IOWA CITY

There’s close and then there is Emmett Swartzentruber and Preston Yutzy racing at Kickers Park on the final day of September close. 

Last Monday, Mid-Prairie kicked off their week with a trip to Iowa City to compete in the Clear Creek-Amana Invitational and in the boys race it came down to two Golden Hawks vying for first place, Swartzentruber and Yutzy.

Swartzentruber held the lead for most of the race, but Yutzy closed the gap as the race progressed. With the finish line in sight these two senior teammates gave it their all to defeat each other.

Coming down to the wire, the finish looked simultaneous, and their times reflected this statement as they both finished with times of 16:59.9, but it was Yutzy, setting a new PR who was awarded first place.  

“Emmett was in a lead, and when he was in a lead, he probably didn’t expect Preston to come up there,” Mid-Prairie coach Mark Hostetler said about the finish of the boys race.

“That race showed what motivation will do for you, and the mental part of the race where Emmett didn’t really know what was going on. He probably heard people yelling Preston’s name, but didn’t know how close he was, but Preston knew, and as he kept getting closer, you know it was motivation on his part.”

It was a phenomenal finish for both talented ranked seniors and this friendly competition between teammates has the potential to motivate both Yutzy (No. 29 in 2A) and Swartzentruber (No. 7 in 2A) to even greater heights. 

“I think this is going to motivate both of them,” coach Hostetler said about Yutxt and Swartzentruber. “Emmett’s not going to want to get beat again, and Preston’s going to want to try to beat him again, and it’ll be good for the team, it’s fun.”

As a team the Hawks finished as the runner-up with a score of 40. The host school, Clear Creek-Amana, won the meet with a score of 37

Coming through for a top ten finish for Mid-Prairie was the returning Jayse Yoder. The senior, who has been nursing an ankle injury, ran a strong race, placing 9th in 18:05. 

The other two Golden Hawks to finish within the team’s top five was Max Swartzentruber (13th in 18:23) and Luke Brokaw (17th in 18:36).

“Jayse is coming back from a sprained ankle, and he ran pretty good. And then Max ran really well, and Luke ran really well,” coach Hostetler said. “We had five, but it would be really nice to have all seven of them up there. That’s kind of what we were shooting for today.”

 Girls results

For the second race in a row and for the third time this season, Mid-Prairie’s standout sophomore, Brooklyn Stutzman crossed the finish line before anyone else.

Placing first at the CCA Invitational with a time of 20:20, it was another impressive race for Stutzman (No. 10 in 2A). 

“Brooklyn’s been running outstanding. She’s won three of the four races, and she keeps improving,” coach Hostetler said.

It was a great day to be a Golden Hawk as all their strong performance earned them the team title with a first-place score of 31, topping the runner-up, Clear Creek-Amana who ended with 37.

The youth movement is in full effect at Mid-Prairie as their top three finishers were a sophomore and two freshmen.

It was a runner-up finish for Rachel Hostetler (No. 16 in 2A), completing the course in 20:20. Fellow freshman, Tessa Brokaw ran one of her best races of the season, placing fifth in 21:35 to set a new PR.

“Tessa Brokaw really moved up a lot today, and I know she could. She was injured most of the summer, and so she’s been coming along really fast,” coach Hostetler said. “I expect her to be right up there with Rachel by the end of the season and that’ll push to make Rachel run faster. It’ll be good for the team when Tessa keeps moving up.”

Coming in 13th with a time of 22:36 was Rebekah Wallington and five spots after her came in Hannah Rodgers, placing 18th in 23:26. The final two Mid-Prairie runners to cross the finish line was Kyrie Poll (26th in 24:26) and Ivy Reschly (27th in 24:50)

“Rebecca had by far her best race of the year and it was good because Dessa Poll could not run tonight, she pulled her hamstring a little bit, so we held her out,” coach Hostetler said. “So, our fifth runner didn’t run, but in spite of that, Rebecca ran her best race and then Hannah ran a pretty solid race, too, and Ivy Reschly ran the best race of the year for her, and I think Kyrie Poll did too.”

 Girls Results

1. Brooklyn Stutzman, Mid-Prairie, 20:20

2. Rachel Hostetler, Mid-Prairie, 20:59

5. Tessa Brokaw, Mid-Prairie, 21:35

13. Rebekah Wallington, Mid-Prairie, 22:36

18. Hannah Rodgers, Mid-Prairie, 23:26

26. Kyrie Poll, Mid-Prairie, 24:26

27. Ivy Reschly, Mid-Prairie, 24:50

 Boys Results 

1. Preston Yutzy, Mid-Prairie, 16:59

2. Emmett Swartzentruber, Mid-Prairie, 16:59

9. Jayse Yoder, Mid-Prairie, 18:05

13. Max Swartzentruber, Mid-Prairie, 18:23

17. Luke Brokaw, Mid-Prairie, 18:36

21, Reece Waters, Mid-Prairie, 19:14

24. Thomas Flynn, Mid-Prairie, 19:19

Mt. Pleasant Invitational

It was quite the successful road trip for the Golden Hawks last week when they took part in the Mt. Pleasant Invitational on Sept. 24.

Racing in the Class B division, Mid-Prairie won both the girls and boys team championships with scores of 21 and 45 respectively.

Leading Mid-Prairie in the boys race was Emmett Swartzentruber. The senior took first place in 16:23, four seconds faster than runner-up Will Schmidgall of Mediapolis. 

Arriving not too long after Swartzentruber was teammate Preston Yutzy. Just finishing outside the top five, Yutzy completed the course in 17:38 to place sixth. The next highest placing Golden Hawk was Max Swartzentruber who placed 15th in 17:38.

In the girls race, Brooklyn Stutzman gave Mid-Prairie a first place finish in 19:29. Her time was six seconds faster than runner-up Iris Dahl of Washington.

Fourth place belonged to Rachel Hostetler, a Mid-Prairie freshman. Her time of 20:04 gave her a top five finish. Also finishing within the top 15 for the Golden Hawks was fellow freshman Tessa Brokaw, placing 12th in 20:52.

Girls Results

1. Brooklyn Stutzman, Mid-Prairie, 19:29

4. Rachel Hostetler, Mid-Prairie, 20:04

12. Tessa Brokaw, Mid-Prairie, 20:52

17. Dessa Poll, Mid-Prairie, 21:32

21. Hannah Rodgers, Mid-Prairie, 21:45

29. Rebekah Wallington, Mid-Prairie, 22:16

38. Kyrie Poll, Mid-Prairie, 22:50

52. Ivy Reschly, Mid-Prairie, 23:44

70. Averi Janecek, Mid-Prairie, 25:13

106. Stephanie Parks, Mid-Prairie, 28:21

108. Natalie Weaver, Mid-Prairie, 29:31

112. Samantha Wunderlich, Mid-Prairie, 29:59

115. Alexia Miller, Mid-Prairie, 30:29

122. Marissa Parks, Mid-Prairie, 31:04

124. Skylar Swift, Mid-Prairie, 31:41

126. Gwen Wunderlich, Mid-Prairie, 32:05

127. Fiona McClellen, Mid-Prairie, 32:28

Boys Results

1. Emmett Swartzentruber, Mid-Prairie, 16:23

6. Preston Yutzy, Mid-Prairie, 16:41

15. Max Swartzentruber, Mid-Prairie, 17:38

28. Luke Brokaw, Mid-Prairie, 18:06

34. Thomas Flynn, Mid-Prairie, 18:19

41. Jesse Stultz, Mid-Prairie, 18:34

44. Reece Waters, Mid-Prairie, 18:43

101. Ben Lothamer, Mid-Prairie, 21:27

114. Adrian Sanchez Reyes, Mid-Prairie, 22:20

116. Easton Rios, Mid-Prairie, 22:28

117. Evan Reschly, Mid-Prairie, 22:29

152. Cayce Damschen, Mid-Prairie, 26:01