ON TO STATE! for freshman Justin Wagner as Kee cross country teams run in Class 1A State Qualifying Meet at Cascade; Girls finish 7th, boys 13th

The Class 1A State Qualifying Meet at Cascade Thursday, October 20 proved to be the end of the 2022 Kee cross country season for all but freshman Justin Wagner, as the first-year high school competitor ran to individual qualification for the Class 1A State Cross Country Meet. Requiring a top-10 individual finish or a top-two team finish to further advance, all other Kee competitors had their fall campaign come to a close, as the Lady Hawks finished seventh as a team and the Kee boys placed 13th.

“It was a beautiful night for competition,” Kee cross country coach Pat Wagner said. “Cascade’s course is challenging and many of the runners’ times reflect that. Justin ran hard and earned his spot at the State Meet. He knew who he had to keep up with, and that is what he did. It will be fun to see how things shake out at State.”

Justin Wagner’s first-ever qualification for the season grand finale came with his eighth-place finish, both overall and for team scoring, behind five of Class 1A’s top-20 ranked individuals, as he clocked in at 17:56.87 to finish just over one second ahead of the 10th and final individual State Meet qualifying spot in the race that featured 101 runners overall. That result led the Kee boys’ overall team effort of six runners that placed the Hawks in 13th place in the final team standings that included a trio of top-15 ranked Class 1A squads in the three top finishing teams at the meet.

ON TO STATE!
Justin Wagner’s State Meet qualification will now have him competing within the Class 1A elite at this season’s grand finale this Friday, October 28, beginning at 11:15 a.m. at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course north of Fort Dodge. He will begin in Box 16 at the 23-box starting grid, along with five other Class 1A individual qualifiers.

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