Liberty High Sophomore Decker Impresses in Third-place Finish at 4A State Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
FORT DODGE – There was some doubt leading up to the state meet, even from Keegan Decker himself, as to whether or not the Liberty High sophomore could hang with the best.
After Friday’s Class 4A state meet no one is left questioning if Decker is among the state’s elite runners.
Decker announced his presence as a title contender on Friday finishing third in a strong 4A field at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
“I came into this race thinking I know I can stick with those guys for a couple of miles so I am going to do that and see what happens after,” Decker said. “It ended up working quite well.”
For nearly three miles Decker stayed stride for stride with Ankeny senior Ethan Zuber and Cedar Falls junior Jayden Merrick.
Zuber pulled away from the lead pack late to win his second straight 4A crown in a time of 15:01.2.
Merrick was runner-up in 15:08 while Decker was right on his heels in 15:10.1.
“My goal for this season was sub 15:15 and I ended up getting that by quite a bit and today I just wanted a 15:20,” Decker said. “I really ended up exceeding that so I am really happy.”
Decker spent the season steadily showing he could battle with the biggest of the big boys in the state.
He was third behind 3A state champion Quentin Nauman of Western Dubuque and Merrick at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet.
Decker closed the gap on Merrick to just eight seconds at the state qualifying meet last week in Dubuque.
On the state’s biggest stage on Friday Decker showed he was a force to be reckoned with in 4A.
“Those early races helped a lot because it really broke that barrier of being in the chase pack and hanging on to those top guys,” Decker said. “It really helped me move on mentally.”
The third-place finish by Decker was the best in program history and helped the Lightning to a ninth-place team finish.
Senior Noah Gregoire finished 21st in a time of 15:59 and senior Jacob Madsen was 57th in 16:27.6.
The other four runners for Liberty High on Friday were three sophomores (Tayson Cho, Lars Hildebrand and Collin Finch) and a junior (Yuma Squiers).
“Now I know that I am one of those competitors for a state title and I am really excited to see how our team develops,” Decker said. “We have a really solid group coming back.”
Cedar Falls won the team title with 73 points, stopping a string of three straight titles for West Des Moines Dowling.
Dowling finished runner-up with 91 points while Cedar Rapids Prairie was third with 122.
City High finished sixth in the team standings with 198 points.
Max McDowell led City High with a 31st place finish in a time of 16:08.6 while junior Linus McRoberts was 36th for the Little Hawks in a time of 16:14.6.
Sophomore Emmett Palmberg placed 51st in 16:23.8 for City High.
Class 4A State Meet
At Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge
Team scores – 1. Cedar Falls 73; 2. West Des Moines Dowling 91; 3. Cedar Rapids Prairie 122; 4. Dallas Center-Grimes 167; 5. Norwalk 191; 6. City High 198; 7. Waukee Northwest 206; 8. Ankeny 218; 9. Liberty High 225; 10. Bettendorf 236; 11. Ames 255; 12. Waukee 274; 13. Marshalltown 275; 14. Johnston 291; 15. Indianola 292
Individual leaders – 1. Ethan Zuber (Ankeny) 15:01.2; 2. Jaden Merrick (Cedar Falls) 15:08; 3. Keegan Decker (Liberty High) 15:10.1; 4. Slader Buckheister (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 15:29.6; 5. Owen Marett (Des Moines Roosevelt) 15:32; 6. Jack Crossland (Johnston) 15:33.3; 7. Kuma Gutema (Sioux City North) 15:33.7; 8. Jack Flori (West Des Moines Dowling) 15:34.9; 9. Moustafa Tiea (West High) 15:38.3; 10. Dominic Williams (Cedar Falls) 15:39.4; 11. AJ Willey (Bettendorf) 15:39.8; 12. Adam Gray (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 15:41.6; 13. Owen Wolfe (West Des Moines Dowling) 15:41.8; 14. Teegan Kralik (Norwalk) 15:45.4; 15. John Moellers (Marshalltown) 15:50.1
City High (198) – 23. Max McDowell 16:08.6; 36. Linus McRoberts 16:14.6; 51. Emmett Palmberg 16:23.8; 61. George Karr 16:30.3; 85. Jarris Prottsman 16:46.8; 99. David Randall 16:58.2; 110. Adam Schaefer 17:14.6
Liberty High (225) – 3. Keegan Decker 15:10.1; 21. Noah Gregoire 15:59; 57. Jacob Madsen 16:27.6; 104. Tayson Cho 17:02.6; 111. Lars Hilderband 17:16.8; 126. Yuma Squiers 17:53.1; 127. Collin Finch 18:07.2
West High – 9. Moustafa Tiea 15:38.3; 94. Michael Hana 16:52
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