Grundy Center junior Emerson Vokes is the Class 2A boys state cross country champion. He crossed the finish line in 15:37 in Saturday’s championship race in Fort Dodge to record the program’s first state title.
“I was stoked, that’s what my goal was, to come here and win,” Vokes says. “That’s what I did. And I thank God for every step of the way. He helped me. Early mornings, eating the right foods, getting the right sleep. All of it factors into today. All of it was for today. And time doesn’t reflect what I did, but that doesn’t matter. I came here to win. There’s no time goal. It’s win, whatever it takes.”
Not only did he win the title, he did so in dominant fashion, besting the second place finisher by 18 seconds. He started with a lead of up to 10 seconds at the first checkpoint and the competitors shortened the gap at the second checkpoint, but Vokes pulled away for the dominant win down the stretch.
“My number one hype man always tells me they can’t hang. They can’t hang. That’s what he tells me. You got to believe in that. My key is on the swag. You just got to keep it up and all pays off in the end. And this is payday. This is what it is. All the hard work. It’s payday.”
It was the program’s first state champion. Teammate freshman Jayce Fryslie placed 46th in 17:20. Dike-New Hartford senior Bryan Munguia-Chavez placed 90th in 18:02.
In the 2A girls race, Aplington-Parkersburg senior Quinnlyn Schultz placed 48th in 20:46, marking the program’s first appearance at the state meet since 2019.
“I’m just super excited to be here in the first place,” Schultz says. “So, I mean, I didn’t really care where I finished. I knew I wanted to PR and I don’t think that was quite a PR, but it was still under 21:00 and that’s how I wanted to go out. It’s a very different atmosphere than any other state event I’ve ever been at. It was kind of chill at the beginning, just able to walk the course by yourself. But then once you get going, I mean, you’re always surrounded by people and it’s a pretty tight line and there’s always someone in front of you a couple of feet and then right on your tail.”
Grundy Center junior Grace Storjohann did not finish the race.
Earlier in the day, North Butler sophomore Ezra Almelien placed 54th in 17:29 in the Class 1A boys race, an improvement from last year’s 84th place finish. While he hoped for a better performance, he says its fuel for future seasons.
“I didn’t feel too good, but I mean, it was a decent race, I gave it my all,” Almelien says. “Like, within five seconds, probably was five places, but I tried finishing hard. I got passed by quite a few people the last stretch. I think for sure we can do good things next year, even with the team. Hopefully we can get the team down here to run. And yeah, just being down here multiple times is definitely gonna help for the future.”
On Friday, IFA/AGWSR juniors Demi Beaubien and Piper Smith competed in the Class 3A girls race. Beaubien placed 57th in 20:13 and Smith placed 90th in 21:00. Beaubien on the state meet experience.
“We expected a lot of competition, but it really just makes you appreciate how much work all these girls put into everything and how impressive it really is,” Beaubien says. “And just to have a teammate out here to warm up with and know that they’re cheering you on from wherever they are, whether it’s in front or behind you, is just really, really motivating.”
It was the first state meet appearance for both Beaubien and Smith.
Beaubien and Smith:
Emerson Vokes, Grundy Center – Class 2A Boys Champion:
Quinnlyn Schultz, Aplington-Parkersburg – Class 2A Girls 48th Place:
Ezra Almelien, North Butler – Class 1A Boys 54th Place:
Full results here.
