Taking a Closer Look at the WAMAC Conference Cross Country Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
Championship season is here and for cross country teams across the state that means the state meet is getting close.
Before the postseason officially begins with state qualifying meets next week championship drives have opened for area teams this week with conference meets.
The WAMAC Conference meet annually ranks as one of the most competitive conference meets in the state and the 2020 editions looks to be more of the same.
This year’s edition of the WAMAC Championship features four ranked teams in the girls race and an impressive six ranked squads in the boys race.
Here is a quick breakdown of the boys and girls races for the WAMAC Meet set for Thursday afternoon.
WAMAC Conference Meet
Girls Race
When: Thursday, 4 p.m.
Where: Williamsburg High School
Teams: Dyersville Beckman; Benton Community; Center Point-Urbana; Clear Creek Amana; Independence; Maquoketa; Marion, Mount Vernon-Lisbon; Solon; Vinton-Shellsburg; West Delaware; Williamsburg; South Tama
Ranked teams: Class 3A No. 4 Solon; 3A No. 10 Mount Vernon-Lisbon; 3A No. 13 Center Point-Urbana; 2A No. 2 Williamsburg
Ranked Individuals: 3A No. 17 Peyton Steffen, Jr., Marion; 3A No. 19 Haidyn Barker, Soph., Clear Creek Amana; 3A No. 20 Madison Prier, Sr., Marion; 3A No. 29 Kora Katcher, Jr., Center Point-Urbana; 3A No. 30 Laura Swart, Soph., Mount Vernon-Lisbon; 2A No. 5 Ruth Jennings, Jr., Williamsburg; 2A No. 20 Natalie Bemer, Soph., Williamsburg 2A No. 28 Taylor Winegarden, Jr., Williamsburg
Team title chase: For the third consecutive season it appears Williamsburg and Solon will battle for the team title. After being edged by the Raiders for the conference crown each of the past two seasons Solon will try to reverse that trend this year.
Williamsburg outdistanced Solon by 18 points for the team title in 2018 and 14 points last season but the Spartans have the front of the pack talent and depth to snap the Raiders’ conference streak at two.
Solon has finished in front of Williamsburg at several meets this season including its own invitational last month and won the North Linn Invitational by 28 points of the Raiders on Saturday.
Look for Mount Vernon-Lisbon, Center Point-Urbana and Benton Community to battle for the rest of the spots in the top five.
Athlete to watch: Solon senior Kiersten Conway will attempt to put a bow on what has been an impressive prep career over the next two weeks with a strong finish to her senior season.
What hopes to be a fond farewell tour for the Spartan’s senior leader begins on Thursday where Conway is seeking a fourth top-10 finish at the WAMAC Meet.
After finishing eighth at the conference meet in each of her first two seasons Conway was fourth at the WAMAC meet last season and has the ability to push for her first individual conference title in her final appearance.
Breakdown: Fourth-ranked Solon expects to contend for titles at each of its final three meets of the season beginning on Thursday at the WAMAC meet.
The strength for the Spartans all season has been a deep lineup that has seen a long list of runners step up into the top five point-scoring positions this season.
Solon has three runners on its roster that have earned top-six finishes at the WAMAC meet the past two seasons in junior Emma Bock (2nd in 2018), sophomore Mary Fiala (6th in 2019) and Conway.
That balance makes Solon the favorite to claim the team title though two-time defending champion Williamsburg has its own strong lineup as well as home course advantage.
There will be a new individual champion for the first time in four years after Center Point-Urbana’s Adrianna Katcher claimed her fourth consecutive conference crown last season.
Clear Creek Amana sophomore Haidyn Barker will attempt to follow up a big-time WAMAC conference debut after finishing third last season as a freshman.
Behind Barker and senior Kayla Jiras the Clippers will look to move up the pack after placing seventh last season.
Boys Race
When: Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Williamsburg High School
Teams: Dyersville Beckman; Benton Community; Center Point-Urbana; Clear Creek Amana; Independence; Maquoketa; Marion, Mount Vernon-Lisbon; Solon; Vinton-Shellsburg; West Delaware; Williamsburg; South Tama
Ranked teams: Class 3A No. 3 Marion; 3A No. 4 Solon; 3A No. 5 Center Point-Urbana; 3A No. 9 Mount Vernon-Lisbon; 3A No. 11 Clear Creek Amana; 2A No. 6 Williamsburg
Ranked Individuals: 3A No. 5 Eli Larson, Jr., Center Point-Urbana; 3A No. 6 Luke Post, Sr., Center Point-Urbana; 3A No. 7 Shane Erb, Jr., Marion; 3A No. 8 Jedidiah Osgood, Soph., Marion; 3A No. 10 Brandon Barker, Sr., Clear Creek Amana; 3A No. 13 Mason Bach, Sr., Center Point-Urbana; 3A No. 26 Gabe Hinman, Jr., Solon; 3A No. 27 Gavin Zillyette, Jr., Clear Creek Amana; 3A No. 29 Zach Fall, Soph., Mount Vernon-Lisbon; 2A No. 23 Sam Rich, Soph., Williamsburg; 2A No. 29 Trenton Iburg, Soph., Williamsburg
Team title chase: There has been a different champion at the WAMAC meet each of the last three seasons a streak that Solon will attempt to extend to four years on Thursday.
The upstart Spartans have been among the biggest surprises in Class 3A this season and will attempt to continue their impressive breakthrough season with a conference title.
Solon was seventh at the WAMAC meet each of the past two seasons, the best finish for the Spartans over the past five years at the conference meet.
That is set to change on Thursday as fourth-ranked Solon has proven it can compete with the top teams in the state as recently as Saturday when it edged third-ranked Marion for the title at the North Linn Invitational.
It won’t just be a two-team race at the top. Fifth-ranked Center Point-Urbana, 2A sixth-ranked Williamsburg and defending conference champion Clear Creek Amana will all be jockeying for position in the top five in a loaded field.
Athlete to watch: Another stellar senior looking to cap an amazing career, Clear Creek Amana senior Brandon Barker will be chasing a fourth consecutive top-10 WAMAC finish on Thursday.
Barker was fifth at the WAMAC meet as a freshman and after slipping to ninth the following season just missed an individual WAMAC title last season finishing runner-up to Center Point-Urbana’s Eli Larson.
Larson is back to defend his conference crown this season and along with teammate Luke Post, who was WAMAC runner-up in 2018 and Barker gives the field three runners that have finished in the top two at the event in the past.
That trio could be provide a sneak peek at a big part of the lead back at the state week in Fort Dodge later this month.
Breakdown: With five of the top 11 ranked teams in Class 3A and a total of four teams ranked in the top six in their respective class the WAMAC can stake its claim as one of the best conference meets in the state.
Last season Clear Creek Amana pulled away from the field and won the team title by 39 points over Center Point-Urbana, the largest margin of victory since 2015 and the first time since 2016 the championship was decided by more than eight points.
There should be no such disparity in scores this season with as many as four or five teams capable of securing the top spot.
Solon should be in that mix led by junior Gabe Hinman and senior Tyler Bilskie.
Hinman was 32nd at the WAMAC meet but jumped all the way to seventh last season and Bilskie will attempt to continue a breakthrough senior campaign with a similar conference climb on Thursday after placing 46th a year ago.
A key for the Spartans could be a pair of conference meet rookies in freshmen Brick Kabela and Michael Yeomans who have already put together exception debut seasons.
Clear Creek Amana is seeking an impressive sixth consecutive top-four conference performance after following up back-to-back fourth-place showings with a third-place, runner-up and championship the past three years.
Junior Gavin Zillyette joins Barker as returning WAMAC medalist after placing eighth last season for the Clippers.
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