The class 2A state cross country meet in Fort Dodge will again be filled with Golden Hawks in 2021 after the Mid-Prairie boys and girls team’s both qualified in Williamsburg Thursday. The Golden Hawk girls took the next step on the journey toward their fifth consecutive state team championship by blowing away the competition. In a field that included No. 5 Williamsburg, No. 11 Albia, No. 17 Davis County and 12 other schools, the Hawks finished with a dazzling team championship score of 18, three away from a perfect number. Williamsburg was a distant second with 56 points. Individually, Mid-Prairie was led by a 1-2-3-4 finish at the top, and ultimately put six runners in the top 10 and all seven in the top 25. Danielle Hostetler was the meet champion with a time of 18:49, the second straight year she has claimed the title. Sydney Yoder was second, Jaden Yoder third, Mitzi Evans fourth, Phoebe Shetler eighth, Abby Fleming 10th and Annika Poll 24th. This is the eighth consecutive year the Hawks have qualified for state as a team. After the meet, Mid-Prairie’s top four, Hostetler, Sydney and Jaden Yoder and Mitzi Evans talked about qualifying and their goals for state next week. “We’re glad we had our teammates to run with tonight. They helped to push us and get better times. We definitely push each other. It’s nice to get this one out of the way and qualify for state. You never know what can happen at a state qualifier meet. It was so special to see tonight. We’re so proud of every runner, they all earned their spots with hard work. Mid-Prairie showed up tonight.”

The Mid-Prairie boys put together one of their finest performances of the season to finish as team runners-up to grab a banner and ticket to Fort Dodge. The top 3 team finishers all qualify for the state meet in 2A. In a field that featured No. 3 Williamsburg, No. 13 Davis County and No. 20 East Marshall, the Hawks were second with a score of 69 points, nipping on the champion Raiders heels, who edged the Golden Hawks by two. Thaddeus Shetler led the way for Mid-Prairie in sixth with a time of 17:26. Other Golden Hawk runners included Chandler Hershberger seventh, Emmett Swartzentruber 11th, Preston Yutzy 21st, Nathan Wallington 24th, Jayse Yoder 27th and Robert Nagy 32nd. This is the second straight year the Mid-Prairie boys have qualified for state as a team. They last won a state title in 2016.

The Golden Hawk boys and girls will compete on Saturday, October 30th at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge as part of the class 2A state meet. Catch live updates from the state cross country meet for area schools on AM and FM KCII.