Breaking Down the Area Girls State Qualifying Cross Country Meets
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
Temperatures are dropping but the cross country action is heating up as the postseason arrives on Thursday with state qualifying meets in all four classes.
Solon and Regina both host state qualifying meets as teams seek to earn a spot at the state meet that is held November 2 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
The top three teams and top 15 individuals from all state qualifying meets across the state earn spot at the state meet.
Here is a quick breakdown of each of the boys state qualifying meets featuring teams from the Your Prep Sports area.
Class 4A Meet (Cedar Falls)
When: Thursday, 3 p.m.
Teams: City High, Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Dubuque Senior, Western Dubuque, Muscatine, Waterloo
Ranked teams: No. 2 Dubuque Senior; No. 6 City High; No. 12 Western Dubuque
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Camille Jackson, Sr., Ames; 4. Lillian Schmidt, Jr., Dubuque Senior; 5. Claire Edmondson, Sr., Dubuque Senior; 24. Rowan Boulter, Soph., City High; 25. Izzy Gorton, Jr., Dubuque Senior;
Team title chase: Second-ranked Dubuque Senior is a state title contender and a heavy favorite to outdistance City High and Western Dubuque for the state qualifying championship.
The Rams have a trio of top-25 ranked runners led by fourth-ranked Lillian Schmidt and fifth-ranked Claire Edmondson.
Athlete to watch: City High sophomore Rowan Boulter seems to improve with every race and is coming off a career-best time in a third-place finish at the Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Divisional last week.
Boulter has postseason experience, placing fifth at the state qualifying meet and 36th at the state meet last season and will look to improve on both of those placings this season.
Breakdown: After having its state record string of state meet appearances end at an even 30 last season the Little Hawks have bounced back strong and are in position to start a new state string.
City High was third behind top-three teams Dubuque Senior and Linn-Mar at the MVC Super Meet and enters the postseason ranked sixth in Class 4A.
Last season the Little Hawks missed a state bid by three points with a fifth-place finish but should return to the state meet this season with a deep lineup that had four top-30 finishers at the rugged super meet.
Class 4A Meet (Marshalltown)
When: Thursday, 3 p.m.
Teams: Liberty High, Ankeny, Fort Dodge, Indianola, Johnston, Marshalltown, Mason City, Newton, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids Prairie
Ranked teams: No. 1 Johnston; No. 7 Cedar Rapids Prairie; No. 13 Ottumwa; No. 15 Liberty High
Ranked Individuals: No. 2 Ashlyn Keeney, Soph., Liberty High; 6. Alli Bookin-Nosbisch, Sr., Ottumwa; 15. Emily Naughton, Fr., Indianola; 17. Bella Heikes, Jr., Johnston; 18. Aleah Tenpas, Soph., Johnston; 20. Clara Toot, Sr., Johnston; 23. Samantha Strauss, Jr., Johnston; 27. McKenzie Logan, Jr., Liberty High; 28. Gabby Cortez, Soph., Cedar Rapids Prairie; 30. Jenna Pitz, Fr., Ankeny
Team title chase: Defending state runner-up and top-ranked Johnston is the favorite to pull away from a deep field that features four ranked teams.
The race is for the final two state qualifying spots and it should be an entertaining one as Cedar Rapids Prairie, Ottumwa, Liberty High and Indianola all have a shot at a top-three finish.
Athlete to watch: Liberty High sophomore Ashlyn Keeney has conquered every challenge in her young prep career but the state meet and should earn a shot at redemption on Thursday.
Keeney easily claimed a state qualifying title last season and has won every in-state meet this year despite a season filled with illness and setbacks.
Ranked second in Class 4A entering the state qualifiers Keeney headlines a field that features 10 ranked runners.
Breakdown: Liberty High its first state meet appearance in program history and while the Lightning certainly have the talent to qualify for Fort Dodge doing so will be no easy task.
Cedar Rapids Prairie finished five spots in front of Liberty High at the MVC Super Meet and if the Lightning can’t catch the Hawks that leaves them battling No. 13 Ottumwa and Indianola for the final spot.
The key for Liberty High will be its depth behind Keeney. Juniors McKenzie Logan and Cami Mac have each had strong seasons and could provide the difference for the Lighting on Thursday.
Class 4A Meet (Southeast Polk)
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Teams: West High, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines East, Des Moines Hoover, Des Moines North, Des Moines Roosevelt, West Des Moines Dowling, Southeast Polk, West Des Moines Valley
Ranked teams: No. 5 Southeast Polk; No. 14 Des Moines Roosevelt
Ranked Individuals: 9. Arianna Jackson, Fr., Des Moines Roosevelt; 10. Mattison Plummer, Jr., Southeast Polk; 13. Jenna Francois, Fr., Southeast Polk; 14. Grace Larkins, Jr., Southeast Polk; 21. Annie Flood, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling; 22. Magda McGowan, Jr., Southeast Polk
Team title chase: Defending state champion Southeast Polk has the advantage of running on its home course and is a heavy favorite to earn the team title.
No. 14 Des Moines Roosevelt, West High, West Des Moines Valley and West Des Moines Dowling were all state qualifiers last season and will battle for the final two state berths.
Athlete to watch: Des Moines Roosevelt freshman Arianna Jackson has jumped into the top 10 in the 4A rankings and will be challenged by a talented Southeast Polk trio of runners at the front of the pack.
Breakdown: West High puts its state-leading string of 24 consecutive state meet appearances on the line Thursday in a race that figures to be extremely tight from second to fifth.
Few teams statewide have traditionally risen to the occasion like West High has in the postseason under head coach Mike Parker who is seeking a 25th straight state meet appearance in his 25th season leading the program.
The battle for the final two state spots will come down to West High, Roosevelt, Dowling and Valley.
All four teams finished in the top 14 at the state meet last season.
Class 3A Meet (Solon)
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Teams: Clear Creek Amana, Solon, Davenport Assumption, Center Point-Urbana, Central DeWitt, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Keokuk, Maquoketa, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon-Lisbon, Notre Dame/West Burlington, Washington
Ranked teams: No. 6 Solon; No. 10 Grinnell; No. 14 Center Point-Urbana
Ranked Individuals: 2. Adrianna Katcher, Sr., Center Point-Urbana; 6. Abby Ryon, Sr., Mount Pleasant; 8. Mary Blanchard, Sr., Grinnell; 23. Haidyn Barker, Fr., Clear Creek Amana; 30. Taylor Quick, Sr., Davenport Assumption
Team title chase: Last season Solon secured a spot at the state meet with a third-place finish at the state qualifier. Competing on its home course this season Solon enters as the favorite in a field that features five teams the Spartans finished in front of at the WAMAC meet last week.
The top challenger to Solon could be Grinnell, who edged Solon by one point for the runner-up spot at last year’s state qualifying meet or Center Point-Urbana, which finished third at the WAMAC meet last week 14 points behind the runner-up Spartans.
Athlete to watch: Clear Creek Amana freshman Haidyn Barker has quickly made a name for herself as an athlete capable of picking up hardware at the state meet next week.
Barker was third at the WAMAC meet last week and enters her first state qualifying meet ranked 26th in Class 3A.
Breakdown: Solon doesn’t have a runner ranked in the top 30 in Class 3A but has the quality and depth in its lineup to win the state qualifying meet and push for a top-five finish in Class 3A next week in Fort Dodge.
Led by junior Kiersten Conway, sophomore Emma Bock and fast-rising freshman Mary Fiala who, was sixth at the WAMAC meet, the Spartans are a team that appears to be hitting stride at the right time.
The front of the pack will be exciting with defending state runner-up Adrianna Katcher of Center Point-Urbana the highest ranked of three top-10 runners in the field.
Class 1A Meet (Iowa City)
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Teams: Regina, Alburnett, Calamus-Wheatland, Cascade, Central Elkader, Columbus, Durant, Easton Valley, English Valleys, Highland, Hillcrest Academy, HLV, Fort Madison Holy Trinity, Isaac Newton Academy, Keota, Lone Tree, Maquoketa Valley, Bellevue Marquette, Mediapolis, Midland, North Cedar, Pekin, Prince of Peace, Rivermont Collegiate, Van Buren, WACO, Wapello, Wilton, Winfield-Mount Union
Ranked teams: No. 5 Regina; No. 6 Pekin
Ranked Individuals: 5. Halle Kilburg, Sr., Bellevue Marquette; 13. Annalee Bartels, Jr., Regina; 18. Delaney Scherf, Fr., Central Elkader; 22. Emma Ostwinkle, Jr., Cascade; 24. Josie Voss, Soph., Regina
Team title chase: Two teams that figure to be in the state title conversation next week get a chance to battle it out on Thursday at Kickers Soccer Complex in Iowa City as Regina and Pekin fight for the team title.
Regina is the defending 1A runner-up and gets the favorite nod running on its home course while Pekin was seventh at the state meet last year.
Athlete to watch: Regina junior Annalee Bartels was second at the state qualifying meet and fifth at the Class 1A state meet last fall in her debut cross country season.
Bartels enters the postseason ranked 13th and will look to improve on those finishes this season now with a year of postseason experience under her belt.
Breakdown: No. 5 Regina and sixth-ranked Pekin are the class of this 1A qualifier with as many as five teams battling for the final qualifying spot.
For Regina a race on its home course where it finished second to 2A top-ranked Mid-Prairie at the River Valley Conference meet last week provides an opportunity to build confidence before the state meet.
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