Another phenomenal fall full of hardware is in the books for Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk cross country. While the runners excelled on the course, head coach Mark Hostetler was recognized this week with a pair of awards from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches.

Hostetler was named Overall IATC Girls Class 2A Coach of the Year and Boys Class 2A At-Large Coach of the Year. The Golden Hawk girls were Class 2A Team State Champions with their score of 84 points. This was the sixth state title for the girl’s program in the last eight years. Three Golden Hawks earned All-State honors including Brooklyn Stutzman in eighth place, Rachel Hostetler 14th and Kendal Landstrum 15th. The Golden Hawk boys were 2A team runners-up with their score of 128 points, their highest finish since 2017 and the second time ever the boys and girls programs have finished 1-2 in the same year, in their history. The Golden Hawk duo of Emmett Swartzentruber in fourth and Preston Yutzy in 14th were named 2A All-State. Hostetler spoke with KCII Sports in Fort Dodge this season about the Mid-Prairie program and athletes.

Hostetler said, “(Hard work) is the reason why (the athletes) do well. In life, if you have a group of people that support you and have your back, and it’s an honest friendship, especially at that age it’s important. There’s a lot of adversity. There’s times when it’s hot and humid and they’re out running together and you think ‘Why do I do this?’ When they work really hard at something and do it together, they develop a really strong bond. That’s the importance of sports. It’s the support that they have for each other. It still takes each individual to be willing to do it. Be willing to put in a lot of work. You know, it’s the secret in life, if you want to succeed, you have to work harder than anybody else. The kids do that, and that’s why they succeed!”

These are the sixth and seventh IATC State Coach of the Year Awards for Hostetler who was also named 2024 River Valley Conference Boys and Girls Coach of the Year and the 2020 United States Track and Field Cross Country Association Iowa Girls Coach of the Year.

The Iowa Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame and Coach of the Year banquet is December 7th in Ames.