Happy, but not satisfied: West Fork XC team earns state runner-up finish

FORT DODGE – With a big grin while clutching the Class 1A state runner-up trophy for photo opportunities, West Fork senior Markus Wogen talked about how far he’s come.

     As one of two Warhawk seniors who went out on “the deck,” an honor reserved for the top three teams at the state cross country meet at Fort Dodge, it was a different experience for Wogen.

     “It’s really nice having it,” Wogen said, admiring the hardware. “It’s definitely been fun working hard with everybody.

     “It was really nice because there were a lot of people – we’re not really used to running against this many people and having this many people watching us when we’re running, so that is definitely different. It’s just been a nice feeling.”

     The Warhawks were second only to Denver, the top-ranked team heading into the meet, 89-119.

Fellow Warhawk senior Colton Rowe, who was the fourth finisher for West Fork in 18 minutes, 17.2 seconds, said it was great to end on this note.

     “It was just awesome,” Rowe said. “The whole time that was our goal to make it top three and then we ended up getting second. It was everything we hoped for.”

The Warhawks were led once again by junior Peyton Twedt, who crossed the finish line second individually. He had a battle going with eventual champion senior Kyle Kehoe of Denver until the final stretch.

Read the full article in the Nov. 7 edition of the papers.