Kee cross country girls finish second at Waukon Invitational, 13th in sizable Wartburg field; Kee boys place fifth at Waukon, no team score at Wartburg


Wraps up Kee’s effort ... Kee girls cross country junior Laura Colsch keeps a slight lead over a Decorah runner along the course at the Waukon Invitational Monday, September 24. Colsch completed the Hawk effort at the meet with her 115th-place overall finish, 43rd for team scoring, with a clocking of 31:42. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.

The Kee cross country team competed in a pair of meets to begin and end this past week’s competition. The Hawks first competed in the smaller Waukon Invitational Monday, September 24 before taking part in the much larger Steve Johnson Invitational at Wartburg College in Waverly Saturday, September 29. The Waukon meet had been rained out from Tuesday, September 18, and its postponement also resulted in the Hawks opting out of the Tuesday, September 25 Jesup Invitational, the Kee girls finishing second at Waukon and the Hawk boys coming in fifth. At Saturday’s Wartburg meet, the Kee girls finished 13th in a loaded field of 25 scored teams, with the Kee boys not fielding enough runners to compile a varsity team score.

“Both meets provided excellent competition; I was pleased with our overall effort at both meets,” Kee cross country coach Pat Wagner said. “Nearly every runner ran a season or career best at Waukon or Waverly or both. Waukon’s meet always provides strong competition and our experience at Wartburg was just what we needed as a program. A very well-run meet with schools of all sizes from around not only Iowa, but also Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was a positive atmosphere for our runners. As we move into the month of October, we hope that Mother Nature treats us a little better and that we continue to improve as a program.”

The Hawks are next scheduled to compete at the New Hampton Invitational Thursday, October 4 before preparing for their Upper Iowa Conference Meet at Turkey Valley Thursday, October 11. Kee will then get ready for its Class 1A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, October 18 at a location yet to be officially announced.

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