Keith earns All-Conference honors

It was her final meet at the Washington Golf and Country Club, and it was fitting to see Demon senior Emme Keith pick up All-Conference honors along the way.

Keith took seventh place at Thursday?s meet, running a 21:18 at the Southeast Iowa Conference meet, claiming her second-straight All-Conference medal, a big moment for her.

?It feels great because it?s my last year, so I wanted to make it count,? Keith said. ?Getting All-Conference is pretty great, and it?s a good accomplishment.?

Keith started out the race quickly, leading for the early portion of the meet before Fort Madison?s Sara Steffensmeier overtook her for the individual meet title.

The strong start was all part of Keith?s plan.

?I always start out quicker, because I think that I?ll cut time that way,? Keith said. ?Eventually it catches up to me, but as people go by, I can pace myself with them. I don?t have to catch up to them.?

With only one meet left, Keith is looking to make her first state-meet bid next week in Fairfield, where the Demons will face tough competition in all the conference opponents, in addition to Davenport Assumption, Cedar Rapids Xavier, Marion and Solon.

?With a tougher district, I don?t know where I?ll place,? Keith said. ?I hope state is an opportunity for me, and I know I?ll have to push myself because our district is really hard, but who knows what could happen.?

Keith was the lone all-conference runner for the Demons on the night, but a number of strong performances came through for the rest of the team.

On the girls? side, sophomore Brooke Stout followed Keith, placing 13th with a 21:54, while Meredith Raber (17th, 23:19) and Molly Sparks (18th, 23:21) finished back to back for the Demons. Maggie Voss rounded out the Demon scoring with a 21st place finish, posting a time of 23:58, while Mariah Howard took 22nd with a 24:04 and Peyton Cuddeback took 23rd with a 24:20.

As a team, the Demon girls finished in third place, while Fort Madison took the meet title with seven girls finishing in the top 10.

On the boys? side, junior Owen Horak led the team with a 14th-place finish, running an 18:35, while sophomores Jacob Van Osdol and Brennan Horak finished in 16th and 17th respectively, each running an 18:44.

?(Jacob) has been awesome,? Washington head coach Steve Roth said. ?We thought he could do this well and he?s always had the potential. We are happy for him, and he?s another one who is relaxed and has health stuff under control. His confidence is outstanding. Mt. Pleasant had eight guys in the top 11. They are extraordinarily talented, but our guys are right there.?

Ben Loy took 24th at the meet, running a time of 20:05, while Ben Schiefer placed 27th with a 20:46 and Kiowa Keith finished in 31st with a 21:51 to round out the varsity squad.

The boys finished in fourth as a team, while Mt. Pleasant claimed the meet title.

?We left it all on the course,? Roth said. ?We have a tough area here, and I thought we competed well. It was classy that the football team showed up and supported us. I know we appreciated it and the athletes appreciated it.?

Washington will take on state qualifying in Fairfield next Thursday, and Roth said the focus will be on themselves and trying to take the next step.

?We just have to take care of our own business,? Roth said. ?We have to go out and run the race of our lives. If there?s our best time and our best placing, that?s all we can ask. Hopefully things fall into place for us.?