Even with the fastest time in 2A this year, the Grundy Center junior was ranked second coming into the final race of the season and was in a field that included last year’s champion.

Vokes’ belief, both from within and spiritually, made him know he was the favorite.

“You’ve got to believe in that when you walk on the course,” Vokes said. “You’ve got to keep up the hard work and it’ll pay off in the end. And today was payday.”

Vokes led from start to finish at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge as the Class 2A boys individual champion, winning in 15 minutes, 37 seconds, and claiming Grundy Center’s first-ever 5K cross country title.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Grundy Center’s Emerson Vokes acknowledges the crowd after receiving the Class 2A state champion trophy at Saturday’s state cross country championships in Fort Dodge.

“I’m just so blessed,” Vokes said, crackling with adrenaline after crossing the finish line. “My time doesn’t reflect everything I’ve done this year, but that doesn’t matter. I came here to win, whatever it takes.”

He was initially challenged by Tipton’s Clay Bohlmann, who was within a stride of Vokes for most of the first mile.

But Bohlmann couldn’t keep up Vokes’ pace; no one could.

Vokes led eventual runner-up Alex Torres of Vinton-Shellsburg by 10 seconds at the two-mile mark and the winning margin was nearly 18 seconds over Torres and top-ranked Brandon Hughes of Spirit Lake; 2023 champion Emmett Swartzentruber of Mid-Prairie was fourth in 15:56.

“It’s like my number one hype man [Grundy Center senior Brayden Wallis] tells me before a race: ‘They can’t hang.'” Vokes said.

He pointed one finger to the heavens as he crossed the finish line — Vokes’ faith is intertwined with his competitiveness on the cross country course or on the track.

“I’ve been visualizing this moment since the end of state track. I knew this was going to happen,” Vokes said. “I didn’t know what the time was going to be, what the field would look like, but I visualized that last part for so long.

“I did it, and God did it too — I thank God for every step of the way he helped me, eating the right foods, getting the right sleep, all of it factors into today. All of it was for Him today.”

Vokes is a three-time medalist — 15th as a freshman, runner-up in 1A as a sophomore, and now a champion.

“I texted all my distance dogs before this race and thanked them for giving me the opportunity to come here today and be a contender for the state championship,” Vokes said. “Those guys got me here. Kaden Lynch, Soren Cleveland, Ethan Sadler, Tyler Venenga, Brayden Wallis, Sully Dirks, Brayden Davie, coach Dana [Schmidt], coach [Kerri] Lynch, my mom, my dad, everyone. They got me here.”

Grundy Center freshman Jayce Fryslie is the newest “distance dog” on the block, making his state debut in 46th place on Saturday in a 17:20 clocking.

“You’re gonna hear his name more and more,” Vokes said. “So proud of that kid.”

Fryslie was in 62nd place after a mile and steadily gained ground as the race went on.

“I’ve never been a part of anything like this before,” Fryslie said. “My goal was just to get here to state and run it here with Emerson. I’m happy for him being the state champion, showing everyone here that he’s the best. This gives me a lot of motivation for next year.”

Fryslie was the third-fastest freshman in 2A this year — Jesse Gomez of Denver finished seventh overall in 16:19 and Chariton’s Cy Stuart was 36th in 17:11.

“It’s great for Emerson to have somebody who looks up to him like that and bring him along this year so he’s not running by himself,” Grundy Center coach Kerri Lynch said. “Now he knows what it’s like, he’s got a taste, and they can both be back here next year.”

Oelwein captured the team title with 113 points, followed by Mid-Prairie (128) and Unity Christian (152) winning a tiebreaker with Denver for third place.