A Quick Look at the Class 3A State Qualifying Cross Country Meets Featuring Your Prep Sports Area Teams
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
October is postseason time for fall sports in Iowa.
With postseason play underway in volleyball and football this week cross country takes center stage.
Class 4A and 3A start things off with state qualifying meets on Wednesday with Class 2A and Class 1A joining in the action on Thursday.
In the two largest classes the top three teams and the top 15 individual finishers from each state qualifying meet advance to the state cross country meet set for October 29 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Here is a quick look at the Class 3A state qualifying meet featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.
Class 3A Qualifier (West Delaware)
Girls Race
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Hart Ridge Golf Course in Manchester
Teams: Clear Creek Amana; Solon; Charles City; Clear Lake; Decorah; Hampton-Dumont; Independence; Marion; Vinton-Shellsburg; Dubuque Wahlert; Wavery-Shell Rock; West Delaware; Cedar Rapids Xavier
Ranked teams: No. 5 Solon; No. 10 Clear Creek Amana; No. 11 Clear Lake; No. 17 Dubuque Wahlert; No. 20 Decorah
Ranked individuals: No. 6 Addison Doughan, Soph., Clear Lake; No. 7 Kayla Young, Sr., Solon; No. 11 Haidyn Barker, Sr., Clear Creek Amana; No. 29 Emma Arnold, Sr., Cedar Rapids Xavier
Team title chase: Defending 3A state champion Solon enters the postseason ranked fifth and is a heavy favorite to claim the team title at the state qualifier.
The Spartans have been solid all season and will likely be a factor in the 3A state title race next week in Fort Dodge.
Athlete to watch: Clear Creek Amana senior Haidyn Barker is seeking to become a rare four-time state qualifier.
Barker has been remarkably steading during a stellar prep career in which she has finished in the top 65 at the Class 3A state meet each of the past three season.
Each trip to Fort Dodge has ended with a better finish as Barker has gone from 63rd as a freshman to 33rd as a sophomore and 20th last season.
Barker will be in the title hunt on Wednesday and should contend for her first state medal in her final trip to Fort Dodge.
Breakdown: Defending 3A state champion Solon has its sights set on making another title run next week in Fort Dodge.
First the Spartans must take care of business at what should be a solid field in Manchester.
Solon has a star in seventh-ranked senior Kayla Young, a returning state medalist and has built solid depth in the form of senior Mary Fiala and juniors Anna Quillin and Gracie Federspiel as well as sophomore Sydney Dee.
The race for the final two qualifying spots should be excellent.
Clear Creek Amana expects to be among those teams competing for a spot at Fort Dodge with sophomores Kira Barker and Sara Kinzenbaw and junior Kiera Rogers forming a strong pack behind Haidyn Barker.
Clear Lake, Dubuque Wahlert and Decorah are all teams that can contend for a spot at state.
Boys Race
When: Wednesday, 4:40 p.m.
Where: Hart Ridge Golf Course in Manchester
Teams: Clear Creek Amana; Solon; Charles City; Clear Lake; Decorah; Hampton-Dumont; Independence; Marion; Vinton-Shellsburg; Dubuque Wahlert; Wavery-Shell Rock; West Delaware; Cedar Rapids Xavier
Ranked teams: No. 5 Marion; No. 10 Solon; No. 15 Clear Creek Amana; No. 16 Vinton-Shellsburg; No. 17 Decorah
Ranked individuals: No. 1 Jedidiah Osgood, Sr., Marion; No. 19 Cooper Cook, Jr., Marion; No. 20 Eli Page, Jr., Vinton-Shellsburg; No. 21 Brick Kabela, Jr., Solon; No. 23 Mike Yeomans, Jr., Solon; No. 30 Brock Hilsman, Soph., Clear Creek Amana
Team title chase: Defending 3A runner-up Marion has the favorite to win the individual title at the state meet next week in senior standout Jedidiah Osgood and enters as the clear team to beat on Wednesday.
The top four ranked teams in the field on Wednesday are from the WAMAC Conference and Marion is coming off a title at the WAMAC conference meet last week when it finished 31 points in front of Solon who should be the top challenger for the Wolves on Wednesday.
Athlete to watch: Solon junior Brick Kabela is a two-time state qualifier that secured the first state medal of his career last season.
Kabela has been rounding into form of late and is coming off a fourth-place finish at the WAMAC Conference meet last week.
Over the past two seasons Kabela has developed a reputation for coming up with his best performances in the biggest meets and will look to continue that trend on Wednesday and next week at the state meet.
Breakdown: Marion is a good bet to win the team title and secure a spot at the state meet.
Behind the Wolves are up to four teams vying for two spots at the state meet with Solon and Clear Creek Amana expected to be right in the thick of that battle.
Solon was fifth at the state meet last season and has a pair of leaders in Kabela and fellow junior classmate Mike Yeomans.
Clear Creek Amana is seeking to return to the state meet after a rare miss last season and has come on strong over the past several weeks led by sophomore Brock Hillsman and senior Peyton Stadler.
Vinton-Shellsburg and Decorah should be in the mix for spots at the state meet as well.
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