Golden Hawks run in crowded Heartland Classic

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 9/18/22

The Golden Hawks were ready to get off the bus after a long drive to Pella for the Heartland Cross Country Classic, but lengthy weather delays kept them off the course on Saturday …

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Golden Hawks run in crowded Heartland Classic

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The Golden Hawks were ready to get off the bus after a long drive to Pella for the Heartland Cross Country Classic, but lengthy weather delays kept them off the course on Saturday morning. 

Rain fell while they waited, making the course muddy at Central College. The six races that were scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. were combined into just two, which finally began at 12:30 p.m.

Despite the conditions and the crowded course, every girl on the Mid-Prairie team took at least a few seconds off of their time from the Dutch Invitational, which was held two weeks earlier on the same course.

“With those various setbacks in mind, we were really encouraged as a coaching staff with how the kids kept focused and turned in a number of really strong races,” Mid-Prairie assistant coach Aaron Fleming said. 

While many teams left during the weather delay, there were still 347 runners and 31 full teams competing in the combined girls race. The field included ranked teams from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas. 

The Golden Hawk girls finished 18th, led by a fifth-place individual finish of 19:08 from junior Danielle Hostetler. Ballard senior Paityn Noe, ranked no. 1 in 3A, won the race with a time of 17:28. ADM senior Geneva Timmerman was the only other Iowan to finish ahead of Hostetler.

Abby Fleming was 55th with a finish of 21:07 and Phoebe Shetler was 84th with a time of 21:34. Greta Sieren and Annika Poll finished in 22:14 and 22:21, respectively. 

Aaron Fleming said the improvement from the race in Pella two weeks earlier was good to see. 

“Annika Poll moved up 30 seconds and Greta Sieren moved 14, a really critical improvement for our team scoring,” he said. “Abby Fleming and Phoebe Shetler moved up 13 and 14 seconds respectively, and all four of those girls fought through really heavy traffic the whole race.”

Dessa Poll also finished under 23 minutes with a time of 22:41.

“Dessa Poll notched the biggest improvement of the day, a 62-second move,” Fleming said, “while Amara Jones, who just came back to full workouts after recovering from an offseason injury, claimed the final spot on the varsity seven with a close race with Tabitha Evans.”

Jones finished 10 seconds ahead of Evans with a time of 23:13.

“Amara and Tabitha are both seniors, both bring a great work ethic and super high pain tolerance, and great team-oriented mentalities,” Fleming said. “And it's a lot of fun to see them pushing to make the whole team better.”

The course was even more congested for the combined boys race, with 528 participants. But some of the Golden Hawk boys were still able to improve on their times from the first race at Central College, including Daniel Rodgers and Jesse Stultz, who finished in 19:29 and 19:31 to grab the last two varsity spots. 

“Daniel Rogers dropped 39 seconds, and Jesse Stultz dropped 34, as the two runners finished just two seconds apart for the second week in a row,” Fleming said. “They are pushing each other hard in meets as they scrap for position on the varsity squad, and that friendly competition is really paying off for them. Preston Yutzy had a 22 second improvement over two weeks ago, and continues to provide consistency in the middle of the varsity pack.”

Yutzy finished just two seconds behind fellow sophomore Jayse Yoder, taking 191st and 197th with times of 18:20 and 18:22. Emmett Swartzentruber led the Golden Hawk boys with a time of 17:41, which was good for 117th. Nathan Wallington and Blake Creed rounded out the scoring for Mid-Prairie with finishes of 18:35 and 19:11. The Golden Hawk boys finished 30th out of 37 full teams.  

Alex Castillo made a huge jump for the Golden Hawk junior varsity, taking nearly three and a half minutes off of his time from two weeks earlier to finish in 23:34. 

“We saw Alex Castillo have a breakthrough workout earlier in the week, where he ran a series of intervals trying to hang on with teammate Sawyer Hough,” Fleming explained. “We let Alex know how much potential he was showing, and he responded with a huge improvement.

“Sawyer, besides being a steady pacer who helped Alex along, also had a nice 23 second improvement. These guys are really moving in the right direction as we wrap up the first half of the competitive season.”

After putting 450 miles on the bus over the last three Saturdays, the Golden Hawks’ next meet will be a little closer to home, at the Iowa City Kickers Soccer Park on Monday, September 26.

Results

(Girls)

5. Danielle Hostetler 19:08
55. Abby Fleming 21:07
84. Phoebe Shetler 21:34
131. Greta Sieren 22:14
136. Annika Poll 22:21
171. Dessa Poll 22:41
199. Amara Jones 23:13
209. Tabitha Evans 23:23
294. Hannah Rodgers 26:28
305. Kali Miller 26:57
329. Alaina Safly 28:50

(Boys)

117. Emmett Swartzentruber 17:41
191. Jayse Yoder 18:20
197. Preston Yutzy 18:22
212. Nathan Wallington 18:35
263. Blake Creed 19:11
287. Daniel Rodgers 19:29
288. Jesse Stultz 19:31
306. Jordan Stock 19:51
316. Thomas Flynn 20:01
331. Luke Brokaw 20:21
341. Jacob Donaldson 20:29
352. Mose Yoder 20:42
354. Andrew Stultz 20:43
396. Sawyer Hough 21:26
416. Kaden Meader 21:57