Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Social Media

To start the 2022 season, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls and boys cross country teams are on the radar of the Iowa Track and Field Coaches Association as two of the best in the state. In the official preseason Class 2A polls released this week, the Golden Hawk girls appear as the No. 3 team, trailing only No. 2 Jesup and top-ranked Denver. The Mid-Prairie girls won their fifth consecutive class 2A state team title last season with a sparkling score of 50 points, the second lowest 2A score ever recorded in the four class era. The streak of five straight championships, ties the longest streak in Iowa history. Danielle Hostetler won her second individual state title in a row. That championship made it six straight years that a Hostetler was the individual 2A champ. Other finishers for the Golden Hawks included Sydney Yoder seventh, Jaden Yoder 13th, Mitzi Evans 16th, Abby Fleming 21st, Phoebe Shetler 29th and Annika Poll 80th.

The Mid-Prairie boys check-in at No. 11 in the first 2A rankings of the season. At state, the Hawks were sixth in 2A in 2021 with a team score of 174 points. Top finish for the Mid-Prairie boys came from Thaddeus Shetler who claimed an all-state spot in 14th. Other Mid-Prairie finishers included Emmett Swartzentruber 35th, Chandler Hershberger 42nd, Preston Yutzy 72nd, Jayse Yoder 100th, Nathan Wallington 116th and Robert Nagy 128th.

Head coach Mark Hostetler was named girls class 2A cross country coach of the year for the state of Iowa and boys class 2A at large coach of the year in 2021. The Golden Hawks start the new year Thursday with a trip to the University of Iowa Ashton Cross Country Course for the Iowa City West Early Bird meet.