EARNING THEIR RETURNING! Waukon girls cross country team runs to second consecutive State Meet qualification with runner-up State Qualifying Meet finish


Runner-up finish means return trip to Fort Dodge ... Members of the Waukon girls cross country team display their banner in celebration of their second consecutive qualification for the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet. The Indians ran to a runner-up team finish at their Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Thursday, October 18. Pictured above, left to right, are sophomore Maddy Waters, junior Katelyn Benzing, sophomore Bailey Shafer, senior Megan O’Neill, sophomore Regan Griffith, freshman Madelyn Helgerson, sophomore Olivia Byrnes and junior Ellec Armstead. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.

In a race featuring more teams ranked in the top 15 than any other Class 2A State Qualifying field, the Waukon girls cross country team proved they belonged among this season’s elite squads by earning advancement to the season grand finale Class 2A State Meet for the second straight year. Ranked 10th heading into the Thursday, October 18 Class 2A State Qualifying Meet hosted by Garner-Hayfield-Ventura that also featured seventh-rated Aplington-Parkersburg, ninth-rated Crestwood and 15th-rated Okoboji, the Lady Indians not only secured their second consecutive qualification among the State Meet elite, but defied the ranking system by finishing second among those ranked teams and the entire meet field, with both team champion Crestwood (64 points) and the runner-up distance Tribe (73 team points) finishing ahead of the higher-rated Aplington-Parkersburg squad’s third-place total of 96 team points, all three of those top scoring teams earning qualification for the Class 2A season grand finale to be held this Saturday in Fort Dodge.

“Going into the race, we talked about having a strong seven rather than relying on our top five,” Waukon girls cross country coach Brett Egan said. “In a district with four ranked teams, it was going to take a total team effort to finish in the top three to qualify for the State Meet. Although many outsiders looking at our district thought we were going to be battling for the third position, we knew with our depth that a top-two finish was attainable. Our goal was to run to push Cresco and we accomplished that goal. We had our third and fourth runner ahead of theirs, along with our fifth runner right with their fifth.”

VARSITY TEAM SCORES
Crestwood 64; WAUKON 73; Aplington-Parkersburg 96; Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 107; Eagle Grove 138; Okoboji 181; Osage 188; West Marshall 189; Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 249; Southeast Valley 255; Forest City 280; South Hardin 303; New Hampton 365; Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 395

The Indians will now compete in the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet this Saturday, October 27, with that Class 2A girls race set to begin at 1 p.m. at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course about seven miles north of Fort Dodge. The season grand finale is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the Class 4A girls race, with the Class 4A boys slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. That same schedule, every half hour, is planned to play out for Class 3A, 2A and then 1A, with the Class 2A Awards Ceremony slated to be held after the Class 1A girls race, at approximately 2:20 p.m., with that Class 1A girls race slated for a 2 p.m. start and featuring fellow Allamakee County high school Kee, also in its second consecutive team appearance at the State Meet.

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