The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls and boys track and field teams turned the blue oval at Drake Stadium in Des Moines black and gold last weekend at the 2022 State Championships. The Mid-Prairie girls won their fourth consecutive Class 2A team state title with an overall score of 65 points, beating Van Meter’s 55. The Golden Hawks had four state championship events over the weekend, led by individual gold for Mitzi Evans in the 400 in a time of 56.36 seconds and the 800 in 2:12.56. Danielle Hostetler was the 3000 state champion in 10:27.77 and the Golden Hawk distance medley team of Madeline Schrader, Amara Jones, Mitzi Evans and Danielle Hostetler were the best in 2A at 4:07.96. Other top finishes for the Golden Hawks included state runner-up for Evans in the 200, third for Hostetler in the 1500, fourth for Sydney Yoder in the 3000, fourth for Hostetler in the 800, eighth for Yoder in the 1500. The 4×100 team of Schrader, Alyssa McDowell, Tabitha Evans and Jones were ninth. In field events, Ella Groenewold in the high jump and Maddie Nonnenmann in the discus were both 10th. The 4×200 team of Schrader, Jones, Groenewold and Tabitha Evans was 11th, the shuttle hurdle team of Jones, Nora Pennington, Emily Schlabach and Behla Schmidt was 13th, the sprint medley team of Schrader, McDowell, Groenewold and Mitzi Evans was 14th. Emma Lueck was 21st in the long jump and the 4×800 of Annika Poll, Phoebe Shetler, Greta Sieren and Abby Fleming finished 24th.

The Golden Hawk boys also had a full schedule over the weekend. Top finishes included Jayden Stafford runner-up in the 100, 200 and 400 wheelchair events. Cain Brown was fourth in the high jump. The 4×800 team of Jayse Yoder, Robert Nagy, Blake Creed and Thaddeus Shetler was 11th. Shetler was 11th in the mile. The shuttle hurdle team Justice Jones, Kaden Meader, Braden Hartley and Brown was 12th, the Golden Hawk distance medley of Brown Carter Harmsen, Will Cavanagh and Shetler was 14th. In the two mile, Shetler was 15th and Emmett Swartzentruber 16th. Brown was 16th in the 110 hurdles, the sprint medley team of Tyler Helmuth, Jackson Gehman, Harmsen and Cavanagh took 20th, Jayse Yoder was 23rd in the mile and the 4×100 and 4×200 team of Cavanagh, Harmsen, Helmuth and Meader competed.