Breaking Down the Area Class 4A Boys State Qualifying Cross Country Meets
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The cross country season is entering the home stretch with the finish line a little more than a week away.
State qualifying meets are schedule for Wednesday and Thursday this week with the 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 4A boys state qualifying meets featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.
Class 4A Meet (Ames)
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Iowa State University Cross Country Course
Teams: Liberty High; Ames; Ankeny; Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln; Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson; Dallas Center-Grimes; Fort Dodge; Sioux City East; Sioux City North; Sioux City West
Ranked teams: No. 4 Ankeny; No. 8 Dallas Center Grimes; No. 11 Liberty High; No. 20 Sioux City North
Ranked individuals: No. 1 Ethan Zuber, Jr., Ankeny; No. 2 Natnael Kifle, Sr., Sioux City North; No. 14 Ike Smith, Soph., Ankeny; No. 16 Keegan Decker, Fr., Liberty High; No. 20 Elias Arbuckle, Jr., Dallas Center-Grimes; No. 21 Jack Every, Sr., Dallas-Center Grimes; No. 26 Jake Bosch, Sr., Ankeny; No. 28. Aidan Decker, Sr., Liberty High
Team title chase: Ankeny is the favorite to earn the team title in a deep district that features four ranked teams that are familiar with postseason success.
Fourth-ranked Ankeny was third at the state meet last season and should be pushed by Dallas Center Grimes and Liberty High.
Don’t overlook Sioux City North which was 13th at state last season following a runner-up finish in 2021 and a state title in 2020.
Individual race: It is a one versus two showdown between top-ranked Ethan Zuber of Ankeny and second-ranked Natnael Kifle of Sioux City North in what could be a preview of the state title race next week.
Zuber finished 11th at the state meet last season as a sophomore and is coming off an impressive performance at the CIML last week where he claimed the individual title in 15:19.1.
Kifle is a three-time state qualifier that finished 17th at state last year and eighth-place finish as a sophomore in 2021.
Athlete to watch: Liberty High senior Aidan Decker will look to make school history as a four-time state qualifier on Wednesday and would prefer to make his fourth state tournament trip with his team.
Decker has posted top-42 finishes in each of his appearances at the state meet and had his best state meet performance last season placing 24th in 16:23.67.
It has been a strong senior season for Decker who is ranked 28th and was eighth at the MVC Super Meet and sixth at the MVC Divisional last week.
Breakdown: Liberty High is seeking to return to the state meet after having a string of three consecutive state meet appearances end last season.
The Lightning have been impressive down the stretch finishing third at the MVC Super Meet and runner-up at the MVC Mississippi Divisional last week.
Freshman Keegan Decker has been breakthrough star for the Lightning this season and was ninth at the MVC Super Meet and third at last week’s divisional meet.
With both Deckers joining juniors Noah Gregoire and Jacob Madsen the Lightning have a formidable top four capable of helping the Lightning to a strong finish.
Class 4A Meet (Iowa City West)
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Ashton Cross Country Course
Teams: West High; Ankeny Centennial; Burlington; Cedar Falls; Cedar Rapids Jefferson; Muscatine; North Scott; Waterloo East; Waukee
Ranked teams: No. 3 Cedar Falls; No. 12 Ankeny Centennial; No. 15 Waukee; No. 19 West High;
Ranked individuals: No. 3 AJ Schermerhorn, Sr., Ankeny Centennial; No. 5. Jaden Merrick, Soph., Cedar Falls; No. 13 Joseph Lawry, Jr., Waukee; No. 15 Luke Hartman, Sr., Cedar Falls; No. 18. Ahmed Aldamak, Sr., Cedar Falls; No. 29 Moustafa Tiea, Jr., West High
Team title chase: Third-ranked Cedar Falls is the favorite with CIML members Ankeny Centennial and Waukee battling with host West High for the final two spots.
Cedar Falls was fifth at the state meet last season and has been impressive over the last two weeks finishing runner-up at the MVC Super Meet and winning the MVC Mississippi Divisional by 29 points.
Individual race: Third-ranked AJ Schermerhorn of Ankeny Centennial and Cedar Falls sophomore standout Jaden Merrick enter as the favorites but don’t count out West High junior Moustafa Tiea in what should be an extremely entertaining race.
Schermerhorn was 12th at the state meet last season and is coming off a runner-up finish to top-ranked Ethan Zuber at the CIML meet last week.
Merrick has followed up a brilliant freshman season that including an 18th place finish at the state meet with a strong sophomore season that includes a win at the MVC Mississippi Divisional last week.
Athlete to watch: West High junior Moustafa Tiea is seeking a third consecutive trip to the state meet this season and has already proved he can compete with the best in the state.
In his first race of the season Tiea won the Eastern Iowa Classic in a time of 15:40.9 back on September 21 edging sixth-ranked Adam Gray of Cedar Rapids Kennedy at the finish.
Tiea gets the ‘home course advantage’ on Wednesday at Ashton Cross Country Course and should be in the thick of what expects to be an exciting race.
Breakdown: West High will need to be at its best on Wednesday to push into the top three of a solid field that features three teams ranked in the top 15.
The Trojans were eighth at the MVC Super Meet and fourth at the MVC Valley Division meet in their last two races.
West High has the opportunity to run at Ashton Cross Country Course for the second time this season which should give the Trojans a slight advantage as they attempt to return to the state meet after having a string of 11 consecutive appearances end last season.
Class 4A Meet (Pleasant Valley)
When: Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Where: Crow Creek Park
Teams: City High; Bettendorf; Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Clinton; Davenport Central; Davenport North; Davenport West; Dubuque Hempstead; Pleasant Valley; Cedar Rapids Prairie
Ranked teams: No. 2 Cedar Rapids Kennedy; No. 9 Pleasant Valley; No. 13 Dubuque Hempstead; No. 16 Cedar Rapids Prairie; No. 17 City High
Ranked individuals: No. 6 Adam Gray, Soph., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; No. 10 Carl Rekow, Sr., Pleasant Valley; No. 11 Jacob Bruns, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; No. 17 Henry McMahan, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; No. 19 Joe Knepp, Soph., Pleasant Valley; No. 23 John Maloney, Sr., Dubuque Hempstead; No. 24 Bennett Allred, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; No. 27 Owyn Noble, Sr., City High
Team title chase: A couple of state qualifiers from a year ago will miss a trip to the state meet this season with five returning qualifiers all ranked in the top 17 making one perhaps the most competitive of the 4A qualifying fields.
Second-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy has emerged as a legit title contender in an impressive start to championship season that includes a 22-point win at the MVC Super Meet and a MVC Divisional title last week.
Pleasant Valley and Dubuque Hempstead will battle Cedar Rapids Prairie and City High for the final two state meet spots.
Individual race: Cedar Rapids Kennedy sophomore Adam Gray has enjoyed breakthrough season that includes wins at the MVC Super Meet and Valley Divisional meet.
Gray was 34th at the state meet last season and enters the state qualifying ranked sixth and the favorite in a field that includes teammate Jacob Bruns and tenth-ranked Pleasant Valley senior Carl Rekow.
Athlete to watch: The lone returning runner from the City High squad that placed seventh at the state meet last season senior Owyn Noble has emerged as a front of the pack runner and team leader for No. 17 City High.
Noble finished 73rd in his state meet debut last season and has continued to improve throughout his senior season.
He was 16th at the MVC Super Meet two weeks ago and is coming off a sixth-place finish at the MVC Valley Division meet last week helping City High to a runner-up finish.
Breakdown: This is one of the most intriguing state qualifying fields in Class 4A with five ranked teams battling for the three state meet spots.
Kennedy has been impressive throughout the season and Pleasant Valley will be a mix for a top-three finish.
The final spot may very well come down to a battle of Mississippi Valley Conference teams that know each other well.
Dubuque Hempstead, Cedar Rapids Prairie and City High finished fourth, fifth and sixth at the MVC Super Meet and were separated by 29 points.
City High turned around and finished one point in front of Hempstead at the MVC Valley Divisional last week.
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