Your Prep Sports 

After a top-three finish at the Class 4A state cross country meet last season City High has its sight set even higher this fall.

The Little Hawks will open the season as one of the favorites in Class 4A and come in ranked second in the 2022 preseason rankings released on Friday by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches.

City High trails only defending 4A state champion West Des Moines Dowling in the 4A rankings and is followed by Norwalk, Johnston and 2021 4A runner-up Sioux City North in the top five.

West High is eighth in the 4A rankings while Liberty High is No. 20.

Solon starts the season sixth in Class 3A while Clear Creek Amana is No. 18 in the 3A rankings. Defending 3A runner-up Marion is top-ranked in 3A preseason rankings followed by North Polk, Pella, Glenwood and Carlisle in the top five.

Regina is third in the Class 1A rankings.

The Regals finished eighth at the Class 1A state meet last season and trail defending state champion ACGC and Bellevue in the preseason rankings.

Iowa Association of Track Coaches Girls Cross Country Rankings

Class 4A

1. West Des Moines Dowling

2. City High 

3. Norwalk

4. Johnston

5. Sioux City North

6. Pleasant Valley

7. Cedar Falls

8. West High 

9. Urbandale

10. Waukee Northwest

11. Ankeny

12. Dallas Center-Grimes

13. Dubuque Hempstead

14. West Des Moines Valley

15. Cedar Rapids Kennedy

16. Cedar Rapids Prairie

17. Southeast Polk

18. Linn-Mar

19. Ankeny Centennial

20. Liberty High 

Class 3A

1. Marion

2. North Polk

3. Pella

4. Glenwood

5. Carlisle

6. Solon 

7. MOC-Floyd Valley

8. Western Dubuque

9. Mount Vernon/Lisbon

10. ADM

11. Sioux Central

12. Council Bluffs Lewis Central

13. Clear Lake

14. Decorah

15. Newton

16. Gilbert

17. Charles City

18. Clear Creek Amana 

19. Winterset

20. Washington

Class 2A

1. Tipton

2. Des Moines Christian

3. Waukon

4. Okoboji

5. Western Christian

6. Oelwein

7. Danville/New London

8. Williamsburg

9. Unity Christian

10. Monticello

11. Mid-Prairie

12. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck

13. Denver

14. Anamosa

15. Jesup

16. Spirit Lake

17. GLR-CL

18. Albia

19. Northeast

20. New Hampton

Class 1A

1. ACGC

2. Bellevue

3. Regina

4. Fort Dodge St. Edmond

5. Ogden

6. Woodbine

7. Valley Lutheran

8. Maquoketa Valley

9. Central Decatur

10. Earlham

11. Mason City Newman

12. Fort Dodge St. Edmond

13. Council Bluffs St. Albert

14. Madrid

15. Hudson

16. Clayton Ridge

17. IKM-Manning

18. North Mahaska

19. Central Springs

20. Columbus

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