Seven Your Prep Sports Area Girls Cross Country Runners to Watch This Season
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The Your Prep Sports area is home to some of the most tradition-rich girls cross country programs in the state.
City High, West High, Regina and Solon all have long histories of success while Liberty High has quickly started its own tradition of cross country excellence in just a few seasons.
All of those programs plan to continue their traditions of excellence this fall after three Your Prep Sports area teams posted top 10 finishes at the state meet in three different classes last fall.
There is a long list of talented area runners returning this season.
Before meets get underway later this week we take a look at seven of the top area girls cross country runners to watch this fall.
Rowan Boulter
Junior, City High
Boulter followed up a strong debut season with a sophomore campaign that vaulted her into the conversation of the state’s elite runners.
After a freshman season that featured top-10 finish at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet and a 36th place performance at the 4A state meet Boulter placed sixth at the Super Meet and 21st at the state meet a year ago.
Boulter will be seeking her first state medal this season while attempting to help City High improve on its ninth-place team finish from last season.
Ashlyn Keeney
Junior, Liberty High
Already widely considered one of the top distance runners in the state Keeney enters her junior season seeking the first state title of her career.
The ultra-talented Keeney has won MVC Super Meet and state qualifying meet titles in each of her first two seasons but has yet to end the year with a win at the state meet in Fort Dodge.
Keeney was 72nd at the state meet as a freshman and finished runner-up to Ames senior Camille Jackson a year ago.
No other returning runner was within 23 seconds of the 17:44.1 Keeney posted at the 4A state meet last fall.
Haidyn Barker
Sophomore, Clear Creek Amana
An exceptional varsity debut season last fall should serve as the foundation for what looks to be a very bright prep career for the talented Barker.
Barker was third at the WAMAC Conference Meet and placed 63rd in her first ever trip to the Class 3A state meet.
Maddy Negley
Senior, West High
If you are looking for a breakthrough candidate in Class 4A look no further than Negley who has shown steady improvement throughout her prep career.
Negley place 61st at the state meet as a sophomore and cut more than 36 seconds off her state meet time in her return trip to Fort Dodge last season while jumping all the way to 40th.
After a rare season away from the state meet Negley will be looked upon to help the Women of Troy start a new state meet streak this season.
Kiersten Conway
Senior, Solon
Conway is seeking to become a four-time state qualifier while helping Solon push its way into trophy territory at the Class 3A state meet this fall.
A stalwart in the Spartan lineup since her freshman season Conway has placed in the top 40 at the 3A state meet three times.
She was 22nd as a freshman, 25th as a sophomore and finished 38th last season helping Solon to a seventh-place team finish.
Annalee Bartels
Senior, Regina
Bartels has a chance to end her career with three state medals after earning hardware in each of her first two trips to the state meet.
Bartels burst onto the state scene two years ago with a fifth-place finish in Class 1A and added a 12th place state finish last season.
Regina has placed second and fifth in 1A the past two seasons and will need another strong season from Bartels to sustain that success again this season.
Lilly Reynolds
Senior, City High
Among the most improved runners in the state over the course of her career Reynolds has worked herself into position to compete for a state medal as a senior.
Reynolds, who has shaved an impressive nearly seven minutes off her career best time over the past three seasons, was 12th at the MVC Super Meet and 52nd at the Class 4A state meet a year ago.
One of five returning varsity competitors from a ninth-place team in 4A last season Reynolds will be a key for a City High squad with hopes of climbing the state meet standings.
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