Breaking Down the Area Class 3A Girls State Qualifying Cross Country Meets
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The race to Fort Dodge is on for cross country teams in Iowa.
Postseason races get underway on Wednesday with state qualifying meets in Classes 4A and 3A with every team and runner seeking to earn a spot at the 2023 state meet set for October 27 and 28 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Before the racing takes off and runners and teams secure spots at the state meet we take a quick look at what to watch at each of the Class 3A girls state qualifying meets featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.
Class 3A Meet (Solon)
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Solon Nature and Recreation Area
Teams: Solon; Davenport Assumption; Benton Community; Center Point-Urbana; Central DeWitt; Western Dubuque; Grinnell; Independence; Maquoketa; Marion; Mount Vernon-Lisbon; Solon; Dubuque Wahlert; Cedar Rapids Xavier
Ranked teams: No. 4 Mount Vernon-Lisbon; No. 5 Solon; No. 16 Marion; No. 19 Western Dubuque
Ranked individuals: No. 7 Addison Dabroski, Soph., Marion; No. 26 Kiersten Swart, Soph., Mount Vernon-Lisbon; No. 27 Grace Estling, Fr., Center Point-Urbana
Team title chase: For the second time in six days long-time rivals Solon and Mount Vernon-Lisbon will battle for the top spot at a postseason meet.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon won the WAMAC Conference title by 11 points over Solon last Thursday and is the favorite to add a state qualifying meet title to its resume on Wednesday.
Marion was third at the WAMAC Meet last week, 19 points behind Solon, and will likely battle Western Dubuque and Center Point-Urbana for the final state meet spot.
Individual race: Marion sophomore Addison Dabroski has been impressive this season and is coming off an individual title at the WAMAC Conference meet last week.
Dabroski enters as the favorite on Wednesday after winning the WAMAC crown by more than 30 seconds over Mount Vernon-Lisbon freshman Eastin Whisner.
Athlete to watch: Solon senior Anna Quillin has been a cornerstone piece of the Spartan program for the past four seasons.
Quillin helped Solon to a top-five team finish as a freshman in 2020 and finished 19th overall as a sophomore while helping the Spartans win the 3A title in 2021.
Injuries sidelined Quillin for the last year’s postseason and the senior leader would like nothing more than to end her career with a strong postseason this fall.
Quillin has run well down the stretch and is coming off a ninth-place finish at the WAMAC Conference meet last Thursday in a time of 20:31.9.
A four-year varsity runner, Quillin should get a real boost from running at home on Wednesday on a course she has competed on plenty over her career.
Breakdown: Solon has been a consistent top-five finisher at the Class 3A state meet in recent years and is seeking another strong postseason showing this fall.
It starts on Wednesday at home for the Spartans who have the advantage of running at their own course for the state qualifier.
Junior Sydney Dee has been a breakthrough star for the Spartans this season and was fifth at the WAMAC meet last week.
Dee is joined by Quillin and freshman Falyn Svalstad and Ava Rolwes, junior Ella Sheeley and senior Gracie Federspiel in a solid Spartan lineup.
Class 3A Meet (Pella)
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Pella Sports Park
Teams: Clear Creek Amana; Fairfield; Fort Madison; Harlan; Keokuk; Knoxville; Mount Pleasant; Newton; Oskaloosa; Pella; Perry; Saydel; Washington
Ranked teams: No. 1 Pella; No. 6 Clear Creek Amana; No. 11 Harlan; No. 17 Washington; No. 18 Fort Madison
Ranked individuals: No. 1 Lindsey Sonderman, Jr., Harlan; No. 2 Avery Rump, Soph., Fort Madison; No. 5 Marissa Ferebee, Soph., Pella; No. 10 Ruth Dunham, Fr., Pella; No. 13 Raegan Snieder, Jr., Pella; No. 14. Autumn Blink, Sr., Pella; No. 16 Iris Dahl, Soph., Washington; No. 25 Hannah Karre, Jr., Keokuk; No. 29 Lily Myers, Fr., Perry
Team title chase: The race here is for second with defending 3A champion Pella a heavy favorite to claim the team title.
Top-ranked Pella has four runners ranked in the top 14 including two in the top 10 and will be favorites to win a second consecutive 3A title next week.
Clear Creek Amana and Harlan should battle for the runner-up spot with the top competition for the final two qualifying spots coming from Washington and Fort Madison.
Individual race: The best individual race in Class 3A is in Pella where three top-eight finishers from last year’s state meet are set to battle it out for the state qualifying meet title.
This state qualifier features three top-five ranked runners including a rare one versus two showdown between top-ranked Harlan junior Lindsey Sonderman and Fort Madison sophomore Avery Rump.
Sonderman was sixth at the state meet last season while Rump was eighth in her debut in Fort Dodge.
The highest returning state qualifier in the meet is actually Pella sophomore Marissa Ferebee who was fifth in the 3A meet last season and enters ranked fifth this fall.
Athlete to watch: Already a three-year varsity runner Clear Creek Amana junior Kira Barker has plenty of postseason experience and will look for her best finish to a season yet beginning with a strong effort on Wednesday.
Barker was 14th at the state qualifying meet and 80th at the 3A state meet last season and will look to improve on those performances this fall.
Last week Barker led Clear Creek Amana with a 15th place finish at the WAMAC Conference meet in a time of 21:00.1.
Breakdown: Clear Creek Amana had a breakthrough season last fall qualifying for the state meet for the first time since 2003 and posting a ninth-place finish at the 3A state meet.
The Clippers bring back loads of experience from that team and will look to climb the 3A state standings next week.
First, Clear Creek Amana must navigate a deep field at the state qualifying meet where they will get at look at the 3A favorite Pella.
The key for the Clippers is a tight pack.
Barker was 15th and junior Sara Kinzenbaw was 16th last week at the WAMAC Conference meet where the Clippers have five runners in the top 38.
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