State meet field to be set Thursday

Top three teams. Top 10 individuals.

Everyone else need not apply.

Those are the state-meet qualifying standards for every cross country runner in the state heading into Thursday?s district meets for boys and regional meets for girls at locations across the Iowa.

Fairfield teams have a tough assignment in Knoxville ? particularly on the boys? side. Third-ranked Knoxville, sixth-ranked Grinnell and seventh-ranked Pella enter as favorites to sweep the three slots for teams moving onto the state meet.

On the girls? side, Southeast Conference champion Jessica Lamb hopes to make a return trip to Fort Dodge after qualifying as a freshman in 2009. As a team, the Trojans will have to contend with favorites Benton Community, Pella and Williamsburg without varsity runner Courtney Laux, who was injured at last week?s conference meet.

Pekin, Van Buren and Cardinal will all be at the Class 1A meet in Wapello, and the list of contenders on the girls? side, without a doubt, starts with the group from Packwood. The top-ranked Panthers are led by senior Kaitlin Spilman and juniors Brenna and Celsey Conger, and all three have shown the ability to go out and win a race on any given day.

It will be the beginning of a run toward the Class 1A state title, which they took home in 2008, and also a chance to move past the second-place finish in the Class 2A meet from last fall.

The Panther boys have a tough test ahead of them amidst a field chock-full of talented runners. IMS? Bill Spencer is quite possibly the best cross country runner in all of Iowa and leads the No. 1 ranked team. Brothers Chase and Bennett Moser lead No. 5 Wapello, and ninth-ranked Prince of Peace out of Clinton will also be up near the top.

Pekin junior Phillip Laux figures to lead the charge in hopes of getting the Panthers represented at the state meet scheduled for Oct. 30.