WILLIAMSBURG
Spearheaded by two runners finishing in the top ten, the Mid-Prairie boys secured their tickets to state with a third place finish at the Class 2A State qualifying meet in …
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WILLIAMSBURG
Spearheaded by two runners finishing in the top ten, the Mid-Prairie boys secured their tickets to state with a third place finish at the Class 2A State qualifying meet in Williamsburg on Oct. 19.
The top three teams advanced to state. Mediapolis won the meet with a team score of 49. Oelwein finished with a runner up score of 65. The No. 10 ranked in Class 2A Golden Hawks placed third with a score of 74.
Heating up at the right time of year, Emmett Swartzentruber, ranked No. 7 in 2A, followed up his first place finish last week in Iowa City with an even faster performance.
“Mediapolis has some incredibly fast boys and their top runner beat Emmett last time they raced,” Mid-Prairie coach Jeremy Myers said. “This time around Emmett took control of the race earlier than he had in previous races and just kept grinding the pace faster and faster.”
The Mid-Prairie junior led the state bound Golden Hawks with a first place time of 16:12. This time set a new PR for Emmett. He crossed the finish line nine seconds faster than Mediapolis senior Owen Schmidgall’s runner-up finish.
“I just feel absolutely fantastic,” Emmett said after the state qualifying meet. “Just a great day. Great race. It just feels awesome. So proud of the team.”
Finishing with a better time and placement from last year’s state qualifying meet was Junior Preston Yutzy. Yutzy ended this year’s meet with a top ten finish, completing the course in 17:20 to place seventh.
Max Swartzentruber, a freshman, was the next Golden Hawk to cross the finish line, placing 19th in 18:08. Not too far behind Max was teammate Jayse Yoder. Yoder, a talented junior who has been dealing with an injury this season, had a strong showing, ending with a time of 18:52 to place 20th.
Sophomore Jesse Stultz was the last runner to account for Mid-Prairie’s third place team score. Ending with a season best time, Stultz placed 27th in 18:52.
Also completing the course in under 19 minutes was senior Daniel Rodgers, placing 29th in 18:57. Fellow senior Jacob Donaldson crossed the finish line with a new PR time of 19:06 to place 32nd.
“The boys ran a really gutsy race,” coach Meyers said. “We had two guys that woke up feeling pretty terrible, and another who hasn't been able to run for almost a month due to injury.”
Mid-Prairie wrapped up the meet with the team, standing on a podium, being presented a Class 2A Cross-Country State Qualifier banner. A special accomplishment for this team that is made more special by their strong sense of camaraderie.
“All throughout the season, just super thankful, super blessed to have a team like this,” Emmett said about his teammates. “Every guy is willing to show up and work hard. We got some great leaders. Everything from getting sleep, eating right to showing up every week, putting in the work. It's just a great team atmosphere and I wouldn't want to be a part of any other team.”
Taking place at Fort Dodge, this year’s Class 2A State cross-country championship is slated for Oct. 28th. Keeping their streak alive, it will be the fourth straight year the Mid-Prairie boys are competing in the state meet.
Results
