The Mid-Prairie boys and girls cross country teams will face top competition when they open the 2022 season Thursday at the Iowa City West Early Bird Invitational in Iowa City. The Golden Hawk girls start the year as the No. 3 team in Class 2A, according to the preseason poll from the Iowa Track and Field Coaches Association. They have three runners ranked in the 2A individual preseason poll from the IATC including Danielle Hostetler No. 1, Abby Fleming No. 15, and Phoebe Shetler No. 20. The Hawks won their fifth consecutive class 2A team title last season. The streak of five straight championships, ties the longest streak in Iowa history. 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, Fleming 21st, Shetler 29th and Annika Poll 80th. Returning this year are Hostetler, Fleming, Shetler and Poll.

The Golden Hawk boys appear at No. 11 in the Class 2A preseason rankings from the IATC. They have one ranked runner in their lineup according to the first 2A poll with Emmett Swartzentruber ranked 18th to start the season. At state last year, the Hawks were sixth in 2A 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 Swartzentruber 35th, Chandler Hershberger 42nd, Preston Yutzy 72nd, Jayse Yoder 100th, Nathan Wallington 116th and Robert Nagy 128th. Returning this year are Swartzentruber, Yutzy, Yoder, and Wallington.

Joining the Hawks at tonight’s event are Bettendorf, Dubuque Senior, City High, Iowa City Liberty, Iowa City West, Pleasant Valley and Wapello. There are 10 ranked runners in the girls field and eight in the boys race, with 10 total ranked teams participating. Action starts tonight at 4:30 and continues into the evening at the University of Iowa Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City.