Waukon boys cross country team finishes seventh among Class 2A State Meet elite behind All-State finish from senior Isaac Reisinger
Reisinger runs to his first-ever All-State finish ... Waukon boys cross country senior Isaac Reisinger (in the individual photo below) raises his arms in celebration after his name is announced as one of the All-State honorees who finished among the top-15 individuals at the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet held at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge Saturday, November 2. Reisinger is pictured above with this year’s Class 2A All-State top-15 individual finishers, including (left to right) Denver junior Myles Matthias, 15th in 16:31.1; Mid-Prairie Wellman senior Preston Yutzy, 14th in 16:28.7; Oelwein senior Caleb Schunk, 13th in 16:27.9; Pella Christian junior Sawyer Meinders, 12th in 16:27.2; Waukon senior Isaac Reisinger, 11th in a career-best 16:25.3; Spirit Lake senior Dietrich Dirks, 10th in 16:23.8; Jesup senior Nathan Pint, 9th in 16:23.0; Oelwein senior Conall Sauser, 8th in 16:19.7; Denver freshman Jesse Gomez, 7th in 16:19.7; Garner-Hayfield-Ventura senior Zach Flatebo, 6th in 16:10.1; Clarinda senior Kyle Wagoner, 5th in 16:09.2; Mid-Prairie Wellman senior Emmett Swartzentruber, 4th in 15:56.4; Spirit Lake senior Brandon Hughes, 3rd in 15:55.4; Vinton-Shellsburg junior Alex Torres, Runner-Up in 15:55.3; and Grundy Center junior Emerson Vokes, Champion in 15:37.5. View and find out how to purchase these photos and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
Senior leadership one final time ... Waukon boys cross country seniors Isaac Reisinger (left in foreground) and Caleb Helgerson (right in background) provided one last dose of leadership for the distance Tribe at the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge Saturday, November 2. Reisinger wrapped up his high school career with his first-ever All-State finish in the meet’s overall top-15 individuals in his fourth consecutive State Meet appearance for the Tribe, placing 11th overall, eighth for team scoring, in a personal-best time of 16:25.3. Helgerson also brought his high school career to a close with his third State Meet for the Indians, claiming a 53rd-place overall finish, 37th for team scoring, in a clocking of 17:27.3. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The Waukon boys cross country team’s Saturday, November 2 participation in the Class 2A State Meet at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge was one of exceeding, extending and enhancing. Ranked 11th among Class 2A teams heading into that season grand finale, the distance Tribe exceeded those expectations by running to a seventh-place team finish that extended the Indians’ current streak of five consecutive top-10 State Meet team finishes, while further enhancing the Waukon legacy at that season grand finale with an All-State individual finish among the most elite of its distance colleagues.
That seventh-place team finish added a fifth consecutive team finish within the top-10 of the Class 2A State Meet elite that has included a 10th-place finish in 2020, seventh in 2021 and consecutive fourth-place finishes in each of the last two seasons. That streak of top-10 team finishes in its last five State Meet qualifications continues the best such streak since the distance Tribe was a mainstay in the Class 2A and 3A State Meet fields from 1989 to 2005, a streak of 17 consecutive State Meet qualifications that included not only top-10 team finishes but Waukon dominance of that season grand finale that included seven State Championships involving a streak of consecutive title tallies from 1995 to 1999.
“I am still trying to wrap my head around yesterday’s State Meet performances and I am beyond proud of our entire 7-12 grade 2024 Boys CC Team!” Waukon boys cross country coach Tara Stein commented. “It was a beautiful fall afternoon in Fort Dodge for running and a great way to close out our 2024 CC season with Isaac as an All-State runner leading us to a seventh-place team finish! It was our 29th State Meet appearance as a team, our fifth consecutive year running at the season finale and our eighth time since 2011. At the grand finale of these last five seasons, as a team we have finished in the top 10, finishing 10th, 7th, 4th, 4th, and 7th consecutively. From my research, we are one of just three 2A teams, Mid-Prairie Wellman and Unity Christian Orange City being the other two, that have qualified for and ran at the State CC Meet over this stretch...that is pretty awesome in my book!!”
TEAM SCORES
Oelwein 113; Mid-Prairie Wellman 128; Unity Christian 152; Denver 152; Chariton 176; Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 179; WAUKON 189; Anamosa 194; Spirit Lake 196; Forest City 216; Tipton 237; Okoboji Milford 241; Pella Christian 243; Jesup 262; Sheldon 292
That All-State finish for Reisinger marks the first time since the 2008 season that Waukon boys cross country has recorded an All-State honoring at the season grand finale. That most recent All-State effort came from Brett Egan during his senior cross country season in the fall of 2008, when he ran to a fourth-place individual finish in a time of 15:56 that still stands as the Waukon boys cross country program record at the 5K distance. Egan’s All-State effort helped the distance Tribe to a sixth-place team finish at the 2008 Class 3A State Meet. Coincidentally, Egan coached his Cedar Falls boys team to this year’s Class 4A State Championship in the Friday, November 1 State Meet competition at Fort Dodge.
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