The time will arrive Sunday night.

The ring of midnight, and a toast to the new year. And a year gone by.

So much to remember.

Here were some big moments:

Perfect Ravens

A golf afternoon last May in Ames comes to mind, when Hillcrest Academy’s golf team won a state championship for the first time in school history.

It completed an unbeaten season.

One of the members of that team was Rowan Miller, a freshman who tied for seventh place in the two-day tournament, and Luke Schrock, a senior who tied for 13^th place.

Watching all of this play out at the Ames Golf & Country Club was Phil Ropp, the founding coach of the golf program 30 years ago at Iowa Mennonite School and a grandfather of Miller.

A perfect Hollywood script.

Finishing Touch

Mid-Prairie’s Amara Jones and Madeline Schrader finished off their high school track careers at Drake University’s famed Blue Oval last spring with first- and second-place finishes in the girls sprint relays at the state championships.

They had run together since middle school, and in the relay events they ran the first two legs on a squad that also included sophomore Jovi Evans and senior Tabitha Evans.

The four won Mid-Prairie’s first-ever state championship in the 4x100 relay.

A day later, they finished second in the 4x200 and tearfully hugged afterwards. This was their final race together.

“I’m just so grateful we got this opportunity,” Schrader said.

Cross Country History

On a morning that was much colder in late October than almost any day we saw in November or December, Emmett Swartzentruber of Mid-Prairie made school history in a sport that Golden Hawks are known for making history in.

With a powerful run to the finish, Swartzentruber won the first individual state title for a Golden Hawk male at the state cross country championship meet in Fort Dodge.

He embraced first-year head coach Jeremy Meyers at the finishing area.

“I still can’t believe it,” Swartzentruber said. “Still can’t believe it. It’s crazy.”

Swartzentruber’s win extended Mid-Prairie’s streak of individual state championships to eight, but the previous seven were all won by a Hostetler in the girls championship meet: Anna, Marie and Danielle.

Finally, A Football Win

Nearly two years had passed without a Highland Huskies football win.

On the night of October 6, the Huskies broke a 15-game losing streak with a 20-18 win over Louisa-Muscatine.

Then, a week later, the Huskies shut out Wapello.

“It’s a great feeling,” said senior lineman Jackson Keller, an early graduate this December who plans to enter the U.S. Marine Corps. “It feels great to go 2 and 0 end of the season and having our younger kids come up.”

A win and a win.

Four-Peat Title

There was no question one summer night in Wellman.

When Mid-Prairie won its fourth consecutive district baseball championship, the Golden Hawks did so with an 11-0 victory against Durant.

Seniors Alex Bean, Cain Brown and Collin Miller were among those jumping into a pile of celebration. They are among the Golden Hawks who helped Mid-Prairie win four district titles, a handful of River Valley Conference championships, a pair of substate victories and two state tournament appearances.

It all starts young.

“There’s a lot of talent in this community,” said head coach Kyle Mullet. “Between the youth programs and the success that early (Mid-Prairie) teams have had.”

Hot State Finish

On a brilliant May afternoon in Marshalltown, Kylie Reinier’s final putt for par helped Mid-Prairie’s girls golf team to a seventh-place finish at the 2A state championship tournament.

Reinier, a 2023 grad who was on the varsity for the first time, led the Golden Hawks with a two-day total of 181. Madi Davidson, a junior, had seven birdies over two days and a 186. Gabi Robertson, a sophomore, carded a 193.

The Golden Hawks won River Valley Conference and 2A Regional titles on the way to the state tournament. All members of the team were named All-Conference.

“Seventh place with this group of kids, compared to where we were at three years ago with the freshmen and how young we were, it’s quite an accomplishment,” said coach Tracy McArtor.

Blasting the Comets

Then, there was the night (West) Liberty went down. Finally.

Mid-Prairie’s volleyball win over West Liberty in September broke a 14-year streak and led to the Golden Hawks running to the middle of the court for a celebration.

The Golden Hawks then marched on toward a 3A Regional tournament appearance in a 31-win season that may have set a school record or at least a standard for seasons to come.

Dakota Mitchell, a junior, and Jovi Evans, a sophomore, both were named All-State. Coach Sherry Evans was named River Valley Coach of the Year.

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And let’s take another minute here. There were other moments, of course.

Danielle Hostetler’s win in the girls 3000-meter finals at Drake.

Jayden Stafford’s triple state championships in the wheelchair competition.

Highland’s Sarah Burton winning the state long jump championship.

Lone Tree’s school records in the girls state relays.

The cross country runs toward a state championship meet by Hillcrest freshman Marie Yoder.

The retirement of longtime basketball coach and athletics director Tom Squiers at Lone Tree.

Highland’s impressive run in softball.

Karsen Grout’s baseball signing with Iowa and Dakota Mitchell’s verbal commitment to North Texas.

Mid-Prairie’s Danny Hershberger winning River Valley Coach of the Year in girls basketball after a 16-win season and a 3A Regional semifinal appearance.

Mid-Prairie's Ellie Brenneman was among a number of girls who competed in the first state wrestling championships specifically for girls last February at XTream Arena in Coralville.

And there will be more to come in 2024.

Lone Tree’s girls basketball team enters the year with a seven-game winning streak.

Mid-Prairie has one of the most promising and young girls teams in the River Valley Conference.

Allen Rath, who set a record in pitching strikeouts at the University of Iowa, returns to Highland High School as head baseball coach next summer.

And there’s always Caitlin Clark. Player of the Year? Sure. National title? Maybe so.

It’s time for a toast.

Chilled, please.

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul