Your Prep Sports

Cross country season is entering the home stretch with the finish line the state meet November 2 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

The first step in the race toward the state meet comes on Thursday with state qualifying meets in all four classes across the state with the top three teams and the top 15 individual finishers from each meet will advance to the state meet

Here is a quick breakdown of each of the boys state qualifying meets featuring Your Prep Sports area teams.

Class 4A Meet (Cedar Falls)

When: Thursday, 3 p.m.

Teams: City High, Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Dubuque Senior, Western Dubuque, Muscatine, Waterloo

Ranked teams: No. 5 Cedar Falls; No. 6 Ames; No. 15 City High

Ranked Individuals: 6. Jacob Green, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; 8. Brayden Burnett, Soph., Cedar Falls; 10. Noah Kohut-Jackson, Sr., Ames; 14. Max Locher, Sr., Cedar Rapids Washington; 22. Aniey Akok, Jr., Ames; 25. Eli Smith, Jr., Cedar Falls

Team title chase: Cedar Falls and Ames will battle for the team title with a trio of Mississippi Valley Conference teams battling for the third spot and a trip to the state meet.

Fifth-ranked Cedar Falls has the inside track to the team title running at its home course while City High, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Western Dubuque figure to battle it out for the third spot.

Athlete to watch: Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Jacob Green was third at the MVC Super Meet two weeks ago edging Cedar Falls sophomore Brayden Burnett by two seconds.

Burnett gets a rematch on Thursday and has home course advantage on his side as he attempts to flip the result from the Super Meet.

Breakdown: This qualifier features a distinct MVC flavor with half of the conferences 16 teams competing. Cedar Falls was runner-up at the MVC Super Meet and now has home course advantage on its side.

Ames is a talented team with a pair of top-25 ranked runners and will battle the host Tigers for the top spot leaving a trio of MVC teams fighting for a spot at state.

City High was tops among the rest of the MVC teams at the qualifier at the MVC Super Meet placing seventh, eight points in front of Cedar Rapids Kennedy and 36 clear of Western Dubuque. 

Class 4A Meet (Marshalltown)

When: Thursday, 3 p.m.

Teams: Liberty High, Ankeny, Fort Dodge, Indianola, Johnston, Marshalltown, Mason City, Newton, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids Prairie 

Ranked teams: No. 7 Cedar Rapids Prairie; No. 8 Johnston; No. 10 Liberty High;

Ranked Individuals: 5. Jack Pendergast, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; 13. Samuel Schmitz, Sr., Johnston; 15. Hunter Kalous, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; 24. Andrew Bickford, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; 26. Bowen Gryp, Jr., Liberty High; 29. Jack Kinzer, Jr., Liberty High

Team title chase: One of the more interesting team races among the state qualifiers features a field void of a top-five ranked team.

Cedar Rapids Prairie is no stranger to postseason success coming off a sixth-place finish at the state meet last season and should be the team to beat with Johnston and Liberty High its top competition.

Athlete to watch: In his first season of varsity cross country Bowen Gryp will attempt to help Liberty High to its first state meet.

The addition of Gryp along with the emergence of fellow junior Jack Kinzer as front of the pack runners has helped push Liberty High into the top 10 in the Class 4A rankings and gives the Lightning a strong opportunity to reach the state meet in just its third year of varsity competition.

Breakdown: Led by defending state runner-up Jack Pendergast Cedar Rapids Prairie will be tough to beat and Johnston is a top-10 team but Liberty High has a clear path to reach Fort Dodge for the first time as a team.

Gryp and Kinzer give the Lightning a pair of top-30 ranked runners while senior Peter Woodward has plenty of postseason experience.

Class 4A Meet (Southeast Polk)

When: Thursday, 4 p.m.

Teams: West High, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines East, Des Moines Hoover, Des Moines North, Des Moines Roosevelt, West Des Moines Dowling, Southeast Polk, West Des Moines Valley 

Ranked teams: No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling; No. 9 West High; No. 11 Southeast Polk;

Ranked Individuals: 3. Sam Hall, Sr., West Des Moines Dowling; 7. Drake Hanson, Sr., Southeast Polk; 18. Nicolo Schianchi, Soph., West High; 19. Jack Smeins, Sr., West Des Moines Valley; 21. Alex McKane, Soph., West High; 27. Cade Mash, Sr., Southeast Polk; 28. Jordan Daniel, West Des Moines Dowling

Team title chase: Defending state champion West Des Moines Dowling is a heavy favorite to claim the team title while West High and host Southeast Polk are expected to battle for the runner-up spot and the final two state meet berths.

West Des Moines Valley is the top challenger among the rest of the field to sneak into the top three and earn a spot at the state meet.

Athlete to watch: West High sophomores Nicolo Schianchi and Alex McKane are hitting stride at the right time of the year.

Both Schianchi and McKane got their feet wet last season as freshman running on the West High squad that finished seventh at the state meet.

This season the sophomore duo appears to be peaking at the perfect time. Schianchi was seventh and McKane ninth at the MVC Super Meet two weeks ago.

Breakdown: Second-ranked West Des Moines Dowling is among the top teams in the state led by senior Sam Hall who was fourth at the state meet a year ago.

The Maroons are gearing up for another state showdown with top-ranked Dubuque Hempstead after edging the Mustangs by a point for the team title last October.

West High has talent and some postseason experience at the top of its lineup with three runners back from last year’s team and will join Southeast Polk as the top challengers to Dowling.

Class 3A Meet (Solon)

When: Thursday, 4 p.m.

Teams: Clear Creek Amana, Solon, Davenport Assumption, Center Point-Urbana, Central DeWitt, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Keokuk, Maquoketa, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon-Lisbon, Notre Dame/West Burlington, Washington 

Ranked teams: No. 1 Clear Creek Amana; 7. Center Point-Urbana; 13. Mount Vernon-Lisbon

Ranked Individuals: 5. Isaac Bryant, Sr., Grinnell; 7. Luke Post, Jr., Center Point-Urbana; 8. Brandon Barker, Jr., Clear Creek Amana; 10. Nick O’Connor, Sr., Clear Creek Amana; 11. Chris Guise, Sr., Davenport Assumption; 12. Eli Larson, Soph., Center Point-Urbana; 22. Jack Sexton, Sr., Clear Creek Amana; 23. Mason Bach, Jr., Center Point-Urbana

Team title chase: Top-ranked Clear Creek Amana is a heavy favorite in a field that features six WAMAC Conference schools.

After earning its first ever WAMAC title last week Clear Creek Amana is seeking to end the season with titles at the state qualifier and state meets and has the talent to do just that.
WAMAC rivals Center Point-Urbana and Mount Vernon-Lisbon are the top challengers. Center Point-Urbana was runner-up at the WAMAC meet last week 39 points behind CCA.  

Athlete to watch: Clear Creek Amana junior Brandon Barker gets a rematch with Center Point-Urbana sophomore Eli Larson after the two finished first and second at the WAMAC meet last week in Manchester.

Larson won the title in 16:12.7 while Barker was third in 16:17.1 as Clear Creek Amana had three runners in the top four.

Breakdown: Clear Creek Amana is the class of this qualifier and has its sights set on a state title next week.

The Clippers boast a deep and talented lineup with three ranked runners including a pair of top-10 ranked competitors in Barker and senior Nick O’Connor.

It’s depth is what sets Clear Creek Amana apart. Sophomore Gavin Zillyette was eighth at the WAMAC meet last week while junior Caleb Alcorn was 13th.

Keep an eye on Solon sophomore Gabe Hinman who is seeking to make a return to the state meet after placing 46th as an individual qualifier last season.

Hinman was seventh at the WAMAC meet last week.

Class 1A Meet (Iowa City)

When: Thursday, 4 p.m.

Teams: Regina, Alburnett, Calamus-Wheatland, Cascade, Central Elkader, Columbus, Durant, Easton Valley, English Valleys, Highland, Hillcrest Academy, HLV, Fort Madison Holy Trinity, Isaac Newton Academy, Keota, Lone Tree, Maquoketa Valley, Bellevue Marquette, Mediapolis, Midland, North Cedar, Pekin, Prince of Peace, Rivermont Collegiate, Van Buren, WACO, Wapello, Wilton, Winfield-Mount Union

Ranked teams: 5. Calamus-Wheatland; 8. Pekin; 9. Maquoketa Valley

Ranked Individuals: 9. Brady Millikin, Jr., Pekin; 10. Colten Glosser, Jr., Pekin; 11. Chase Knoche, Jr., Calamus-Wheatland; 15. Zach Hein, Sr., Wilton; 16. Matt Hellige, Sr., Fort Madison Holy Trinity; 18. Aiden Housman, Sr., Wapello; 25. Chandler Gannon, Sr., Calamus-Wheatland

Team title chase: Defending state runner-up Calamus-Wheatland is the favorite in a field that features three teams ranked in the top 10.

Pekin and Maquoketa Valley were both state qualifiers a year ago and are capable of pushing for the top spot.

Athlete to watch: Pekin junior Brady Millikin was 13th overall at the state meet last year and headlines a group of six individuals at the state qualifier that enter ranked between ninth and 18th.

Ninth-ranked Millikin will be pushed by teammate Colten Glosser who is ranked 10th and Calamus-Wheatland junior Chase Knoche who is ranked 11th.

Breakdown: A strong 1A field features a trio of ranked teams that all finished in the top 12 at the state meet last season.

A young Regina team will have a hard time pushing for a spot in the top three but keep an eye on freshman Joe Maley who continues to impress and is coming off a 17th place finish at the River Valley Conference meet last week.

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