Washington’s top 10 countdown of the best sports stories from the 2021-22 academic year continues today with number four on our list. The fourth best story takes us to a cross country course in Burlington when the Demon teams made history sweeping the Southeast Conference titles. 

On October 15th the orange and black traveled to Flint Hills where the boys team captured their first league crown since 1997 and the girls did the same for the first time in school history. The Washington boys took home the gold hardware with 42 points to beat out second place Fairfield with 51. Senior Lance Sobaski became a two time individual SEC Champ with his run of 16:32 to beat the entire field by 23 seconds. Sophomore teammate Micah Rees comfortably took home runner-up honors in 16:55. Drew Horak finished 12th, Tyler Alderton was 13th, and Elijah Morris rounded out the scoring in 14th. Other Demon runners included Quinn Wubbena in 19th and Cameron Vongpanya 37th. 

Five of the 10 all conference selections in the girls race belonged to the Demons and that translated to a first place showing of 32 points compared to Mount Pleasant next in line with 61. Quincy Griffis placed second in the field in 21:06 and Lauren Horak was sixth in 21:20. Isabella Lujan was seventh, Amelia Dahl eighth, Alyvia Anderson ninth, Kendall Hinrichsen 11th, and Taylor Bartholomew 12th. 

Head Coach Stefanie Haworth told KCII Sports the monumental night was something special. “It feels amazing! The kids have worked so hard all year and for both teams to come home Conference Champs is fantastic. It was a full team effort on both sides and I’m so proud of everyone of our runners.” Both squads just missed out on advancing to state as a team the next week, but Sobaski and Rees moved on as individuals. In Fort Dodge, Sobaski became the first Demon to medal at the big dance placing eighth and Rees finished in 36th. 

Check back in tomorrow for number three on our list when it takes us to the hardwood.