It will surprise no one that the final high school cross country race of Washington senior Micah Rees’ career was one of his best. Rees took overall runner-up honors at the 2023 Iowa Senior All-Stars Invitational Saturday in Pella, crossing the finish line in a time of 15 minutes 50 seconds that was just nine seconds behind winner Tommy Tyynismaa of South Tama.

Rees had the best time on his team that represented runners from throughout Southeast Iowa, helping them win the team scoring competition by nine points. His time at the event hosted by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches featuring the best senior runners from across the state would have been good enough to place among the five fastest times in Washington history that he ran earlier this season.

Rees finishes his Washington career with a school record for time; back-to-back individual Southeast Conference championships; four straight trips to state; a medal in every race he ran over the last two years; and back-to-back seasons with Class 3A state medals, including a fourth-place finish this year.