Off to the races.

The Mid-Prairie girls track & field team has ranked first place yet again, sitting atop the River Valley Conference and first overall in 2A competition, it is safe to say the Golden Hawks are flying away with it.

Of 19 events hosted in Mid-Prairie’s backyard, the Hawks took first place in 11, scoring 188 points, a country mile ahead of Pekin with a 124.5-point second place finish. This is the only home meet for the girls track team. Fittingly, it was their senior night.

The team honored eight seniors: Grace Conway, Tabitha Evans, Ella Groenewold, Amara Jones, Lacee Kos, Emily Schlabach, Madeline Schrader, and Sophia Schwartz.

The Golden Hawks had no shortage of impressive moments. Junior Danielle Hostetler, took place in the 800-meter relay along with 16 other competitors (two from Mid-Prairie). Hostetler absolutely smoked her competition, taking first, 22 seconds ahead of second place. By the time the rest of the pack crossed the finish line, Hostetler had time for a five-course meal.

Senior, Ella Groenewold, competed in the high jump and was the only contestant able to clear the four-foot-ten jump. Next, she challenged herself to try a five-foot-four jump, warming up between chances with the wind at her back. She came very close to clearing the bar, still high above the rest.

In a tight race, Mid-Prairie sophomore, Dakota Mitchell, just sneaked into first place in the 200-meter dash with a 28.46 time. Three other athletes also finished with a 28 second time.

Mid-Prairie dominated in the relay races. In the 4x100 meter relay, Mid-Prairie’s two teams ranked first and third place with a 51.24 time and a 53.64 finish.

In the 4x200 meter relay, the Hawks flew to a first-place finish, four seconds ahead of West Branch, with a 1:47.35 time.

Guess what? The trend continues. Mid-Prairie had two 4x400 relay teams, ranking first and fifth. First, scoring a 4:22.58 time which was ten seconds ahead of Mediapolis’s second place finish.

Maybe now you’re thinking, what about the 4x800? Well, Mid-Prairie took first place in this race too! Again, six seconds ahead of the competition, Mid-Prairie finished with a 10:44.19 time.

Mid-Prairie’s 800 and 1600 medley relay teams also took first place. In the 800 medley, Mid-Prairie was the only school under two minutes with a 1:55.33 time. In similar fashion to the other races, Mid-Prairie finished ten seconds ahead of the rest in the 1600 medley with a 4:32.22 time.

The only relay Mid-Prairie did not finish first was the 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle relay. The race was too close to call when Mid-Prairie and Alburnett crossed the finish line together. Alburnett finished with a 1:13.27 time. Mid-Prairie, right behind, with a 1:13.30 time.

This is now the sixth time the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks have ranked first at a meet. Qualifying for the Drake Relays, they will compete at Drake University Stadium on Thursday, Apr. 27.