Demons end year in Fairfield

Six seconds was all that separated Washington senior Emme Keith from earning a top-15 finish at Thursday?s state qualifying meet in Fairfield.

Keith finished in 18th place with a personal-best time of 19:59 to lead the Washington girls? cross-country team at the meet, but finished six seconds behind the 15th-place cutoff for a state berth.

Despite the disappointment in being unable to qualify in her final season, Demon head coach Steve Roth said she shouldn?t get down on herself too much.

?She ran her best time ever and that?s all you can do,? Roth said. ?She hit 19s for the first time and gave herself a great opportunity to advance, but it?s a tough field. She was mad, but I told her she shouldn?t be disappointed in herself. It was an outstanding season for her.?

Keith was followed by sophomore Brooke Stout, who endured an injury to finish in 45th place with a 21:28, and Molly Sparks who took 55th with a personal best of 22:17.

Meredith Raber took 59th in the meet with a 22:38, followed by Peyton Cuddeback?s 66th-place finish with a 23:31. Maggie Voss also battled an injury to take 80th with a 26:19, as the Demons finished in 10th place at the meet, which featured Davenport Assumption, Fort Madison and Marion.

?We had four out of our six girls PR, and two ran injured,? Roth said. ?Maggie had a shin problem and Brooke was battling a hip injury, but then the other four were outstanding. We are talking two freshmen and two sophomores who ran PRs. They left it all out on the course.?

On the boys? side, junior Owen Horak led the way with a 50th-place finish, running a season-best time of 18:04 and was paced by sophomore Brennan Horak, who finished in 51st with an 18:05.

Sophomore Jacob Van Osdol continued his strong sophomore season with an 18:32 and a 60th-place finish, followed by Ben Schiefer?s 20:16 (83rd) and Kiowa Keith?s 21:09 (86th).

As a team, the Demons finished in 12th.

?All six boys ran PRs,? Roth said. ?The team is very young and learned a lot this year. In the next couple years, they?ll be pretty tough.?

With the season officially coming to a close, Roth noted that the team gained a competitive spirit this season, and that there were only positives to be taken from the year.

?They came together as a team,? Roth said. ?I was pleased the way they did that, and did stuff that you?d like to see on their own. There wasn?t a meet they weren?t competitive. They went out and gave it all they could. That?s all you can ask and they left it all out on the course.?

With Keith being the only varsity senior for either the boys? or girls? teams, that competitive spirit is something Roth hopes carries over into the offseason.

?Everything looks bright,? Roth said. ?It?s not won during August and September; championships are made during the summer. We had a lot of kids believe and start running this summer. They are in a lot better shape than they have been and I hope it carries over next year.?