For nearly a decade, the individual Class 2A state cross country championship has resided in the trophy case at Mid-Prairie High School. Here’s a look back at how the Hawk’s string of success has spanned eight seasons.

In 2016, Mid-Prairie first grabbed individual gold. Junior Anna Hostetler went to Fort Dodge and won the school’s first ever individual state cross country title with a time of 17:57, the second fastest female 5K ever recorded at state. Younger sister Marie Hostetler, a freshman made it a 1-2 Mid-Prairie punch while the Hawks finished third as a team.

In 2017, the Hawks were back at Kennedy Park and found even more success. It was another 1-2 Hostetler punch, this time with Marie bringing home her first ever individual title, the second straight for the program, with a new state female record 5K time of 17:51. Anna Hostetler was second, and the Golden Hawks were team 2A state champions for the first time in school history with 65 points. It was the first girl’s sport team state championship for Mid-Prairie since 2002 girls basketball.

In 2018, more success found Mid-Prairie in Fort Dodge. Marie Hostetler became the school’s first ever back-to-back individual state champion, winning the 2A race in 18:02. Leading the Golden Hawks to their second team state championship, the first program in school history to win back-to-back state titles, with a team score of 89 points.

2019 saw Marie Hostetler finish her cross country career with the three-peat in Fort Dodge. She raced passed the 2A field in 17:58, another top five all-time girls state 5K performance to win gold, the fourth straight individual champ for the Mid-Prairie program, helping lead the Hawks to their own team three-peat of state championships with a score of 61 points.

Even a pandemic in 2020 couldn’t stop the Hawks. Freshman Danielle Hostetler burst on the scene, and flew past the field in her first trip to Fort Dodge. Her time of 19:08 gave her the individual 2A state championship, making it a high five in a row for Mid-Prairie and helped the Golden Hawks seal their fourth straight team 2A title with the best score of their run, just 45 points and their largest margin of victory over second place, crushing Tipton by 62 points.

In 2021, Hostetler went back-to-back, no sophomore slump for Danielle as she was once again 2A state champion in a time of 18:27, making it six consecutive 2A individual state championships for the program. The Golden Hawk team also climbed the mountain one more time, winning their fifth straight 2A team state title, tying the all-time Iowa team record for consecutive championships with their score of 50 points.

2022 saw a Hostetler repeat three-peat. Just as sister Marie had done before, it was Danielle’s turn to bring home her third consecutive individual championship, beating the field in 18:41.

In 2023, the Mid-Prairie boys program stepped into the spotlight to keep the streak alive. Junior Emmett Swartzentruber won the programs first ever individual state championship, beating the boys field on Saturday in 15:51, adding his own page to the Golden Hawk record books.