The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk cross country program enjoyed another season of success this fall under the direction of first year varsity head coach Jeremy Meyers. For his work guiding the program, Meyers has been named Class 2A At-Large Girls Coach of the Year by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches.

This season, the Hawks were ranked in every weekly poll issued by the IATC, never falling out of the top two spots in 2A. The Golden Hawk girls collected three regular season meet championships, taking home team gold at Central College, Mount Pleasant and Clear Creek Amana. Mid-Prairie won their fifth River Valley Conference team championship in the last six seasons, placing their entire varsity line-up on All-Conference teams. The Hawks captured the state qualifier meet team title at Williamsburg to punch their ticket to Fort Dodge, and finished fourth in Class 2A as a team at the state meet. Individually, senior Danielle Hostetler helped propel the girls team with six personal titles.

The boys team also saw tremendous success under Meyers. The Hawks were ranked in every IATC poll during the 2023 season. They won three team titles including Central College, Monticello and Mount Pleasant. The Golden Hawk boys qualified for state as a team with their third place finish at the Williamsburg qualifier and placed 10th in Fort Dodge as a group. Mid-Prairie was led by junior Emmett Swartzentruber who won five individual titles during the season, including a River Valley Conference Championship, where he was named RVC Runner of the Year, a state qualifier meet championship, and he became Mid-Prairie’s first ever boys individual Class 2A State Champion when he beat the competition in Fort Dodge. Meyers spoke recently with KCII sports about what awards mean to him and the special group of athletes he coached this season. Meyers said, “It’s pretty cool. The kids, they’re the ones that do all the work. They run the show. Stepping in for Coach Hostetler this year, I figured out the best thing that I can do is get out of the way and let them do their thing. They know what they’re doing. They’re so phenomenal. They’ve made my life really easy, and it just speaks to them, their character, their understanding of what it takes to be successful, and it’s also a huge tribute to Mark (Hostetler) and the program that he’s built. He’s really built a culture there. I want to thank them for that. They’re just a great group!”

Along with his state award from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches, Meyers was also named River Valley Conference Coach of the Year.