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Rees, Dahl place top 20 at state
Five area runners compete at 3A cross country championships
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FORT DODGE - Washington and Mt. Pleasant runners competed in the Class 3A cross country championships Friday at Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge. For Andrew Rees and Iris Dahl of Washington, it brought an end to two exceptional cross country careers.
Rees took 18th in the boys state meet, finishing the race in 16 minutes, 22.6 seconds. He narrowly missed out on an All-State nod, which is awarded to the top 15 runners.
“I felt like I did pretty well, pretty happy with it,” Rees said. “Not the time or the place that I was shooting for, but the conditions were rough, and the field was so stacked, especially this year. So, I know I ran well. So I’m happy with that.”
Rees finished off his cross country career having made three appearances at state. Friday’s performance was his second top 20 finish at Kennedy Park. He was part of Washington teams that finished fifth and seventh at state in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Rees also has a pair of individual SEC titles to his name.
Dahl competed in her fourth state meet Friday. The senior, who was joined in the race by teammate Emma Horak, crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 16.8 seconds to place 20th overall in the 3A girls race.
“This was I feel like the least nervous I’ve ever been for a meet, almost,” Dahl said. “I just went in knowing all I have to do is try my best. There’s nothing more I can do. Emma and I, we’ve been having fun all weekend so I think it’s just (put) me in a really good mood. I just want to go out there and have fun.”
Like Rees, Dahl wrapped up an outstanding career that includes an individual SEC championship last season. She helped the Demons qualify for state as a team in 2022 and 2024 and has a pair of top 10 finishes at Fort Dodge, placing fifth in 2023 and seventh in 2022.
Horak finished 95th at 21:10.9 in her second appearance at state. Horak was a member of the Demons team at state last year, and improved her time from that race by just under 56 seconds.
“After making it last year as a team, I really wanted to be able to do it individually and just kind of do it for myself,” Horak said. “That was big goal of mine, and I was able to get it, and I was just very happy with that.”
As a pair of talented Washington seniors closed the book on their careers, Mt. Pleasant’s top girls runner, Avery Fedler, finished the final page of the first chapter to her cross country career.
The freshman took 24th in the girls race at 19:22.5. It wasn’t the result Fedler was hoping for after a strong season. She praised the talented crop of 3A girls runners headlined by Pella’s Marissa Ferebee, who won the race in 17 minutes, 47.9 seconds.
Despite the result, Fedler kept it in perspective. She reflected on the bevy of highlights from the season and looked forward her first campaign on the track with the Panthers, along with future success in cross county as her career unfolds.
“Every time I step out on a course, I want to try to be the best,” Fedler said. “But knowing that it’s not the end all be all. There’s room to grow. I’m young, and there’s so much more to come.”
Silas Hulett represented the Panthers on the boys side. The junior finished his first ever state race in 53rd overall at 17:03.4.
Hulett said the gusty conditions greatly affected his time. The strong competition also made difficult to pass other runners with large packs staying bunched up for a longer stretch than a typical race.
“I just kind of told myself, just push through it. The sooner I get it done, the sooner it’s over. The warmer I’ll be,” Hulett said with a laugh. “But I just kept pushing myself to see if I couldn’t pull a PR out, and I didn’t get what I wanted today, but I still managed to finish and that’s what matters.”
The junior added that his first experience at state was motivating after racing against the best runners in 3A. Hulett ended his season on a strong note, clocking another solid performance after he reached Fort Dodge with personal record of 16:44.2 at the Williamsburg 3A qualifier.
