A Look at Boys Cross Country State Qualifying Meets
Class 4A
Where: Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids
When: Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Teams: Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Western Dubuque, City High, Linn-Mar, Muscatine, Newton, Ottumwa.
Ranked Teams: No. 7 Linn-Mar, No. 9 City High, No. 12 Cedar Rapids Washington.
Top ranked Individuals: 5. Dalton Gosch, Sr., Linn-Mar; 6. Ryan Murphy, Sr., Linn-Mar; 18. Alex Bautista, Sr., Muscatine.
What to watch: City High is seeking its second straight trip to the state meet and its 24th in the last 26 years after finishing 12th at state a year ago. The Little Hawks finished 19 points behind Cedar Rapids Washington at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super meet and 34 points clear of Linn-Mar.
Class 4A
Where: Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf
When: Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Teams: Bettendorf, Burlington, Clinton, Davenport Central, Davenport North, Davenport West, West High, North Scott, Pleasant Valley, Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Ranked teams: No. 2 Pleasant Valley, No. 5 Cedar Rapids Prairie, No. 11 West High.
Top ranked individuals: 3 Nicholas Yanek, Jr., Pleasant Valley; 9. Ali Ali, Sr., West High; 11. Kolby Greiner, Soph., West High.
What to watch: West High will try to return to the state meet for the sixth consecutive season in a qualifying meet that features eight teams from the Mississippi Athletic Conference. Ali Ali and Kolby Greiner figure to battle Pleasant Valley junior Nicholas Yanek for the individual title.
Class 3A
Where: Solon Nature and Recreation Area
When: Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Teams: Davenport Assumption, Central DeWitt, Clear Creek Amana, Fairfield, Keokuk, Maquoketa, Marion, Mount Vernon-Lisbon, West Burlington/Notre Dame, Solon, South Tama, Washington, Williamsburg.
Ranked Teams: No. 1 Mount Vernon-Lisbon, No. 9 Marion, No. 14 Clear Creek Amana.
Top ranked individuals: 2. Myles Bach, Jr., Marion; 3. Jeremy Fopma, Jr., Marion; 20. Jack Young, Sr., Mount Vernon-Lisbon.
What to watch: A trio of WAMAC teams will battle for state meet berths after finishing in the top four at the conference meet in Solon last week.
Defending 3A champion Mount Vernon-Lisbon won the WAMAC title a week ago while Marion was third and Clear Creek Amana was fourth, a repeat of that order on Thursday would give the Clippers their second trip to the state meet and first since 2013.
Class 2A
Where: Monticello High School
When: Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Teams: Anamosa, Dyersville Beckman, Camanche, Cascade, Danville-New London, Louisa-Muscatine, Mediapolis, Monticello, North Cedar, Northeast, Regina, Springville-Central City, Tipton, Waukon, West Liberty.
Ranked Teams: No. 11 Tipton, No. 14. Anamosa No. 15 Waukon.
Top ranked individuals: 9. Tyler Hospodarsky, Sr. Monticello; 14. Aaron Loes, Jr., Monticello; 23. Wyatt Schmidt, Jr., Northeast.
What to watch: Regina is seeking a second straight state meet appearance after having its string of 20 straight appearances end in 2013. The Regals moved up to 2A this season after finishing fourth at the 1A state meet last year and will need a strong performance on Thursday to return to the state meet. Junior Nathan Meyer and Nate Green will be in contention for top 10 finishes for Regina.