The Mid-Prairie girls’ track and field team have much loftier goals than conference championships.

By limiting their state meet-level participants to just three events at their conference meets in recent years, the Golden Hawks have given themselves the best opportunity to arrive at a state-qualifying meet one week later in good health and with fresh legs.

It is a formula that helped Mid-Prairie claim each of the last two Class 2A team state championships in 2018 and 2019, seasons that did not include a conference championship.

This year, however, the Golden Hawks were just too talented and too deep not to win the River Valley Conference and they did so in dominating fashion.

“Absolutely pleased,” longtime Mid-Prairie girls’ track and field coach Chris Tyler said after the Golden Hawks won seven of 19 events and totaled 136 points at the RVC championships Thursday at the Anamosa High School track. “We had a great showing across the board. I think maybe all but two events were able to score points. So a real good team effort. Solid job all the way around. ...Kids are peaking at the right time, they are showing what they have got and we are ready to roll next week.”

Both the Mid-Prairie girls and boys will compete at a state-qualifying meet Thursday at Eddyville.

At the RVC meet, the Golden Hawk girls were 45.5 points better than runner-up Northeast Goose Lake (90.5 points). North Cedar was third with 69 points, while placements four through eight – Tipton (59 points), Monticello (58.5), Bellevue (56), Iowa City Regina (55) and Cascade (54) – were all within five points of each other.

“We all came in knowing that we had to run hard,” Mid-Prairie junior Mitzi Evans said. “We wanted to give our best in every race.”

Evans was one of five Golden Hawks to win an individual event after she narrowly edged Anamosa junior Ava Claussen-Tubbs by 17 hundredths of a second and claimed the 800 run in 2:22.64.

“I knew it was going to be a tough race,” Evans said. “Because the girl from Anamosa, she is really good. I just came in, had to know my splits and know the plan. I think running with competition really helps. She is really fun to run with.”

Evans also helped the Golden Hawks to a relay victory in the distance medley alongside seniors Maddie Edgington and Amber Swart, plus freshman Danielle Hostetler. The quartet won in 4:19.49, more than 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Tipton. Edgington, Swart, sophomore Amara Jones and junior Alyssa McDowell also won the 800 relay in 1:50.03.

Hostetler got the individual events started in rousing fashion when she shattered the conference record in the 3,000 run by over 21 seconds with a victory in 10:26.40.

“I wasn’t really going to go after it until I had 800 (meters) left,” Hostetler said. “And then I saw the clock and I realized I was actually on a pretty good pace. So then I sped up a little bit.”

Danielle Hostetler is the younger sister of former Mid-Prairie distance standouts Anna and Marie Hostetler, who each won multiple state championships while helping the Golden Hawks to the aforementioned team titles in 2018 and 2019. Should Mid-Prairie make it three in a row later this month, Danielle will be a big contributor.

“She is extremely motivated and for a freshman, just has an incredible level of calmness about her,” Tyler said. “She is just very confident in what she can do and she goes out and does it. She is just ready to rock and roll.”

Tori Boyse claimed a title in the shot put with a throw of 38-07.

After having the 2020 track and field season wiped out due to coronavirus restrictions, the sense of appreciation among the athletes to have reached the championship portion of the schedule was palpable.

“It’s been awesome,” said Mid-Prairie junior Sydney Yoder, who won the 1,500 run in 5:04.41. “I know it was really hard for a lot of people to miss out on last season. I think we all just were really determined this year that we were going to make it count because you never know when you won’t have a season.”

100-meter dash

15. Emma Lueck 14.28

17. Nora Pennington 14.51

200-meter dash

6. Tabitha Evans 28.62

13. Sidney Davis 30.24

400-meter dash

4. Maya Nonnenmann 1:04.61

6. Tabitha Evans 1:06.83

800-meter run

1 Mitzi Evans 2:22.64

3. Danielle Hostetler 2:28.02

100-meter hurdles

7. Behla Schmidt 17.12

10. Sidney Davis 17.71

1500-meter run

1 Sydney Yoder 5:04.41

4. Jaden Yoder 5:23.17

3000-meter run

1 Danielle Hostetler 10:26.40

5. Ana Fleming 11:17.37

400-meter hurdles

8. Amara Jones 1:13.79

13. Ana Fleming 1:21.19

Discus

2. Tori Boyse 120-01

26. Emma Baker 56-00

High jump

2. Ella Groenewold 5-00

6. Nora Pennington 4-08

Long jump

8. Colby Brown 14-06.5

11. Emma Lueck 13-00

Shot put

1 Tori Boyse 38-07

22. Ashlyn Gugel 24-05.5

4x100-meter relay

2. Edgington, Jones, McDowell, Swart 51.11

4x200-meter relay

1 Edgington, Jones, McDowell, Swart

4x400-meter relay

10. Poll, Nonnenmann, Conway, Evans 4:43.38

4x800-meter relay

4. Yoder, Poll, Fleming, Sieren 10:43.97

Shuttle hurdle

3. Jones, Davis, Schlabach, Schmidt 1:12.11

Sprint medley

2. Edgington, McDowell, Swart, Evans 1:49.74

Distance medley

1 Edgington, Swart, Evans, Hostetler 4:19.49