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Closing the season at the state meet has become an expectation for the Clear Creek Amana boys cross country program.

The Clippers met that expectation once again on Wednesday.

Clear Creek Amana secured its fifth consecutive state meet appearance with a runner-up team finish at the Class 3A state qualifying meet at the Washington Golf and Country Club in Washington.

“The boys just keep killing it,” Clear Creek Amana coach Ben Robison said. “It’s a machine we just replace the cogs and year after year we put the challenge out to them and every year they rise the occasion. So, life’s pretty good to be a Clipper.”

Junior Carson Meskimen won the individual title to lead four Clippers that placed in the top 20 as Class 3A sixth-ranked Clear Creek Amana finished runner-up with 67 points.

Fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier won the team title with 59 points while No. 10 Davenport Assumption was third with 89 and host Washington was fourth with 143.

“Coming in we felt good about where we were,” Meskimen said. “We had some meets get cancelled and we took those weeks and used them as training, that was really nice for us especially doing some race simulation stuff and that really helped us prepare for this meet.”

Runner-up at the state qualifying meet last season, Meskimen pulled away from the field over the final two miles to win in a time of 15:53.7.

Andrew Allen of Cedar Rapids Xavier was runner-up to Meskimen in a time of 16:07.5.

“My plan was to just kind of let some other guys lead at the start and kind of chill in the pack for a little bit,” Meskimen said. “Time doesn’t really matter in this race, it’s really placement and last year I came in second place and my goal was to win it. I was staying nice and relaxed and as soon as I hit the second mile I said it was time to go, time to pull away a little bit.”

Meskimen highlighted a group of four Clippers to post top-20 finishes.

Mason Miller was seventh in a time of 16:22 and Quade Jensen finished 16^th in 17:01.9.

Kyle Vogel was 20^th in 17:14.3 and Ashur Whitmer added a 25^th place finish in a time of 17:28.3.

“It was a tough course,” Meskimen said. “I’m not going to lie it was one of the tougher ones I’ve ran on so it wasn’t definitely a fight but I felt really good about it and when it was time to make the move I made it.”

Clear Creek Amana hasn’t finished better than ninth in any of its previous four trips to the state meet.

The Clippers were 13^th last season and 14^th in 2024 in their two most recent appearances at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

Clear Creek Amana will look to improve on those performances at the 3A state meet on October 30.

“The podium is my goal,” Meskimen said. “I really want to see if I can get top-three but I think as a team we can really strive for top five so that’s where I’d really see the team be right there and I think we can.”

Class 3A State Qualifying Meet

At Washington Golf and Country Club       

Team scores – 1. Cedar Rapids Xavier 59; 2. Clear Creek Amana 67; 3. Davenport Assumption 89; 4. Washington 143; 5. Fairfield 165; 6. Mount Pleasant 171; 7. Williamsburg 172; 8. Oskaloosa 178; 9. Fort Madison 202; 10. Newton 225; 11. Keokuk 273; 12. Knoxville 305

Individual leaders – 1. Carson Meskimen (CCA) 15:53.7; 2. Andrew Allen (CRX) 16:07.5; 3. Silas Hulett (MP) 16:12; 4. Lane Smith (OSK) 16:13; 5. Parker Tschantz (WAS) 16:17.9; 6. Richard Knox (DA) 16:18.3; 7. Mason Miller (CCA) 16:22; 8. Drew Caldwell (DA) 16:26.4; 9. Ethan Hotchkiss (WAS) 16:28.9; 10. Hunter Wiegand (FM) 16:33.1; 11. Cyrus Scheckel (CRX) 16:34.8; 12. Jack Shepherd (WAS) 16:40.9; 13. Lance Mueggenberg (CRX) 16:42.7; 14. Cooper Christy (NEW) 16:44.6; 15. Jake Stineman (CRX) 16:57.4

Clear Creek Amana – 1. Carson Meskimen 15:53.7; 7. Mason Miller 16:22; 16. Quade Jensen 17:01.9; 20. Kyle Vogel 17:14.3; 25. Ashur Whitmer 17:28.3; 33. Robert King 17:48.1; 37. Drew Barker 18:06.8

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