LA CYGNE — Jack Adams knew that in order to win a league title in cross country, he was going to have to conquer a long-time rival to do so.
Burlington High’s Seth Jarvis edged Adams for the crown at the 2019 Pioneer League meet by about 5 seconds.
And despite facing each other multiple times during their high school careers, they hadn’t yet met on the course in 2020.
That all changed Thursday, when Adams and his Iola High teammates traveled to Prairie View High School for the Pioneer League meet to take on, among other schools, Jarvis and his Burlington High squad.
The tone was set early on, as Adams and Jarvis quickly made their way to the front of the pack.
But unlike years past, in which the two rivals often ran toe-to-toe, Adams felt different this time around.
“I felt really good the whole race,” Adams said. “He kept trying to run up ahead of me, but he was killing himself to do it.”
By the midpoint of the 5K course, Adams took the lead for good, and never looked back.
Adams took home the individual Pioneer League title in 16 minutes, 39 seconds — 37 seconds clear of Jarvis and all other comers.
But Iola’s fun run didn’t end there. The Mustangs placed four of the top eight runners to secure the team title as well. Iola wound up with 36 points, well ahead of Burlington’s 61 and Anderson County’s 69.
For perspective of Iola’s improvement throughout the season, the Mustangs and Anderson County ended in a virtual tie at a cross country meet a month ago at Greenbush.
Adams attributed part of his continued improvement in cross country to his competitions with Jarvis.
“I wouldn’t call him a nemesis,” Adams said. “We are just really competitive. Running with Seth really helped me push myself to new limits.”
Jarvis also had vocal Iola-based contingent rooting him on at the meet. (He’s the grandson of Mary Ann Magnuson.)
IOLA head coach Marv Smith knew that securing a team title required fast times from several runners.
Boy, did they deliver.
“We had a great race,” Smith said.
Smith expected Iola runners Jesse Taylor, Riley Jay and Kaster Trabuc to tangle with competitors from the other teams in order to secure a league medal.
