The final day of the 2021 Iowa High School State Cross Country Meet is here with several Class 1A area runners set to compete this afternoon. 

The girls race will feature Hillcrest Academy’s Leah Bontrager. The senior is making her fourth and final stop at state and looks to build off a 52nd place showing last fall. She finished fourth at last week’s state qualifier in Iowa City with a time of 21:42. Gabe Hemsworth of Winfield-Mt. Union will make his first appearance on the boys side. The sophomore squeaked into the top 10 at the qualifier by finishing ninth in 18:29. The headliner in the area will be the Columbus Community boys’ team making their second appearance at state in as many years. In 2020 they finished 14th out of 16, but head coach Steve Riley says bigger goals surround his team this go around. “We are trying to prove that we are a top 10 team and I truly believe they have the mentality and ability to do it on Saturday. This race is fast from the beginning. My message this week is be prepared to be uncomfortable right from the start. There is no holding back for a late race surge and these guys know it. Our practices have been like that and they will be ready.” Freddy Vergara had a runner up showing last week at districts and is ranked 14th in the latest poll by the Iowa Track Coaches Association. Fellow senior Isaac Acosta was also a headliner in sixth and last year placed 24th at state. Other Wildcats competing include Damian Vergara, Mason Hills-Carrier, Tim Hills-Carrier, Tyler Humiston, and Javier Panchillo. 

The 1A girls race is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon with the boys at 3:15 p.m. in Fort Dodge. We will have live updates on KCII from Lakeside Golf Course every hour on the hour and online at kciiradio.com.