Waukee Girls' Cross Country Wrap Up Season at State Meet

Submitted by Waukee High School

The Waukee girls' varsity cross country team concluded their 2012 season with a tenth-place finish at the State Cross Country Championships hosted Oct. 27 in Fort Dodge.

In addition to their eighth consecutive state meet appearance, Waukee also earned a third consecutive regional championship. Waukee runners Kayla Sabotin (11), Erika Lewis (10) and Rachel Brush (9) each earned All Regional honors. Sabotin and Brush also earned CIML All Conference honors, together with Brianna Young (10).

The junior varsity team concluded its season with a conference championship at the CIML Conference Meet hosted Oct. 11 in Marshalltown. Waukee runners accounted for four of the top ten places at the meet including a first-place effort from Maddie Anderson (9).

Ten athletes shared varsity responsibilities in 2012 including Ainslie Horras (12), Taylor Officer (12), Megan Shryack (12), Jenny Brown (11), Kayla Sabotin (11), Erika Lewis (10), Brianna Young (10), Maddie Anderson (9), Rachel Brush (9) and Elli Lenz (9).

Waukee routinely posted outstanding performances en route to compiling a 80-11 varsity regular season record. Madison Flesch (11), Emily Olson (11), Sydney Slagter (11), Keely Smith (11) and Olivia Prohaska (10) also made key contributions leading to team victories at seven junior varsity and freshman/sophomore meets.

Click here for complete results or here to view a regional and state meet video.

Head Coach Heather Every has quietly built one of the state’s most consistently successful cross country programs over the past decade. Only Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Pleasant Valley, and West Des Moines Valley match Waukee in terms of consecutive state meet appearances.

The program has also benefited significantly from the addition of Abby Schmitz as head middle school coach in 2009. In addition to common IIAC collegiate cross country backgrounds, Every at Central and Schmitz at Coe, the coaches also share great enthusiasm for developing young runners.

Waukee will graduate eight seniors including four-year competitors Ainslie Horras, Claire Martin, Taylor Officer, and Megan Shryack. However, Coach Every will return 25 runners next season, including seven athletes with varsity experience. This seasoned group of returnees combined with a promising incoming freshmen class mentored by Coach Schmitz may well equate to continued success for the program in 2013.

Information on K-12 summer camp opportunities together with information on how to become involved with Waukee girls' cross country can be found at www.waukeecrosscountry.com.