Waukon cross country boys finish 14th among Class 2A State Cross Country elite


Waukon boys cross country junior Isaac Fink brought the Indians’ team scoring to completion as their number-five runner at the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet at Lakeside Country Club near Fort Dodge Saturday, November 1. Fink came in 88th overall at the meet, 64th for team scoring, in a time of 18:42.0. Photo courtesy of Dave Davies.

Making their way back to a place their program had not been in six years, the Waukon cross country boys competed among Class 2A’s distance running elite at Lakeside Country Club near Fort Dodge Saturday, November 1. Along with the top distance runners in all of Class 2A, the Indians also battled chilly, breezy conditions to rack up 266 team points and finish in 14th place out of 15 teams in the Class 2A field.
The Indians are one of just three teams within that Class 2A State Meet scoring field of 15 teams not graduating a single runner from their seven State Meet competitors, having four juniors and three sophomores make up their top seven runners this season. Class 2A State Meet Runner-Up and top-ranked Monticello fielded five juniors, one sophomore and one freshman for this season’s grand finale, while fourth-place Garner-Hayfield has just one junior, five sophomores and one freshman on this year’s State Meet roster.
Garner-Hayfield junior Chase Smith, the individual champion at the Indians’ Class 2A State Qualifying Meet in New Hampton, ran to Class 2A State Meet Runner-Up honors in a time of 16:18.7, with State Qualifying Meet runner-up Danny Halva, a junior from North Fayette Valley, finishing third at the season finale with a clocking of 16:20.6. Tipton senior Eric Lenz was this year’s Class 2A champion, clocking in with a winning time of 16:09.2 after finishing fourth last season.

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