A trio of Union cross country runners punched their tickets to state last week in Monticello at the 2A state qualifier including senior Sawyer Spence (second from left), senior Millie Condon (center), and sophomore Cooper Davis (second from right). The state qualifiers are pictured alongside head coach Justin Parson, right, and assistant coach Jennie Lorenzen, left. PHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA DAVIS

MONTICELLO – The Union Knights cross country team will be sending a trio of runners this year to the state meet including senior star Amilia ‘Millie’ Condon who punched her ticket for the fourth time during last Thursday’s 2A state qualifier in Monticello.

Condon crossed the finish line runner-up at Monticello with a time of 18 minutes, 38.3 seconds behind Tipton senior Noelle Steines – ranked No. 1 in girls Class 2A this past Monday – who set a personal record with 17 minutes, 52.5 seconds. Sixth-ranked Condon beat Osage junior Scarlett Byrnes, ranked seventh, who came in third and Monticello senior Leah Koehler, ranked 29th, who came in fourth.

Condon’s teammates, junior Sawyer Spence and sophomore Cooper Davis also qualified for state at Monticello in the boys race with Spence finishing ninth with a time of 17 minutes, 7.9 seconds and Davis finishing 15th with a time of 17 minutes, 34.2 seconds.

Including Condon, the Knights girls team fielded seven runners at Monticello with junior Addie Tudor finishing 38th, senior Lily Lorenzen 45th, senior Kate Carlson 46th, freshman Mara Tudor 57th, sophomore Katie Jackson 63rd, and junior Brynn Albertsen 68th. This was the first appearance for the usually high-performing Albertsen since she last competed on Sept. 26 at the Sam Iverson Invitational in Grundy Center where she was forced to end her race early due to injury.

The Knights boys team fielded six runners total at Monticello. In addition to Spence and Davis, senior Kengo Uchiyama-Hansen finished 56th, freshman Tristan Keister 74th, sophomore Ian Grimm 83rd, and freshman Cayden Stoneman 92nd.

Union senior Amilia ‘Millie’ Condon powers her way toward the finish on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Monticello during a girls cross country 2A state qualifier race. She took silver in the race, punching her ticket to the state meet for the fourth time in a row. PHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA DAVIS

Last season, Condon was the lone Union qualifier to the Iowa High School Cross Country State Championships where she finished 11th out of 140 competitors and medaled for the first time in her career. She will run her final high school race at state this Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge beginning at 2 p.m., while Spence and Davis will compete that same day at 2:45 p.m. in the boys 2A race.

Varsity members of the Union girls cross country team pictured ahead of last Thursday’s 2A state qualifier race in Monticello. PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISSA ALBERTSEN

Knights junior cross country runner Brynn Albertsen, center, pictured with her parents following the race in Monticello. PHOTO BY REBECCA DAVIS