Matt Lorenz broke the tape at the Fifth Season 8K race to resume his dominance at this Fourth of July event in Cedar Rapids.
The Runablaze Iowa athlete won this event in 2022 and 2023 before having his streak of wins snapped in 2024 and 2025, when he was eighth and third, respectively. This time, the Cedar Rapids Prairie track and cross country assistant coach left no doubt in the lightning-delayed race celebrating its 41st running. Lorenz, 27, ran 24 minutes, 26 seconds over the fast 4.97-mile course to win by 42 seconds over former Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Wartburg College runner Jacob Green, 24.
Lorenz leads off this Fourth of July-focused WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and post collegiate distance runners and triathletes.
Lorenz has built an impressive 2026 road racing season. He won the inaugural Cedar Rapids Marathon on June 7 in 2:30:55 on a wet day. That win came after he took the victory at the Marion Arts Festival half marathon on May 16 in 1:08:49.
The Fifth Season 8K traditionally offers one of the fastest fields in Iowa on the Fourth and 2026 was no exception. Former Linn-Mar (Marion) and Iowa State runner Greyson Dolezal, 29, ran 25:38 for third. Wartburg sophomore-to-be Ethan Boston, a Linn-Mar grad, was timed in 26:13 for fourth. Ethan Cheney, 18, a recent Linn-Mar grad, also ran 26:13 for fifth. Ex-Liberty HIgh prep Noah Gregoire, now a sophomore-to-be at Mount Mercy, covered the distance in 26:21 for sixth. Aidan Decker, another Liberty product who will start his junior season at Wartburg next month, was next in 26:22. Adam Gray, another recent grad, this time at Kennedy, ran 26:23 for eighth. Carter Mulford, a Wartburg sophomore-to-be who ran for Prairie , was ninth in 26:28. Junior teammate Cooper Cook, a Marion grad, was 10th in 26:31. Former Runablaze athlete Leif Klarqvist, 23, now based in Minnesota, was 11th in 26:38.
Ean Caskey owns the Iowa all-time record for men 40-49 for 8K and this time was the top masters finisher. The former Cornell College star, 44, ran 26:39 for 12th. Caskey was 1:10 ahead of Running Wild Elite’s Nathan Hopp, 43, of Cedar Rapids for the masters title. Hopp is No. 2 all-time in Iowa masters history for the distance in 25:36.
Former Northern Iowa and Mount Vernon runner Lucy Conroy picked up her first Fifth Season title by topping a strong women’s field. Conroy, 29, ran 29:28, a 5:56 pace, to edge Fitness Sports Distance Project runner Gabby Skopec. Skopec, 27, who ran for Iowa City West and Iowa, crossed the finish line in 29:43. Current Northern Iowa cross country coach Alexina Teubel, a former Mount Vernon/Lisbon and Panther great, rounded out the top three in 29:48. Teubel is 33. FSDP team member Deanna Newhouse, an ex-Mount Mercy runner, ran 30:03 for fourth. Newhouse is 27. Runablaze’s Elaina Biechler, an ex-Coe College great, was the top masters runner and fifth overall in 31:28. That time moves Biechler, 40, to No. 6 in Iowa masters history.
Caskey’s 17-year-old son, Chasen, won the 5K in 16:17. The Mount Vernon senior-to-be topped Jens Strand, 16, by six seconds. Isaac Morris, 20, was third in 16:29. Morris ran for Benton Community (Van Horne) and will be a junior at Cornell College. The women’s winner was former Lisbon runner Lourdes Mason, 21, in 19:58. Mason won by 1:05.
Shifting to track and field, where two Iowa natives are trying to round into former before the USATF Outdoor Championships in just over two weeks. Sixteen-time Iowa state champion and 2016 Olympian Shelby Houlihan, 33, finished well to take third overall in the women’s 2 mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on July 4. Houlihan, a Sioux City East grad, ran 9:21.42 to finish as the top American. Aleshign Baweke edged her Ethiopian countrywoman Hirut Meshesha by .18 of a second to win in 9:20.02.
Karissa Schweizer, a two-time Olympian who competed for Dowling Catholic, settled for sixth in 9:22.79. The Nike Swoosh TC athlete, 30, grabbed six NCAA titles while running at Missouri.
The previous day, former Iowa State All-American Festus Lagat of Kenya placed fifth in the 1 mile. Lagat ran 3:51.44 in a race won by American Liam Murphy in 3:50.49.
Atlanta hosted the annual Peachtree Road Race 10K that features up to 60,000 participants. Wesley Kiptoo, the 2021 NCAA indoor 5,000 champion for Iowa State, claimed 12th in the men’s professional field in 28:40. The seven-time Big 12 Conference champion now competes for the HOKA NAZ Elite squad based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Ryan Ford, a teammate at Iowa State now an On athlete based in Boulder, Colorado, was 16th in 29:20. Former Valley and Iowa runner Ben Anderson, now in Fort Collins, Colorado, placed 36th overall in 32:34. He runs for the Bad Day Run Club. The winner was Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop in 27:37.
Runablaze’s Tyler Lance rolled to victory at the Clear Lake Freedom 5K on July 4 in northern Iowa that included several top names in Iowa runner. The Algona man ran 15:15 to top Gilbert senior-to-be Logan Bleich by 49 seconds. Riley Witt was another :05 back in third place. Witt finished an All-American career at Northwest Missouri State in May after prepping at St. Ansgar. Quallan Phillips of Waterloo and the Crown Running squad picked up fourth in 16:43. Gavin Grunhovd, a star at North Iowa Area Community College this year after graduating from North Iowa (Buffalo Center), rounded out the top five in 16:48.
The women’s champion was former Boone High and Hansons-Brooks professional runner Danna Herrick of Norwalk. Herrick ran 18:07 to top Kiki (Connell) Witt by :08. Witt started her college career at Northern Iowa before moving to Iowa State and finishing at Northwest Missouri State in May. Connell ran in high school for Charles City. Casey Wilson is a masters runner who was third in 19:12. Hanna Keltner picked up fourth in 19:31. Alexis Mojica (19:37), Addison Doughan (19:38) and Lauren Hillesland (19:42) also broke 20 minutes. Doughan is entering her sophomore season at Central College after competing for Clear Lake. Hillesland is a recent graduate of North Iowa (Buffalo Center).
Moving across the state to Moline, Illinois, where the Firecracker Run on July 4 attracted a strong field. Running Wild Elite’s Joe Langridge, 23, was the 5K winner in 15:07. That time ties for the No. 5 mark in team history. Devin Allbaugh, the men’s team coordinator and a former Pleasant Valley prep, secured second in 15:11. Allbaugh, 36, lives in Bettendorf. Runablaze’s Phil Young, 40, of Davenport was the top masters runner in fourth in 15:40. That time would have moved Young to No. 2 in Iowa masters history had it occurred in Iowa. RWE’s Dan Froeschle, 36, was next to finish in 15:48. He attended Davenport Assumption. Ex-Pleasant Valley prep Elliott Klauer, 29, of Bettendorf claimed sixth in 15:49. Runablaze’s Artur Mueller, 42, of Davenport was the No. 2 masters finisher and seventh overall in 16:20. Zack Ryan, a senior-to-be at Davenport Central, rounded out the top 10 in 16:27.
In the 10K, Zach Gray, 30, of Davenport took runner-up in 35:35. He ran for Augustana College. He was 1:13 behind Matt Jackson, 32, of East Moline, Illinois. Pleasant Valley senior-to-be Carter Hatz of Bettendorf picked up fifth in 37:09.
The 39th Firecracker 5K was held in Webster City on July 4 and the race, as in recent years, was represented well by past and current Iowa Central Community College runner. Taking the victory in 15:49 was former Triton runner Karim Achengli Benmouais of Urbandale. The Runablaze athlete topped teammate and former Triton and Johnston prep Tyson Wieland by :07. Chase Bulten of Fort Dodge, the 2023 winner, settled for third in 16:09. He competed for Iowa Central and Northwestern College after graduating from Manson-Northwest Webster High School. The women’s winner was Runablaze’s Elise Wieland, wife of Tyson, in 19:13. That time by the Southeast Warren grad ties for 10th best in race history. Wieland won by 48 seconds.
Urbandale holds its annual 5.1-kilometer race at Walker Johnson Park each year on the Fourth holiday and Saturday’s race in warm conditions featured a win by Des Moines Christian product Luke Hagenberg. The Clive resident and Wartburg sophomore-to-be ran 16:21.9 to top Iowa Western runner Landon Hartley, an Urbandale grad, by 15.5 seconds on the hilly course. Former Urbandale athlete Blake Smith ran 16:47.1 for third. Jacob Fopma, a former Des Moines Christian prep from Urbandale now living in Winfield, Illinois, secured fourth in 16:48.1. Urbandale junior-to-be Jack Tryon claimed fifth in 16:51.1. Next was Des Moines Christian sophomore-to-be Luke McCormick of Urbandale in 16:57.9. Former Urbandale and Simpson College runner Cole Leggett, 22 of Urbandale snagged seventh in 17:14.6.
Des Moines Christian senior-to-be Annie Bruxvoort of Grimes was the women’s winner in 19:40.7. She topped Ryley Fox, 15, of Johnston by 17.5 seconds.
The Sully Freedom 5K also brought a fast field. Recent Knoxville grad Isaac Rankin claimed the win by edging Indianola junior-to-be Jake Robidoux by 2.4 seconds. Rankin ran 15:48.2. Central College junior-to-be Nathan Vander Waal was next in 16:01.2. He is a Pella High product. Grinnell grad Cadel Conner ended up fourth in 16:15.6. Jon Duke, 42, of Searsboro nabbed the masters title in 16:34.7 for fifth overall. Recent South Tama County grad Barrett Jesina took sixth in 16:36.9. Mason Gaulke, who ran for Pella High and will be a freshman at Dordt in the fall, ran 16:39.3 for seventh. The final runner to break 17 minutes was ex-Pella prep Noah Schuknecht in 16:53.9.
Elsie Brenneman led a squad of Pella runners at the front of the women’s 5K field. The senior-to-be ran 17:27.6 for the win. Runablaze athlete Susie Duke, 45, of Searsboro was not far off her Iowa masters record of 17:55. Duke ran 18:05.0 this time for second. Lyndi Devries, 42, of Pella rounded out the top three in 19:07.0. Lizzy Vandevoort, a junior-to-be at Pella, was next in 19:18.2 for 29th overall. Pella senior-to-be Ruth Dunham was 32nd overall and fifth among the women in 19:34.3.
NOTE: This blog will be UPDATED.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Matt Lorenz, Lucy Conroy, Shelby Houlihan, Tyler Lance, Danna Herrick, Joe Langridge
Reporting by Lance Bergeson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lance Bergeson, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
