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Liberty’s Keegan Decker is 3rd again at 4A state cross country
Cedar Falls’ Jaden Merrick leads a pack of four sub-15 finishers
Nov. 1, 2025 12:55 pm, Updated: Nov. 1, 2025 5:18 pm
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FORT DODGE — Keegan Decker ran, basically, the race he wanted.
“It was kind of how I expected it to go,” said Decker, a junior at Iowa City Liberty. “Everyone was there until 2.5 miles, then it was a battle from there.”
This battle went to Jaden Merrick.
A senior from Cedar Falls and a two-time runner-up, Merrick had the most at the end and claimed the Class 4A boys’ championship at the state cross country meet Saturday morning at Lakeside Golf Course.
The top four went sub-15: Merrick 14:54, Marshalltown’s Preston Johnson 14:56, Decker 14:59, Sioux City North’s Kuma Gutema 14:59.
“Tough one,” said Decker, who also was third last year. “It would have been great to win. Bounce back, move on.
“But at the end of the day, I didn’t hold anything back.”
Indianola edged Cedar Falls, 102-104, for the boys’ team championship. Ankeny Centennial was third with 157 points; Cedar Rapids Prairie was fourth with 164.
Prairie had three guys in the top 20: Kyle Johnson (15th, 15:46), Cole Carrizales (16th, 15:47) and Owen Miller (18th, 15:49).
Cedar Rapids Kennedy didn’t qualify as a team, but veterans Slader Buckheister and Adam Gray finished side-by-side in seventh and eighth (15:34 and 15:35, respectively).
“Just a perfect ending,” Buckheister said. “I don’t know how it would have been more perfect than to finish side-by-side at the state meet.”
Gray said, “We wanted to go 7-8. There’s no better way to end.”
Waukee Northwest captured its first girls’ cross country title in its brief history, and did it in dominating fashion.
A 2-6 finish by Laney Sundet and Emmy Stubbendeck boosted the Wolves to a 67-point total. Pleasant Valley was second with 103 points, followed by Johnston (113) and Dallas Center-Grimes (114).
Piper Messerly of DCG repeated as the girls’ individual winner, pulling away steadily in the second mile to claim the title in 17:41.
City High finished seventh in both team races. Abigail Burns reached the podium in 15th.
2025 STATE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
(At Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge)
Class 4A Girls
TEAMS
1. Waukee Northwest 67, 2. Pleasant Valley 103, 3. Johnston 113, 4. Dallas Center-Grimes 114, 5. Ankeny Centennial 136, 6. Cedar Falls 183, 7. Iowa City High 213, 8. Waukee 224, 9. Dubuque Senior 247, 10. West Des Moines Dowling 270, 11. Ames 270, 12. West Des Moines Valley 275, 13. Linn-Mar 287, 14. Cedar Rapids Prairie 323, 15. Norwalk 338.
INDIVIDUALS
1. Piper Messerly (DCG), 17:41; 2. Laney Sundet (Northwest), 17:48; 3. Tenley Heidgerken (DCG), 17:51; 4. Joley Sullivan (Davenport Central), 17:52; 5. Maddie Millage (PV), 17:55; 6. Emmy Stubbendeck (Northwest), 17:59; 7. Emma Chesterman (Dbq Senior), 18:01; 8. Ellie Blevins (Centennial), 18:02; 9. Alyx Woodley (Johnston), 18:06; 10. Charlee Gall (CF), 18:08.
11. Nakia Ollivierre (Waterloo West), 18:10; 12. Ele Wharton (Johnston), 18:12; 13. Makenna Madetzke (Ankeny), 18:12; 14. Rebecca Flick (Centennial), 18:13; 15. Abigail Burns (City High), 18:13; 16. Hailey Kosloski (Linn-Mar), 18:21; 17. Emma Stanley (Ames), 18:33; 18. Madelyn Hoss (Lewis Central), 18:39; 19. Ella Jones (Northwest), 18:42; 20. Grace Hamann (City High), 18:43.
Class 4A Boys
TEAMS
1. Indianola 102, 2. Cedar Falls 104, 3. Ankeny Centennial 157, 4. Cedar Rapids Prairie 164, 5. Johnston 180, 6. Dallas Center-Grimes 193, 7. Iowa City High 195, 8. Dubuque Senior 206, 9. West Des Moines Dowling 219, 10. Dubuque Hempstead 226, 11. Bettendorf 235, 12. Waukee Northwest 237, 13. Norwalk 138, 14. Iowa City Liberty 239, 15. Pleasant Valley 281.
INDIVIDUALS
1. Jaden Merrick (CF), 14:54; 2. Preston Johnson (Marshalltown), 14:56; 3. Keegan Decker (Liberty), 14:59; 4. Kuma Gutema (Sioux City North), 14:59; 5. Jack Crossland (Johnston), 15:09; 6. A.J. Willey (Bettendorf), 15:31; 7. Slader Buckheister (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), 15:34; 8. Adam Gray (Kennedy), 15:35; 9. Andrew Heden (Bettendorf), 15:36; 10. Dominic Williams (CF), 15:37.
11. Nicholas Paulsen (Dowling), 15:40; 12. Reed Robbins (Indianola), 15:41; 13. Charlie Deick (Dowling), 15:43; 14. Cohen Moll (Centennial), 15:45; 15. Kyle Johnson (Prairie), 15:46; 16. Cole Carrizales (Prairie), 15:47; 17. Kiefer Barnes (Indianola), 15:49; 18. Owen Miller (Prairie), 15:49; 19. Kevin Coots (Lewis Central), 15:50; 20. Graham Ibeling (DCG), 15:51.
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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