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Rees, Dahl finish Top-5 at state
Washington boys finish Top-5 for first time in school history
FORT DODGE — A little Washington High School history was made in Fort Dodge on Saturday, as the Demon boys’ cross-country team did something it had never done before, finish Top-5 at the state meet.
Not only did the Washington boys grab a fifth-place spot, but senior Micah Rees took fourth individually in the boys’ race, and sophomore Iris Dahl took fifth on the girls’ side.
Rees jumped out with the leaders early, and the Demons’ senior leader stayed out front for the vast majority of the race. Rees finished the race in 15 minutes, 47.9 seconds to earn his first ever Top-5 finish.
“We knew we had people depending on us,” Rees said. “So we all put our hearts out there.”
Rees is now a two-time Top-15 placewinner. He finished the race 13th as a junior last year.
“I remember not being super content with my place last year,” Rees said. “Not that it was a horrible place, but I am definitely so much more content here, and knowing I had a team that did well too, it's just so much better.”
As a team, the Demons scored 186 points. That placed Washington 10 points ahead of Winterset for fifth place.
Sophomore Andrew Rees had a nice race, taking 41st overall, in 16:56.8. Junior Tyler Alderton finished close behind him, taking 48th place, in 17:02.5. Lane Schrock finished his senior season in 68th, crossing in 17:12.5.
“It was amazing,” said Schrock, who was one of six Demons to make their state debut. “That first mile, just hearing all the voices and screams was amazing. It makes everything go numb.”
Sophomore Sawyer Tschantz took 94th, in 17:32.1. Senior Kael Malichky was 11th, in 17:47.3. Senior Andrew Shepherd took 114th, in 17:51.4.
Dahl made waves last season when she exploded in the Class 3A girls’ state race for a seventh-place finish. She outdid herself this year, taking fifth with a final time of 18:57.5.
“I felt good, but there was a bunch of snot on my face,” joked Dahl after the race.
Dahl’s final placement at state was the same spot she grabbed at the qualifier. Dahl finished fifth at the state qualifying meet, and improved on that time by over 30 seconds when she got to Fort Dodge.
“I feel like I just need to try harder at other meets,” Dahl said. “I like to be an underdog I guess.”
Fairfield’s Carley Seeley was making her state debut after a fantastic performance at the qualifier. Seeley was 99th place at the first mile, but passed 33 runners over the next two-thirds of the race to cross the tape in 20:31.0, for 66th place.
