West High’s McKane Makes Good on Goal With State Meet Medal
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
FORT DODGE – With the uncertainty created by the global pandemic swirling around the cross country season Alex McKane set simple goal early this fall for his junior season.
“One of my goals was to make sure I was competing in every single race,” McKane said.
In the final race of a roller coaster season McKane made sure he made good on that goal.
McKane collected the first state medal of his career with an 11th place finish on Friday at the Class 4A state meet at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
“He had some big races against (Cedar Rapids Prairie fifth-place finisher Andrew) Bickford and he had injury, a disqualification and some setbacks but for him to come out today and put a big race out there was huge,” West High coach Josh Kidman said. “It was an opportunity for him to showcase all the work he’s put in and he showed he’s an elite runner in this state and that’s all him. He’s worked so hard for it.”
The up and down season for McKane featured a three-week layoff after West High opened the school year with on-line only classes, a disqualification for runners interference in a race where he edged Bickford at the finish line and a hip injury that hampered him late.
None of that could stop McKane from securing his first medal in his third appearance at the state meet.
McKane dropped more than 10 seconds off his state time from last season when he placed 32nd in 4A as a sophomore.
“I just really focused on competing in every race and I think I did that,” McKane said. “I’m really happy with how every single race turned out.”
The 11th place finish from McKane helped West High finish 11th as a team with 280 points in its 10th consecutive appearance at state.
Sioux City North won its first ever state title, putting a pair of runners in the top four led by individual champion Jaysen Bouwers, while finishing with 75 points.
Liberty High placed sixth with 172 points while City High was eighth with 224 points.
McKane finished in 16:15.6, which was just a second off the pace of eighth-place finisher Connor Kilgore of Dubuque Senior.
“That pack was so tight today that he could have been anywhere from fifth to 15 and that’s how we love it,” Kidman said. “We love that really tight competition.”
McKane missed two weeks late in the season resting a hip injury that flared up after his return from the three-week break in September.
He returned in time to place third at the state qualifier last week and made his mark as one of the top runners in the state on Friday.
Only four non-seniors finished in front of McKane on Friday, a list that includes City High sophomore Ford Washburn who was sixth in a time of 16:06.8.
“I think I had more to go but I’m definitely satisfied with how the year went,” McKane said. “I’ really excited for next year and track season in general.”
Kaden Noeller finished 40th overall for West High in 16:45.5 while senior Tosh Klever was 84th overall in 17:23.8.
Class 4A State Meet
At Lakeside Golf Course
Team scores – 1. Sioux City North 75; 2. West Des Moines Dowling 83; 3. Cedar Falls 86; 4. Waukee 131; 5. Dubuque Hempstead 137; 6. Liberty High 172; 7. Cedar Rapids Prairie 183; 8. City High 224; 9. Ankeny Centennial 243; 10. Johnston 276; 11. West High 280; 12. Pleasant Valley 281; 13. Urbandale 295; 14. Norwalk 298; 15. West Des Moines Valley 393
Individual medalists – 1. Jaysen Bouwers (Sioux City North) 15:31.2; 2. Ryan Winger (Dubuque Hempstead) 15:45.7; 3. Jackson Heidesch (West Des Moines Dowling) 15:53.8; 4. Will Lohr (Sioux City North) 16:00.2; 5. Andrew Bickford (Cedar Rapids Prairie) 16:06.8; 6. Ford Washburn (City High) 16:11.2; 7. Anthony Moran (Urbandale) 16:14.4; 8. Connor Kilgore (Dubuque Senior) 16:14.6; 9. Will Ryan (West Des Moines Dowling) 16:15.1; 10. Joel Burris (Cedar Falls) 16:15.3; 11. Alex McKane (West High) 16:15.6; 12. Jacob Christensen (Waukee) 16:15.7; 13. Cade Muller (West Des Moines Dowling) 16:16; 14. Vincent Hodges (Waukee) 16:19.3; 15. T.J. Tomlyanovich (Cedar Falls) 16:19.
Liberty High (172) – 18. Bowen Gryp 16:28.1; 32. Aidan Decker 16:44.5; 37. Caleb Schillinger 16:45.6; 41. Jack Kinzer 16:47.2; 44. Christian Montover 16:52.4; 64. Jordan Robinson 17:17.8; 80. Gavin Keeney 17:33.5
City High (224) – 6. Ford Washburn 16:11.2; 17. Truman Thompson 16:26.1; 50. Noah Carey 17:01.5; 67. Elliot Dunnwald 17:22.2; 84. Parker Max 17:39.5; 92. Ammon Smith 17:51.1; 101. Hayden Beerends 18:13
West High (280) – 10. Alex McKane 16:15.6; 36. Caden Noeller 16:45.5; 70. Tosh Klever 17:23.8; 81. Sebastian Cochran 17:33.5; 83. Drew Peterson 17:38.1; 95. Mohan Kumar 17:57.5; 100. Asher Overholt 18:09.4
Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.
