Crestwood girls' cross country team punches ticket to State Meet

OELWEIN - On a perfect fall afternoon at Hickory Grove Golf Course in Oelwein on Oct. 23, the Crestwood girls’ cross country team placed second overall with 87 points at the Class 2A State Qualifier to earn a trip to the State Meet, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 31 at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Ft. Dodge.

The top three teams and top 15 individuals qualified for the State Meet.

Waukon won the girls’ team title with 49 points and MFL was third with 106.

In the boys’ meet, Oelwein was first with 42, Waukon took second with 67 and Monticello was third with 70. The Cadet boys’ team placed 10th with 248 points.  

Cadet sophomore Lexus Dohlman placed seventh overall in 20:17.1 seconds to post the highest finish for Crestwood. Teammate Livia McCabe took 14th in a personal record time of 20:56.3. 

In the boys’ meet, Crestwood’s Keaton Vobr tallied the highest finish for the Cadets as he took 18th in a personal record time of 17:49.6. 

“We competed extremely well on Thursday,” Cadet Head Coach Karen Steffen said. “It is always a point of emphasis that we compete hard no matter where you may finish in the race. That is exactly what the kids did. 

“In the boys’ meet, Keaton ran a PR time, but came up just a bit short of his goal of advancing to State. He will use his finish this season as motivation for next year.

“Karson Latwesen also ran a PR time. He joined us midway through the season, and has been improving every week. Jack and Ethan each ended their high school xc career by running season best (SB) times. Richie and Collin have been battling leg injuries, but still gave it their all.

“In the girls’ race, we knew Waukon was the heavy favorite going into the race, so we knew they would be hard to beat. Rather, we focused on racing with MFL-Mar-Mac and Monticello. We knew they were the teams to beat. 

“MFL had beaten us twice in previous races, but that was when Ava was out with illness. With our complete varsity lineup, however, we liked our chances against them. The girls all really stepped up to the challenge in order to meet our goal of getting back to State for a second year in a row.

“Lexus lead our team running very well, and placed seventh, which qualifies her individually for State. Livia ran a PR time and also qualified individually by placing 14th. In her first year of cross country, she has been such a key part of this team," the coach said.