Sophomore Justin Wagner runs to a finish within the top one-fourth of Class 1A’s distance elite at 2023 State Meet
Top one-fourth of Class 1A elite ... Kee boys cross country sophomore Justin Wagner battles his way along the course at the Class 1A State Cross Country Meet at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge Friday, October 27. Wagner ran to a finish within the top one-fourth of this year’s Class 1A State Meet elite, placing 38th in the 153-runner field at the season grand finale in a time of 17:18.6, just a half-second off the best 5K cross country time he has ever run. Photo by Danielle Potter. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
A return to the Class 1A State Meet for Kee boys cross country sophomore Justin Wagner resulted in improved steps forward in the many strides forward he took Friday, October 27 competing among the small school distance elite at this season’s grand finale held at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge. Despite temperatures just above freezing and a steady breeze likely dropping wind chills below that mark, Wagner was able to drop several places and nearly 20 seconds off his first-ever State Meet performance under much more ideal conditions last fall.
With a finish in the top one-third last season as a freshman, Wagner edged his way into the top one-fourth of this season’s Class 1A State Meet field of 153 runners, placing 38th overall in a time of 17:18.6, finishing about half a second shy of his best-ever time he recorded just over a week earlier in qualifying for this year’s grand finale. As a freshman last season, Wagner had finished 45th out of 154 Class 1A runners in a time of 17:37.51.
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