Golden Hawk senior Mitzi Evans put her name on an exclusive list Saturday at the State cross country meet in Fort Dodge. She became just the ninth runner in the history of Iowa High School cross country, a sport that was first sanctioned in 1930, to be a member of a state championship team during all four years of her high school career.

In Evan’s time as a Golden Hawk, Mid-Prairie won state titles in 2018, 19, 20 and most recently last weekend at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. Her freshman season, Evans finished 14th with a time of 20:32, earning all-state honors, as the Golden Hawks won the title with a score of 89, beating second place Williamsburg’s score of 118. In 2019, Evans placed 13th as a sophomore, becoming an all-stater for a second time, with a finish of 19:53 as the Hawks fended off their stiffest team race challenge, beating Williamsburg by a single point to claim the 2A crown. In 2020, Evans posted her best finish, taking seventh place in 19:56 as a junior, becoming a three time all-stater, while the Golden Hawks rolled to their third straight 2A title with a score of 45, besting Tipton by 62 points. Last week, Mid-Prairie won their fifth overall title in succession, tying a state record, the fourth consecutive with Evans as a member on the team, with a score of 50 points, beating Denver’s 111 points. Evans was 16th with a time of 19:59. She spoke after the meet about going out on top. “I’m so thankful that we were able to win, even though it’s kind of bittersweet that it’s over. There was a a lot of good competition this year and I was a little nervous if we were going to be able to do it.”

The group of nine who have achieved this honor includes former Golden Hawk Ana Fleming who was part of Mid-Prairie’s state championship teams from 2017 to 2020.