Wilson picks up signature win at AHSTW Invite

 AVOCA -- In a premiere matchup of top-five runners in Class 1-A, Evan Wilson turned a close race into a rout to win the boys half of Tuesday’s AHSTW Cross Country Invite.
 Wilson, an Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior, was locked in a close battle with Treynor junior Jerry Jorgenson for about two miles, then rapidly pulled away down the stretch to win his fourth 2017 meet in as many tries by a margin of 38 seconds - 17:14 to 17:52.
 Wilson is ranked fifth in 1A by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches while Jorgenson (last year’s state runner-up) is ranked second. This was their first head-to-head matchup of the season.
 “I’m pretty happy and proud of what I did today,” Wilson said. “It was an all-out fun race with Jerry going up to the two-mile [mark].
 “It’s a confidence booster, but I know that this isn’t where I want to end. This is just the beginning, so I want to keep going from here.”
 On a warm day to run at the Avoca Golf Club, two seniors continued to shine for AHSTW as well.
 Heidi Hall placed third in the girls race with a five-kilometer time of 22:10, leading the Lady Vikes to third place in the team standings with a score of 59. Underwood, paced by meet champion Karley Larson’s dominant win in 19:57, placed first with a 51, edging both Logan-Magnolia (58) and AHSTW for the meet title.
 The Viking boys did not have enough finishers to net a team score, but senior Dalton Fischer kept rolling with his fifth straight top-five finish to open the season. Fischer placed fourth with a time of 18:47.
 The Exira-EHK girls placed seventh (out of seven teams) in the meet, scoring a 136 led by Jolene Jensen’s 13th-place finish.