Lance Sobaski "warmed up" for his competition at the Toyota USATF Outdoor National Championships at Icahn Stadium in New York City this week.

The recent Wartburg College grad, who collected a career-best second in the 3,000 steeplechase at NCAA Division III outdoor nationals in May, jumped into the 45th Clive Running Festival on Saturday, July 18.

The Washington High product, 22, who now competes for the Driftless Distance Project captured the 5-kilometer win on a steamy morning in the 80s in 14 minutes, 47 seconds. Sobaski won the event by 16 seconds and leads off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and post collegiate distance runners and triathletes.

Sobaski is the Wartburg school record holder in the 3,000 steeplechase, which gave him a time good enough to qualify for USATF outdoors. Sobaski is set to compete in the prelims of the 3,000 steeplechase on Thursday, July 23 at 6:12 p.m. CDT.

Sobaski fought off a solid challenge from another former NCAA Division III All-American, Austin O'Brien. The longtime Runablaze Iowa athlete who competed for Pleasant Valley and Central College ran 15:03 for second. O'Brien, 34, lives in Waukee.

Taking third place was fellow Runablaze athlete and past winner Blake Whalen, 30, of Des Moines. The ex-Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central Community College runner posted a 15:13 time for third. The Runablaze run continued with Don Agisha, 22, of Norwalk claiming fourth in 15:36.

Tyler Schermerhorn, another recent Wartburg grad, was next to finish in 15:41. Schermerhorn, 22, ran for Ankeny Centennial and, like Sobaski, is a former national runner-up, in the 10,000. His former Knight teammate, Conner Sattler, ran 15:55 for sixth. Sattler, 22, ran for Clinton High. Former Ames High and Simpson College runner Ean Warrick, now with the Fitness Sports Distance Project, took seventh in 16:06. He edged longtime Runablaze leader Tyson Wieland, 32, of Des Moines. The ex-Johnson and Iowa Central competitor ran 16:10.

Bondurant-Farrar junior-to-be Ryler Hanson was next to finish in 16:25. Dowling Catholic junior-to-be Nate Timboe, of West Des Moines secured 10th in 16:49. The top masters runner was former Northern Iowa runner Rob Semelroth, 51, of Des Moines in 17:24. He is fourth best in Iowa history for men 50 and over with a 17:15 time from October of 2025.

Valley High grad Cohen Kooker returned home to pick up the victory in the women's competition. Kooker, who completed her sophomore season at North Florida in May, ran 18:23 to top another ex-Valley prep, Lauren (Schulze) Wood, by nine seconds. Wood, 23, is a FSDP competitor who lives in Des Moines.

Recent Johnston grad Jayna Lamping was next to finish in 18:44. Ballard (Huxley) product Ava Vance, who starts her junior season at Wartburg, ran 18:58 for fourth. Professional triathlete Jess Smith, 44, of Clive notched the masters win and fifth overall in 19:15. She was :05 ahead of Runablaze's Elise Wieland, 26, of Des Moines. Wieland is a former Southeast Warren prep.

Several top athletes also braved sticky conditions for the University of Okoboji Homecoming Races on July 18, an event that started in 1978. Taking the half marathon victory in the Iowa Great Lakes was former Minnesota Distance Elite athlete Kevin Lewis, 33, of Spirit Lake. The former Ottumwa High and Iowa standout now with FSDP ran 1:10:06. Placing second was former Manson Northwest Webster and Northwestern College runner Chase Bulten, 29, of Burnside in 1:13:18. Bulten also competes for FSDP. Former Buena Vista University runner Tyler Grames, 27, of Sioux City was a distant third in 1:19:34.

The women's champion and fifth overall was Runablaze's Pasca Cheruiyot, 39, of Ankeny. Cheruiyot ran 1:22:45 to hold off former ADM (Adel) prep Geneva Timmerman, 21, of Earlham by 42 seconds. Timmerman was a redshirt sophomore at South Dakota this spring.

Picking up the 10K win was current MDE runner Tyler Jermann, 33, of St. Paul, Minnesota. The ex-Iowa State runner crossed the finish line in 30:49 to top Runablaze's Tyler Lance, 30, of Algona by 40 seconds. Lane Henrichs, a former Central Lyon athlete who was a junior at Dakota State this spring, collected fifth in 35:48.

Charlie Spahn, a Dubuque Senior junior-to-be, grabbed the 5K win by just one second. Spahn ran 16:08. The women's winner was Okoboji High grad Olivia (Johnson) Huseman, 37, of Milford in 18:30.

The triathlon features the race combination of a .6 mile swim, 18-mile bike and 3.8-mile run. Jace Hungerford, a senior-to-be at Spirit Lake, took second in 1:27:31. He was 1:22 behind winner Kevin Mitchell of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The podium was rounded out by Mason City High grad Jack Harty of Mason City in 1:27:52.

Moving overseas to the Night of Athletics meet at Heusden-Zolder in Belgium, where former Iowa State runner Finley McLear was seventh in the featured 800 on July 18. The British runner clocked a 1:49.22 time in a race won by Qatar's Hatim Ait Oulghazi in 1:45.96.

Gavin Grunhovd rolled to victory in the Forest City Puckerbrush Days Color Run 5K on July 18. Grunhovd, fourth nationally in the 3,000 steeplechase while competing for North Iowa Area Community, ran 15:51 while winning by more than four minutes. He is a North Iowa (Buffalo Center) product.

Running Wild Elite's Nathan Hopp was the overall and masters winner at the Rustic Run 4 mile race in Lost Nation. Hopp, 43, ran 24:00 to top Casey Mente, 46, by 44 seconds. Lane Johnston, who finished his freshman season at Central DeWitt this past season, ran 25:14 for third.

Brendan Owens, an Ankeny Centennial grad who completed his sophomore season at Wartburg in May, claimed the victory at the Beef Days 5K in Solon on July 18. Owens, 20, ran 16:43 to top Travis Egli, 45, of Solon by 43 seconds.

Wartburg junior-to-be Anna Quillin, a former Solon competitor, secured second in the women's 5K in 19:32. Quillin was :16 behind Cornell College junior-to-be Lidia Dahlman. Jess Hodge, 34, of Solon was third in 19:34.

FSDP's Gabby Skopec, 27, of Coralville set a new course record while winning the women's 25K at the Lake Macbride Trail Races in Solon on July 18. The ex-Iowa City West and Iowa athlete ran 2:06:19. Finishing second overall was Ross Salinas, 45, of Iowa City in 1:50:56. The winner ran 1:45.54.

In the 50K event, Jimmy Wood, 20, of Marion was the winner in 4:42:34. Wood won the competition by 7:21 over former Iowa City High runner George Karr, 19, of Iowa City.

NOTE: The Weekend Update will return Tuesday, Aug. 4.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

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