At KCII, we’re continuing to count down the top 10 sports stories at Washington High School in the 2023-2024 academic year. At number two is the Demon boys’ cross country team reaching the state meet for just the second time in program history.

Washington believed it could produce a special season after just missing out on state as a team in 2023 and most of the roster back, including returning one of the state’s best distance runners in senior Micah Rees.

So it was no surprise to see them run to glory all fall long, as the Demons won the team competition at seven meets this past season, including bringing home a third straight Southeast Conference championship on October 12th.

Rees was an integral part of their success, setting the school record for fastest time on five different occasions and a continuing a streak from the previous season of earning a medal in every race he competed in.

The streak rolled on when Rees ran a time of 15 minutes 48 seconds and was the runner-up at the state qualifying meet in Pella on October 18th, punching his personal ticket to state for a third straight year.

But his whole squad would be following him this time, as Washington finished second on the team leaderboard and 44 points clear of third place and the cut-off line for qualifying.

Junior Tyler Alderton clocked in at 16 minutes 43 seconds to finish ninth overall and become a two-time state qualifier, while sophomore Andrew Rees was only six seconds behind him in finishing 13th and also earning a medal.

The Demons saved their best for last when they took on the Class 3A state championships in Fort Dodge on a chilly October 28th. Micah Rees added one more medal to his extensive career total by taking fourth in the state in a time of 15:47, leading Washington to a fifth-place finish as a team.

Andrew Rees, Alderton and senior Lane Schrock all ran times of under 17-and-a-half minutes as well, and while they missed the medal stand, they contributed in a big way to giving the Demons the points needed to finish one of the best seasons in school history.

Be listening tomorrow when we unveil KCII’s Number One Washington Sports Story from the last year, and find all the stories from the countdown so far at KCIIradio.com.