Keller, Sexton claim state berths

In a Class 2A state-qualifying meet in Columbus Junction, the crowd saw a hometown favorite take the district title.

Columbus senior Josh Keller earned the first-place finish and a state berth with a 16:50 after Davis County?s Zach Hougland was disqualified for helping a collapsed Mediapolis runner over the finish line.

Keller and the Wildcat boys took fifth place as a team at the meet, two spots away from a team state berth.

Keller was followed by Adrian Santos, who took 34th with an 18:55, and Marc Estrada, who finished with a 19:20 for a 40th-place finish. Armando Quiroz finished in 44th place with a 19:30, and J.D. Lekwa took 47th with a 19:38.

Diego Sanchez finished in 49th with 19:42, while Erick Cantarero finished in 79th with a time of 21:00.

On the girls? side, Ashley Canny finished with a 34th-place finish, running a 22:53, while Jenessa Carpenter took 47th with a 24:21. Grace Chapman took 52nd running a 24:29 and Andrea Rodriguez ran a 26:59 for 65th.

?I could not have asked for a better effort,? Columbus head coach Steve Riley said. ?From Josh on down, we ran as hard as we could. The boys were hoping for a top-3 finish, and they ran well. They went out very fast, and showed they wanted to compete. I was also very happy with Ashley and Jenessa Carpenter for the girls. Jenessa ran her best race of the season (24:21).?

In Cedar Rapids, Highland competed in a Class 1A meet, which finished with senior Keiffer Sexton punching his ticket to the state meet next Saturday.

Sexton finished in third at the meet, behind a pair of Bellevue runners, running a 16:33.