Keeping it Local: Decorah Cross Country Swipes Team Titles at Waukon Invitational

If no one funds local news, your community is just rumors. Help Decorah News bring facts home. WAUKON — The Decorah boys and girls cross country teams didn't have to travel far to make a statement Tuesday, powering through the Waukon Invitational at Waukon Golf & Country Club. Both squads captured first-place finishes, proving their hard work continues to pay off. Boys 5K The Decorah boys dominated the varsity 5,000-meter race, cruising to the team title with just 19 points. That put the Vikings well ahead of runner-up Waukon, which finished with 55. Starmont/West Central placed third with 90, followed by North Fayette Valley at 117. New Hampton came in fifth with 142, while Osage and Clayton Ridge tied for sixth at 179. Crestwood rounded out the field with 182. Garrett See set the pace by taking first place in 17 minutes, 12.6 seconds. Close behind were Clarence Nimrod (17:22.8), Mitchell Stemper (17:31.1) and Oak Pasche (17:32.8), giving the Vikings four of the top five spots. Derek Hrdlicka (17:37.6), Oscar Grimstad (17:44.0, personal record) and Bennett Coppola (17:59.9) rounded out the scoring effort. "[This was] Another excellent effort by the team. We continue to show daily improvement. I am proud of the work being done by this team," boys coach Brad Johansen said. Girls 5K The Decorah girls matched the boys' performance by capturing their own team title with 30 points. Waukon was next with 57, followed by MFL MarMac at 91 and Crestwood at 109. Osage finished fifth with 121, North Fayette Valley took sixth with 137 and New Hampton came in seventh with 185. Olivia Volkmann led the way for Decorah in third place at 20:34, followed by Ruth Kueny (20:45.1, personal record), Deborah Hougen (21:18.5), Riley Christopher (21:29.0), Raelyn Newhouse (21:36.4) and Amelia Roe (22:20.8). Simone Downing added a 30th-place finish in 23:23.1. "We continue to grow as competitors, and it's fun to see confidence building. This is a group of girls who enjoy spending time together and lifting each other up," girls coach Cristy Nimrod said. With both the boys and girls sweeping the team titles, Decorah left Waukon hungry for the rest of the season. Elevate your inbox with the DecorahNews.com newsletter! Receive free thought-provoking articles, actionable advice and inspiring stories every week.