The second biggest story in Raven sports this year highlights the consistency and hard work of one of the top runners in Hillcrest Academy history. Senior Leah Bontrager finished her Raven cross country career exactly as she started it, at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge at the Class 1A State meet. Bontrager qualified for state in each of her four seasons for the maroon and black, doing so in 2021 with a fourth place finish at the qualifier in Iowa City, after taking seventh at the Southeast Iowa Superconference meet the week prior.

In her fourth trip to Fort Dodge, Bontrager placed 39th in the 1A field of 152 with a time of 21:23.89. She improved every season at state, finishing 72nd as a freshman, 67th as a sophomore, and 52nd as a junior.

Tune in Friday as we review the biggest Hillcrest Academy sports story of the last academic year.