A pair of area cross country teams took on a large field at a tough meet hosted in Waverly by Wartburg College over the weekend.

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the state in class 2A. They finished fifth in the team standings of the girls varsity gray meet with 209 points, behind only Solon, Johnston, Dubuque Hempstead and team champion Pleasant Valley with 76 points. The Hawks faced adversity in the meet, with No. 1 ranked in 2A Danielle Hostetler avenging a loss earlier this season to No. 1 in class 4A Grace Boleyn of Pleasant Valley. Hostetler edged Boleyn in the rematch by a half second to take the championship. The Golden Hawks were also without the No. 2 runner in their lineup, Sydney Yoder who is ranked in the top 10 in class 2A. Other Mid-Prairie finishers included Phoebe Shetler 33rd, Jaden Yoder 45th, Mitzi Evans 61st, Abby Fleming 73rd, Annika Poll 92nd, Amara Jones 143rd, Dessa Poll 146th, Greta Sieren 152nd, and Ivy Reschly 170th.

The Mid-Prairie boys were ranked No. 4 entering the weekend, they finished in 22nd place of 25 teams in the varsity gray race with 597 points. Sioux City North won the title with 55 points. Top finish for the Golden Hawks came from Thaddeus Shetler in 44th with a time of 16:39. Other Mid-Prairie runners included Emmett Swartzentruber 123rd, Preston Yutzy 158th, Chandler Hershberger 180th, Nathan Wallington 187th, Robert Nagy 188th, Sam Yoder 204th, Jayse Yoder 218th, and Mose Yoder 220th.

The Columbus boys entered the meet ranked No. 16 in class 1A running in the varsity orange race, placing 15th as a team with 383 points. Earlham won the meet with a score of 127. Top finish for the Wildcats came from Freddy Vergara in 15th with a time of 17:17. Other Columbus runners included Isaac Acosta 60th, Damien Vergara 69th, Tyler Humiston 116th, Mason Hills-Carrier 145th, and Oscar Alcala 167th.

The Columbus girls were 20th in the girls varsity orange race team standings with a score of 508. Pine Island won the team title with a score of 128. Top finish for the Wildcat girls came from Ariana Vergara 69th in 23:22. Other Columbus runners included Kimberly Gonzalez 117th, Averi Sipes 125th, Frannie Sosa 133rd, and Alexa Alcala 145th.