Sports

The Waukon volleyball team opened Class 3A Regional Tournament play Monday, October 27 at home against its most familiar foe this season, as the Indian net squad was facing the Crestwood Cadets for the fifth time on the year. The two teams had met in three weekend tournaments and once in Northeast Iowa Conference dual match play already this fall, splitting those four matches to set the table for this fifth and final showdown with the end of either team’s season hanging in the balance.

The Kee cross country team had its 2014 season brought to a close at its Class 1A State Qualifying Meet hosted by Nashua-Plainfield High School at the Nashua Town and Country Club Thursday, October 23. The Hawk boys missed out on extending their season by falling short of the top-10 individual and top-three team finishes required for advancement to this season’s Class 1A State Meet, the Hawks finishing 21st out of 22 scoring teams at the meet.
“I was pleased with the effort in a field of way too many runners,” said Kee cross country coach Gary Bottorff. “Some parts of the race the runners were almost coming to a stop on turns because there were so many runners trying to make the turns. My runners gave it their best shot. Some day they may even the districts so that the small schools have a chance to compete on the same terms as the large schools - Class 4A with eight to 10 teams per districts compared to 27-30 teams per districts for small schools.”

The Waukon girls cross country team was within just a single team placewinning of qualification for this year’s Class 2A State Cross Country Meet, the Lady Indians finishing fourth as a team at their Thursday, October 23 Class 2A State Qualifying Meet hosted by New Hampton High School at the New Hampton Golf and Country Club. The Tribe tallied 155 points for their best overall team finish of the season, 52 points shy of the third-place finish required for State Meet qualification and earned by North Fayette Valley Thursday with a team score of 103 points.

The Waukon boys cross country team put together its strongest overall team effort of the season when it mattered most, and the pay-off is a trip to every high school cross country team’s ultimate destination - the State Cross Country Meet - for the first time since the 2008 season.
“Awesome! I am so proud of the boys, all of their hard work is paying off and as a result they will be running at the State Meet in Fort Dodge Saturday,” Waukon boys cross country coach Tara Stein said. “I knew the boys ran a strong race, (sophomore) Tyler (O’Neill) finished seventh, so we knew he would be advancing on to State, now we had to wait patiently for the awards to see if the team would be joining him... and then we heard, ‘in third place, qualifying for State... Waukon.’”

The Kee football team hosted Midland of Wyoming in the final Eight-Player District 4 match-up of the season for both teams, but with so much more riding on the game’s final outcome than just a win or loss. Both teams held equal records of 3-3 in district play heading into the contest, with the winner earning the district’s fourth-place and final Eight-Player State Play-Off berth.
Nearly as even as the two team’s district records were their offensive yardage totals in the ballgame, each holding a slight edge in their respective specialties, with Kee holding a slight offensive edge, 455-406, and that edge further translating on to the final scoreboard with a 64-44 Hawk victory.

The Kee football team traveled to the home of Eight-Player newcomer and top-five ranked Central Elkader Friday, October 17 for a District 4 game. The undefeated host Warriors were averaging just over 74 points per game coming into the contest, and that’s exactly where they ended up in defeating the Hawks by a 74-26 final result. Falling to a 5-3 overall record on the season, 3-3 in district play, the Hawks will return home this Friday, October 24 for a game with Midland/Wyoming that has the fourth and final District 4 play-off qualification spot riding on it. Midland is 3-5 overall on the season, and comes off a 38-0 home win over Central City this past Friday, October 17.

The Waukon girls cross country team ran to a fifth-place team finish among its fellow Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) teams at the annual Northeast Iowa Conference Meet hosted this year by Decorah Tuesday, October 14. The host Vikings made themselves right at home, claiming five of the top seven individual finishes at the meet to win this season’s NEIC championship with 22 points, the Indians tallying 125 points to finish fifth out of six teams scoring at the meet. The Indians will now take part in their Class 2A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, October 23.

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The Kee cross country team competed among its Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) peers at the annual Upper Iowa Conference Meet hosted by South Winneshiek in Ossian Thursday, October 16. The Hawks tallied 232 team points to finish eight in the eight-team field. The Hawks will now prepare for their Class 1A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, October 23 at Nashua-Plainfield, beginning at 4 p.m.

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The Waukon boys cross country team landed one All-Conference honoree and just missed two others in running to a third-place finish at the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) Meet held Tuesday, October 14 at Decorah. Sophomore Tyler O’Neill finished within the meet’s All-Conference top-15 individuals, with junior Isaac Fink and sophomore Austin Day finishing just beyond that honoring mark to help the Indians tally 88 points for third place in the seven-team field. The Indians will now prepare for their Class 2A State Qualifying Meet set for Thursday, October 23 at New Hampton, beginning at 4 p.m.

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The Waukon football team took the possibility of its third consecutive State Play-Off qualification right down to the final play of its Class 2A District 3 clash at 6-2 Center Point-Urbana Friday, October 17. But, much like all three of the Indians’ final passes in the ballgame from just four yards away from the end zone, their play-off hopes also fell just shy of completion with a 27-20 loss to the host Stormin’ Pointers. The loss leaves the Indians with a 2-6 overall record, including a 1-4 mark in Class 2A District 3 play that will keep the Indians from reaching the district’s fourth-place and final play-off qualification spot. Instead, the Indians will wrap up their 2014 season this Friday, October 24 with a home game against Oelwein. At 1-5 overall, the Huskies have an equal 1-4 District 3 record with - like the Indians - that lone win coming over Waterloo Columbus. Oelwein comes off a 26-18 non-district loss to Benton Community this past Friday.