Sports

Waukon High School senior Katerina Kovarik helped the Decorah girls swimming team qualify a pair of relay events for the State Swimming Meet scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, November 11 and 12 at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA. The 200 and 400 freestyle relays are two of six event qualifications the Lady Vikings claimed at their Regional Meet hosted by Dubuque Hempstead High School Saturday, November 5.

Kovarik swam the second leg of Decorah’s 400 freestyle relay that qualified as a 19th-seed in the 32-team field in that event with a seeding time of 3:46.42. She also swam the third leg of the Lady Vikings’ 200 freestyle relay that qualified as the number-nine seed in the 32-team field in that event with a seeding clocking of 1:41.39.
 

Parker Hesse, 2014 Waukon High School graduate, did not have any passes thrown his way in a 20-17 Atlanta Falcons loss at home on a last-second field goal to the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, November 6. The loss drops Atlanta’s season record to 4-5 overall.

Hesse’s blocking at tight end helped the Falcons rack up 201 yards on the ground and 129 more through the air in Sunday’s loss. Atlanta will play again this Thursday night, November 10 at Carolina at 7:15 p.m. CST.
 

In a rematch with the last team that handed the Waukon football team a defeat this fall, ending the grid Tribe’s non-district season in mid-September with a 44-20 loss, that same Crestwood squad also brought an end to the Indians’ overall season Friday, October 28 in the second round of the Class 2A State Play-Offs - but not without a much closer battle that came down to the game’s final seconds and featured a rousing Indian comeback that fell just short on the scoreboard but was certainly long on effort and determination.

The third consecutive time qualifying for the Class 2A State Meet by the Waukon boys cross country team ended up being charmed, as the distance Tribe brought home its highest State Meet finish in 18 seasons and finished just seven points beyond the last of the top-three teams that bring home a team trophy. The Indian distance dandies ran to a fourth-place team finish among the Class 2A elite at this season’s grand finale held Friday, October 28 at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge, scoring 127 team points to finish just seven points behind the final trophy-winning third-place finish claimed by the same defending State Champion Tipton team that edged the Tribe by eight points just over a week earlier at its Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Monticello.

Kee cross country freshman Justin Wagner brought his inaugural high school season to a close where every high school runner strives to be - competing among the state of Iowa’s best at the State Cross Country Meet held at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge Friday, October 28. Proverbially saving his best for last, Wagner ran the best time of his young cross country career to finish among the top one-third of the Class 1A cross country elite in the state of Iowa.

Indians will now compete within 2A elite this Friday at Fort Dodge

Looking to defend their title as State Qualifying Meet champions from a season ago and earn a third consecutive qualification for the Class 2A State Meet, the Waukon boys cross country team was able to accomplish half of that task in finishing in the runner-up position at its Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Monticello Thursday, October 20. In a field loaded with four teams ranked within Class 2A’s top 15 teams, including their own number-two ranking, the Indian boys were edged out of a repeat championship performance by a Tipton squad that is the defending Class 2A State Champion from last fall but graduated three of its top seven runners from that title-winning squad and currently holds a number-four ranking among the Class 2A elite.

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.”

Indians will host rematch with Crestwood Friday in Class 2A State Play-Off second round

In a battle of big plays vs. a big back, it was a big play against that big back that ultimately secured a big win, 24-22, for the Waukon football team in its opening-round Class 2A State Play-Off game against New Hampton at home Friday, October 21. That final big play in a series of several that were key to the two-point grid Tribe victory came on a final fourth-down attempt inside the Tribe’s 10-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play in the contest, where the Indian defense wrapped up one final rushing try by Chickasaw 6’2” 204-pound junior runningback Braden McShane short of a first down, and even more importantly, short of the end zone to preserve the two-point Indian victory.

The Waukon volleyball team had its 2022 season brought to a close at the home of a highly-regarded Class 3A colleague in the opening round of Class 3A Regional Tournament play Monday, October 17. The Indian netters traveled to 14th-rated Monticello for their initial postseason tournament action, battling the host Panthers through three sets but falling in all three to suffer the match sweep and an end to their 2022 campaign.

The net Tribe completed its 2022 season with an overall record of 16-19 that included a 0-5 mark in Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) dual match play that placed them sixth in the final NEIC team standings. Monticello went on to have its season ended in the Class 3A semifinals at 12th-rated Dubuque Wahlert Wednesday, October 19 by scores of 22-25, 21-25, 32-30 and 21-25.

The Kee volleyball team had its 2022 season brought to completion against a familiar foe in the opening round of Class 1A Regional Tournament play Monday, October 17. Playing at fellow Upper Iowa Conference squad West Central, the Hawks ended up on the short end of a three-set match loss to the host Blue Devils.

The loss ends the Kee volleyball season with a 1-23 overall record that includes a 0-8 record in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Lady Hawks ninth in the final UIC standings. With the win, West Central advanced on to the Class 1A Region 6 quarterfinals to play eighth-rated Don Bosco Wednesday, October 19, with the Blue Devils having their season ended in a three-set loss by scores of 6-25, 12-25 and a final 21-25.

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