Several teams and individuals in southeast Iowa have qualified for the State Cross Country Meet this week at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The action kicks off on Friday, October 28 with 1A girls at 10:30 a.m. and 1A boys at 11:15. 2A girls and boys will follow at 2 p.m. and 2:45 respectively. 3A runners take the stage Saturday, October 29. Girls will compete at 10:30 a.m. with boys beginning at 11:15. 

Mid-Prairie girls continued their success, winning the state qualifier meet last week. This is the ninth straight trip to state for the Golden Hawk girls team, currently ranked second in 2A. As the defending five-time state champions, they have their sights set on a sixth that would break the Iowa record for most consecutive State Cross Country Championships. The Mid-Prairie girls have three ranked runners including Danielle Hostetler (#1), Abby Fleming (#9), and Phoebe Shetler (#23). A Hostetler has won the individual title for girls every year since 2016. 

The Golden Hawk boys qualified in 2A as well, following a third place finish at the state qualifier meet. This is their second straight state appearance, looking for their first State Championship since 2016. 

Washington girls are running their way to state for the first time since 1996. A runner-up finish at Wednesday’s 3A state qualifier meet in Washington secured a trip to Fort Dodge for the Demons. They are led by 3 ranked runners in Iris Dahl (#11), Alivia Anderson (#29), and Quincy Griffis (#30). 

While the Demon boys will not be sending their team, they did have two individual qualifiers. Junior Micah Rees qualified with his second-place finish at the state qualifier meet. He is currently ranked sixth in 3A. Sophomore Tyler Alderton’s 13th place finish secured him a spot as well. 

Three other individuals have qualified at the 1A level. Lone Tree’s Vivian Zaruba earned her first trip to State, finishing sixth at the qualifier in Iowa City Thursday. Kohlby Newsom of Winfield-Mt. Union also qualified for the first time with a seventh place finish. Damien Vergara ran at State with the Columbus team in 2020 and 2021. After a sixth place finish at the state qualifier meet, Vergara will compete as an individual for the first time.

You can hear  updates with state cross country results at the top of every hour Friday and Saturday on AM and FM KCII and find them online, free, at KCIIradio.com.