeffler led Van Buren County in sixth place at 18:18.930, followed by Bo Brecount in 23rd at 20:08.177, Kayden Farris in 29th at 20:50.063, Sawyer Spiker in 40th at 21:37.143, Leo Jirak in 41st at 21:40.937, Camden Wells in 43rd at 21:47.080, Thomas Roberts in 44th at 21:47.280, Jackson Meek in 51st at 23:02.250, Malik Huntington in 75th at 26:38.063, and Chase Hedrick in 78th at 27:27.400.
Coach Belzer and DeHart’s Thoughts
Fairfield head coach Jerrod Belzer said the day was special on multiple levels. “First and foremost, it was great to be a part of the work Kristi Polonsky and the Little Superheroes organization is doing to honor Jack and further the fight against Pediatric Cancer,” Belzer said. He was equally proud of how his team performed. “We are incredibly proud of all our kids. They performed at a high level and really exceeded our expectations. All those athletes have been training hard, but we didn’t really know what to expect with so many freshmen and newcomers. To finish 2nd and 3rd in the team points is a great accomplishment for us but now we know what we’re capable of and that we have to be all the more dialed in if we want to contend for SEC titles.”
Van Buren County Head Coach Lucinda DeHart was proud of how both teams handled the competitive field. “Our girls’ cross-country team finished 2nd last night, finishing behind a strong, ranked 2A school. As a 1A school, we were very proud of the way our girls competed against such strong competition,” DeHart said. On the boys side, she noted: “Our boys finished 4th, competing against several tough 2A programs. Our teams were led by seniors Kayley Snowgren, who placed 7th in Class A, and Landry Loeffler, who placed 6th in Class A.”
DeHart praised both the veterans and the newcomers on the squad. “Our more experienced runners really stepped up and competed well, while our younger and less experienced runners showed a lot of grit and determination. With 22 schools racing together, it was a very competitive meet and a great learning experience for some of our younger runners.”
She also acknowledged the challenge of competing so soon after hosting their own home meet on Tuesday, September 8th. “Everyone was still feeling the effects of hosting our home meet earlier in the week, but I thought our runners handled the challenge well and continued to compete.” DeHart said the team’s focus remains on the bigger picture. “We reminded the team that these early-season meets are essentially tough practices for us. We are training and preparing for the end of the season, and our goal is to continue improving throughout the season so that we are at our best when it matters most. Overall, we were very proud of the way our runners competed, supported each other, and continued to push through a tough race.”
Fairfield will next be in action on September 17th at Fort Madison. Van Buren County returns to competition on September 15th at Central Lee before also joining Fairfield at Fort Madison on September 17th.
