A Quick Look at the Class 4A 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 4A state qualifying meet featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.
Class 4A Qualifier (Indianola)
Girls Race
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Pickard Park in Indianola
Teams: West High; Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln; Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson; Des Moines Lincoln; Des Moines Roosevelt; West Des Moines Dowling; Indianola; West High; Norwalk; Ottumwa; Waukee
Ranked teams: No. 4 Des Moines Roosevelt; No. 6 West Des Moines Dowling; No. 14 West High; No. 15 Waukee; No. 20 Indianola
Ranked individuals: No. 8 Abi Hahn, Jr., Des Moines Roosevelt; No. 18 Elena Gentry, Soph., Des Moines Roosevelt; No. 23 Breelie Mauro, Jr., Norwalk; No. 24 Liv Hall, Soph., West Des Moines Dowling
Team title chase: Des Moines Roosevelt and West Des Moines Dowling should battle it out for the top spot with either team capable of coming with the title.
Dowling finished 13th at the state meet last season while Roosevelt is seeking its first trip to the state meet since 2018.
Athlete to watch: West High sophomore Cindy Wang has been among the most improved runners in the state this season going from a junior varsity competitor as a freshman to the top runner for the No. 14 ranked Trojans this fall.
Wang was 17th at the MVC Super Meet and fourth at the MVC Valley Division meet last week and will look to continue that success on Wednesday.
Breakdown: The top two state qualifying spots seem secure with Des Moines Roosevelt and West Des Moines Dowling but the battle will be for the third spot.
No. 14 West High, No. 15 Waukee and No. 20 Indianola will all be seeking to earn a spot at state and all are capable of grabbing the final spot.
West High has a strong front of the pack combination in Wang and sophomore Gabby Moniza and that could be the difference for the Trojans in claiming the third spot.
Boys Race
When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Pickard Park in Indianola
Teams: West High; Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln; Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson; Des Moines Lincoln; Des Moines Roosevelt; West Des Moines Dowling; Indianola; West High; Norwalk; Ottumwa; Waukee
Ranked teams: No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling; No. 7 Norwalk; No. 13 West High; No. 20 Indianola
Ranked individuals: No. 1 Alex McKane, Sr., West High; No. 7 Jackson Heidesch, Jr., West Des Moines Dowling; No. 13 Will Ryan, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling; No. 14 Tyler Schweizer, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling; No. 19 Seth Cheney, Jr., West High; No. 27 Flynn Milligan, Jr., West Des Moines Dowling; No. 30 Donovan Card, Jr., Norwalk
Team title chase: Defending 4A state runner-up West Des Moines Dowling has the front of the pack talent and overall depth to be a state title contender again and should have no problem locking up a team title on Wednesday.
Norwalk is likely the top challenge for the Maroons along with West High.
Athlete to watch: West High senior Alex McKane has been impressive while winning his last five races and enters the postseason as the individual favorite in Class 4A.
McKane finished second at the Heartland Classic on September 18th but has won every race since including a win at the Wartburg College Meet and back-to-back victories at the MVC Super Meet and Valley Divisional.
Breakdown: Dowling is the team favorite with Norwalk and West High in line to secure the other two state meet spots but keep an eye on No. 20 Indianola who will be running on its home course.
The individual race should be a dandy between McKane and seventh-ranked Jackson Heidesch of West Des Moines Dowling.
Heidesch finished in front of McKane back at the Marshalltown Invite on September 9 but McKane has been unbeatable over the last month and will look to prove a point heading into the state meet.
Class 4A Qualifier (Pleasant Valley)
Girls Race
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf
Teams: City High; Liberty High; Bettendorf; Clinton; Davenport Central; Davenport North; Davenport West; Linn-Mar; North Scott; Pleasant Valley
Ranked teams: No. 1 Pleasant Valley; No. 11 Linn-Mar; No. 13 City High; No. 17 North Scott; No. 18 Liberty High
Ranked individuals: No. 1 Grace Boleyn, Fr., Pleasant Valley; No. 6 Ashlyn Keeney, Sr., Liberty High; No. 14 Lizzie McVey, Sr., Pleasant Valley; No. 16 Hannah Ford, Soph., Davenport Central; No. 20 Lois Blackman, Sr., Davenport Central; No. 21 Faith Nead, Sr., North Scott; No. 27 Iris Wedemeyer, Jr., City High; No. 29 Cori Mac, Soph., Liberty High; No. 30 Josie Case, Soph., Pleasant Valley
Team title chase: Top-ranked Pleasant Valley has the top-ranked individual in freshman standout Grace Boleyn, three runners ranked in the top 30 and home course advantage on its side making the Spartans a big favorite in the team race.
Athlete to watch: Liberty High senior Ashlyn Keeney is seeking to add to her already stellar prep resume with a third state meet medal.
First, Keeney gets a major test at a state qualifier that features the top-ranked runner in 4A in Boleyn.
Keeney has been impressive all season and is coming off consecutive wins at the MVC Super Meet and Mississippi Divisional last week.
Breakdown: Pleasant Valley should claim one of the three state qualifying spots but four teams will battle for the final two spots.
Mississippi Valley Conference foes Linn-Mar, City High and Liberty High along with North Scott will battle it out for the final two spots in Fort Dodge.
Two weeks ago at the MVC Super Meet Linn-Mar was third, City High fifth and Liberty High seventh.
City High junior Iris Wedemeyer has been impressive over the last several weeks and will contend for a top-five finish on Wednesday along with Liberty High sophomore Cori Mac.
Boys Race
When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf
Teams: City High; Liberty High; Bettendorf; Clinton; Davenport Central; Davenport North; Davenport West; Linn-Mar; North Scott; Pleasant Valley
Ranked teams: No. 3 City High; No. 8 Pleasant Valley; No. 15 Linn-Mar; No. 17 Liberty High
Ranked individuals: No. 3 Ford Washburn, Jr., City High; No. 10 Hayden Kuhn, Sr., Linn-Mar; No. 15 Ammon Smith, Jr., City High; No. 21 Truman Thompson, Jr., City High; No. 24 Jacob Mumey, Jr., Pleasant Valley;
Team title chase: Third-ranked City High is the favorite to claim the team title and at the state qualifier and has the balance and talent to factor into the team race at the state meet next week.
The Little Hawks have a bona-fide star in junior Ford Washburn and depth behind him with two other runners ranked in the 21.
Eighth-ranked Pleasant Valley is the top challenger for the Little Hawks on Wednesday and the Spartans do have the advantage of running a familiar course.
Athlete to watch: Washburn announced himself as a major player in the 4A race for years to come with a sixth-place finish at the state meet last season and has followed that up with a brilliant junior campaign.
Currently the third-ranked individual in Class 4A Washburn will look to add a state qualifying title to his list of career achievements before setting his sights on pushing for another front of the pack finish at state.
Breakdown: City High is the team favorite and Pleasant Valley should snag one of the other remaining spots at the state leaving Liberty High and Linn-Mar battling for the final spot.
Liberty High finished 50 spots in front of the Lions at the MVC Super Meet two weeks ago but Linn-Mar was three points better than the Lightning at the MVC Divisional meet last week.
Expect another tight battle between the two MVC rivals on Wednesday for a spot at state.
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