Taking a Quick Look at the River Valley Conference Cross Country Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The cross country postseason is here.
Conference meets around the area and the state kicked off last week with the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet last Thursday in Waterloo and continue this week with the River Valley and WAMAC hosting their conference meets and the MVC running divisional meets.
The finish line for all cross country teams is the state meet held at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge on October 29 and 30th.
Before looking ahead to state qualifying meets next week or the state meet Your Prep Sports takes a moment to break down the conference meets for area teams this week.
Here is a quick look at the River Valley Conference meet set for Tuesday at Kickers Soccer Complex in Iowa City.
River Valley Conference Meet
Girls Race
When: Tuesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Kickers Soccer Complex
Teams: Anamosa; Bellevue; Camanche; Cascade; Durant; Mid-Prairie; Monticello; North Cedar; Northeast; Regina; Tipton; West Branch; West Liberty; Wilton
Ranked teams: Class 2A No. 1 Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 3 Monticello; Class 2A No. 4 Tipton; Class 1A No. 6 Regina
Ranked individuals: Class 2A No. 1 Danielle Hostetler, Soph., Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 13 Sydney Yoder, Sr., Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 14 Phoebe Shetler, Soph., Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 17 Emma Althoff, Jr., Monticello; Class 2A No. 18 Jaden Yoder, Sr., Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 25 Mitzi Evans, Sr., Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 26 Karle Kramer, Sr., Monticello; Class 2A No. 29 Alivia Edens, Soph., Tipton; Class 1A No. 19 Mya Whitaker, Jr., Regina
Team title chase: Mid-Prairie enters as a heavy favorite to continue its string of recent River Valley Conference meet domination.
The four-time defending Class 2A state champion Golden Hawks are state title favorites again this season and enter atop the 2A rankings with a deep and talented lineup that features five runners ranked in the top 25 led by defending 2A state champion Danielle Hostetler.
Mid-Prairie won the RVC title by 50 points last season with Tipton edging Monticello by two points for the runner-up spot with Regina finishing 31 points back in fourth.
It should shake out in similar fashion this season with Tipton and Monticello battling for second with Regina attempting to hold off the rest of the field in the top four.
Athlete to watch: Regina junior Mya Whitaker has emerged as the leader for the Regals taking over the top spot in the lineup previously occupied by departed senior Annalee Bartels.
Whitaker won the first individual title of her career last week at Hillcrest Academy and enters the postseason ranked No. 19 in Class 1A and poised to push for a state medal later this month.
First, Whitaker will look to move up in the RVC ranks after finishing 13th at the conference meet last month.
Breakdown: One of the top small school conference meets in the state the River Valley Conference meet features four teams ranked in the top six in their respective classes led by perennial power Mid-Prairie.
Mid-Prairie and Tipton finished first and second at the 2A state meet last season and will both be in contention for state hardware again this season.
The Golden Hawks have been the class of 2A cross country for the past half decade winning the 2A crown by 62 points last season.
Regina will attempt to use the home course advantage to secure another top-four conference finish on Tuesday.
Seniors Natalie Franklin and Josie Pursley were 28th and 37th overall at the RVC meet last season and will look to improve upon those performances this year.
Boys Race
When: Tuesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Kickers Soccer Complex
Teams: Anamosa; Bellevue; Camanche; Cascade; Durant; Mid-Prairie; Monticello; North Cedar; Northeast; Regina; Tipton; West Branch; West Liberty; Wilton
Ranked teams: Class 2A No. 2 Tipton; Class 2A No. 4 Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 12 Monticello; Class 2A No. 19 Anamosa; Class 1A No. 7 Bellevue; Class 1A No. 12 Regina
Ranked individuals: Class 2A No. 6 Thaddeus Shetler, Sr., Mid-Prairie; Class 2A No. 12 Clay Bohlmann, Fr., Tipton; Class 2A No. 14 Ty Nichols, Jr., Tipton; Class 2A No. 22 Cody Bohlmann, Sr., Tipton; Class 2A No. 26 Troy Butler, Sr., Tipton; Class 1A No. 8 Payton Griebel, Soph., Bellevue; Class 1A No. 15 Aidan O’Neil, Soph., Regina; Class 1A No. 20 Aiden Onken, Jr., Bellevue; Class 1A No. 29. Adam Knepper, Jr., Cascade
Team title chase: As good as the girls field is the boys race may be even more exciting with six ranked teams in the 14-team field.
Monticello is the defending RVC champion but Tipton enters as the favorite after finishing runner-up at the Class 2A state meet.
The Tigers have four runners ranked in the top 26 in Class 2A and are looking to return to the top of the RVC after finishing six points behind Monticello at the conference meet a year ago.
Mid-Prairie is the top contender for the Tigers with Monticello, Anamosa and Bellevue all pushing for top-five spots.
Keep an eye on Regina.
The Regals were ninth last season with 210 points but are poised for a big improvement this season and have the top-end talent and improved depth that should have the Regals competing for a spot in the top five.
Athlete to watch: Regina sophomore Aidan O’Neil has burst onto the scene this fall and immediately moved to the front of the Regal pack.
The sophomore standout enters ranked 15th in Class 5A and will look to push for an individual top-five conference finish on Tuesday in a field that features nine ranked runners.
Breakdown: The River Valley Conference meet annually ranks as one of the top small school conference meets in the state and the 2021 edition should be no different.
The top four finishers at last season’s RVC meet were all seniors with Bellevue sophomore Payton Griebel the lone returning runner to finish in the top five last season.
Expect Griebel to battle Mid-Prairie senior Thaddeus Shetler and the Tipton trio of Clay Bohlmann, Ty Nichols and Cody Bohlmann for the individual title.
Regina is a team that could make a big move this season. O’Neil gives the Regals an individual capable of posting a top 10 finish and Joe Maley and Adam Boblenz return after posting top-40 finishes at the conference meet last season.
Throw in the bonus of competing on its home course and Regina should be among the biggest movers from last year’s standings.
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