Waukon girls cross country runs to finishes of fifth and sixth at NEIC and District meets under first-year head coach in 2020

The 2020 Waukon girls cross country season was one of ups and downs, some of those simply out of the Lady Indians’ control. Throughout whatever was thrown at them, first-year head coach Tyler Scholl was pleased with how his girls worked through all of it.

The greatest challenge of the season proved to be one of those out of the Indians’ control, the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the entire globe for nearly this whole year. That virus forced some of this season’s charges to sit out of competition at certain points, including just when the season’s biggest three meets at year’s end were set to get underway.

“Overall, we came out alright by the season’s end,” Coach Scholl said. “We had a couple kids who had to be quarantined throughout the season, but we were fortunate to be mostly healthy for the Conference and District meets. The girls remained positive and disciplined through the fall and I am proud of their dedication to stay healthy for themselves, their families and their teammates.”

Without the benefit of the full squad intact that had been competing for the distance Tribe throughout the season, the Lady Indians ran to a fifth-place team finish at the Northeast Iowa Conference Meet. A short time later, the Waukon girls placed sixth at their Class 2A State Qualifying Meet in a strong field that ended up producing three of the top five finishing teams at this season’s Class 2A State Meet, including State Runner-Up Tipton, fourth-place Jesup and fifth-place Starmont.

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