A Quick Look at the Class 3A State Qualifying Cross Country Meets Featuring Your Prep Sports Area Teams
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
October means postseason time for prep sports in Iowa.
Football, volleyball and cross country all begin postseason competition this week with cross country taking center stage with state qualifying meetings in all four classes on Wednesday and Thursday.
Classes 4A and 3A start things off with qualifiers on Wednesday with the two smaller classes following on Thursday.
In Class 4A, 3A and 2A the top three teams and top 15 individual finishers qualify for the state meet to be held October 29 and 30 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
In Class 1A the top two teams and top 10 individuals qualifying for the state meet.
Here is a quick look at the Class 3A state qualifying meet featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.
Class 3A Qualifier (Solon)
Girls Race
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Solon Nature and Recreation Area
Teams: Solon; Davenport Assumption; Benton Community; Central DeWitt; Fort Madison; Keokuk; Maquoketa; Marion; Mount Pleasant; Mount Vernon/Lisbon; Notre Dame/West Burlington; South Tama; Washington
Ranked teams: No. 1 Solon; No. 12 Mount Vernon/Lisbon; No. 18 Washington; No. 19 Marion
Ranked individuals: No. 9 Kayla Young, Jr., Solon; No. 13 Laura Swart, Jr., Mount Vernon/Lisbon; No. 16 Abby Blint, Sr., Mount Pleasant; No. 20 Anna Hoffman, Sr., Mount Vernon/Lisbon; No. 21 Gracie Federspiel, Soph., Solon; No. 23 Emma Bock, Sr., Solon; No. 24 Peyton Steffen, Sr., Marion
Team title chase: Solon took over as the top-ranked team in Class 3A early this season and has spent the past month proving it is the team to beat in Fort Dodge next week.
The Spartans will get one final chance to prove they are the 3A favorites on Wednesday and enters a heavy favorite to claim the team title.
Athlete to watch: Solon junior Kayla Young has quietly had an incredible season, moving into the top 10 in the 3A individual rankings and is poised to push for an individual medal next week.
Young was third at the WAMAC Conference meet last week and will battle Mount Vernon/Lisbon junior Laura Swart for the individual crown on Wednesday.
Swart was fourth at the WAMAC Meet on the same course last week, seven seconds behind Young.
Breakdown: Solon is a heavy favorite to win the team title, Young is a contender for the individual crown and the Spartans could put all five scorers in the top 10 on Wednesday.
It is the team depth that makes the Spartans the 3A state meet favorite as Solon has three runners ranked in the top 23 and that doesn’t include sophomore Anna Quillin who was seventh overall at the WAMAC meet last week.
Boys Race
When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Solon Nature and Recreation Area
Teams: Solon; Davenport Assumption; Benton Community; Central DeWitt; Fort Madison; Keokuk; Maquoketa; Marion; Mount Pleasant; Mount Vernon/Lisbon; Notre Dame/West Burlington; South Tama; Washington
Ranked teams: No. 2 Marion; No. 4 Solon; No. 11 Mount Vernon/Lisbon; No. 16 Washington; No. 18 South Tama
Ranked individuals: No. 6 Lance Sobaski, Sr., Washington; No. 7 Jedidiah Osgood, Jr., Marion; No. 8 Shane Erb, Sr., Marion; No. 12 Brick Kabela, Soph., Solon; No. 20 Gabe Hinman, Sr., Solon; No. 24 Micah Rees, Soph., Washington; No. 25 Tommy Tyynismaa, Soph., South Tama; No. 29 Blake Roling, Sr., Marion
Team title chase: A couple of familiar foes will battle for the top spot as Marion and Solon go heads up once again.
Second-ranked Marion has been a tick ahead of the Spartans all season, including in its last head-to-head meeting when the Wolves won the WAMAC title by 38 points over Solon on the same course.
Athlete to watch: Solon senior Gabe Hinman is seeking to become a rare four-time state qualifier and would like to leave Fort Dodge next week with some hardware.
Hinman was seventh at the WAMAC conference meet last week and is no stranger to the rigors of the postseason.
Look for Hinman to finish his career with back-to-back strong races starting on Wednesday.
Breakdown: Marion and Solon will battle for the top spot and are huge favorites to secure two of the spots at the state meet leaving Mount Vernon/Lisbon, Washington and upstart South Tama to battle for the final spot.
Don’t overlook South Tama which put two runners in the top eight and finished fifth as a team at the WAMAC meet last week.
The individual race should be fantastic with Washington senior Lance Sobaski battling the Marion duo of Jedidiah Osgood and Shane Erb with Solon sophomore standout Brick Kabela fighting for a spot with those three top-10 ranked runners.
Class 3A Qualifier (Pella)
Girls Race
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Central College in Pella
Teams: Clear Creek Amana; Ballard; Bondurant-Farrar; Carlisle; Fairfield; Gilbert; Grinnell; Knoxville; Nevada; Newton; Oskaloosa; Pella
Ranked teams: No. 6 Gilbert; No. 8 Carlisle; No. 9 Ballard; No. 11 Pella; No. 14 Clear Creek Amana
Ranked individuals: No. 1 Paityn Noe, Jr., Ballard; No. 4 Ainsley Erzen, Sr., Carlisle; No.10 Raegan Snieder, Fr., Pella; No. 12 Ava Vance, Soph., Ballard
Team title chase: Perhaps the most intriguing team race of any of the Class 3A state qualifiers sixth-ranked Gilbert, No. 8 Carlisle, ninth-ranked Ballard and No. 11 Pella all have a shot at claiming the top spot.
Athlete to watch: Clear Creek Amana junior Haidyn Barker just continues to improve every time out.
A two-time state qualifier that finished 33rd as a sophomore last season Barker proved last week she is ready for a breakthrough on the big stage after finishing runner-up at the WAMAC Conference meet for the second year in a row.
Barker will get a great pre-state meet test on Wednesday with three of the top-10 ranked runners in 3A competing in Pella including top-ranked Paityn Noe of Ballard.
Breakdown: Simply put this is a loaded meet with five teams ranked in the top 14.
Clear Creek Amana proved it can compete with the best, finishing third at the WAMAC meet last week behind top-ranked Solon and No. 12 Mount Vernon/Lisbon.
The Clippers will need another strong performance on Wednesday to snag a state meet bid out of a district that has four teams ranked in the top 11.
The individual race should be the best in any 3A district with defending 3A runner-up Noe and last year’s third-place finisher Ainsley Erzen of Carlisle battling for the title.
Boys Race
When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Central College in Pella
Teams: Clear Creek Amana; Ballard; Bondurant-Farrar; Carlisle; Fairfield; Gilbert; Grinnell; Knoxville; Nevada; Newton; Oskaloosa; Pella
Ranked teams: No. 6 Pella; No. 12 Carlisle; No. 14 Gilbert; No. 15 Newton; No. 19 Clear Creek Amana
Ranked individuals: No. 10 Patrick DeRonde, Sr., Oskaloosa; No. 11 Jackson Mace-Maynard, Sr., Newton; No. 22 Josiah Wittenberg, Sr., Pella; No. 23 Chase Lauman, Jr., Pella; No. 30 Gavin Zillyette, Sr., Clear Creek Amana
Team title chase: Sixth-ranked Pella has a stud in senior Patrick DeRonde, depth and the opportunity to run a familiar course making the Dutch a strong favorite to win the team title.
There are teams capable of pushing including No. 12 Carlisle and No. 14 Gilbert but this is Pella’s meet to win.
Athlete to watch: Clear Creek Amana senior Gavin Zillyette is seeking to join a growing list of four-time state qualifiers for the Clippers.
Zillyette was 22nd at the 3A state meet last season and is coming off a ninth-place finish at the WAMAC Conference meet last week.
The senior enters the postseason ranked 30th in Class 3A and is one of five ranked runners at the state qualifier in Pella.
Breakdown: Five ranked teams in the field will battle for three spots at the state meet.
Clear Creek Amana enters ranked No. 19 in Class 3A, the lowest of the five ranked teams at the state qualifier but never underestimate in the Clippers in the postseason.
Under head coach Ben Robison the Clippers have made a habit of not only peaking in the postseason but running above its seeds at the biggest meets.
Expect that trend to continue on Wednesday as Clear Creek Amana seeks to earn a return trip to the state meet after missing out last season.
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