The best of the best in the River Valley Conference will be in the spotlight Tuesday at the Iowa City Kickers Complex when the RVC hosts their league championship cross country meet. The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls are the four-time defending team champions, led by two-time defending individual RVC champ Danielle Hostetler. Mid-Prairie won this meet a year ago with a near perfect score of 17, and Hostetler’s win was the sixth straight year a member of her family had won the individual conference title. The Golden Hawks come into tonight’s meet ranked No. 2 in Class 2A in the latest poll from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. They have three ranked runners in their lineup with Danielle Hostetler at No. 1, Abby Fleming is No. 11 and Phoebe Shetler No. 22.
The Golden Hawk boys were River Valley team runners-up last year with 83 points, led by Thaddeus Shetler in fifth. Their top returner is Emmett Swartzentruber who was 16th at this event a season ago. Mid-Prairie enters today’s meet ranked No. 11 in Class 2A this week. The Hawks have one ranked runner in their lineup with Swartzentruber No. 11 in 2A.
Joining Mid-Prairie today are the No. 15 in Class 2A Anamosa boys and their girls, the No. 10 in Class 2A Dyersville Beckman girls and their boys, the No. 4 in Class 1A Bellevue boys and their girls, Camanche, the No. 13 in Class 1A Cascade boys and their No. 15 girls, Durant, Maquoketa, the No. 1 in Class 2A Monticello girls and their No. 9 ranked boys, Northeast Goose Lake, the No. 1 in Class 1A Iowa City Regina boys and their No. 13 girls, the No. 3 in Class 2A Tipton boys and their No. 6 girls, West Branch, West Liberty, and Wilton. There are a total of 13 ranked teams and 21 ranked individuals in the field. Action starts tonight at 4p.m. in Iowa City.