3rd straight championship for Mid-Prairie girls

DES MOINES — It was great kids and depth throughout the Mid-Prairie girls team that created the third straight Class 2A title for the Golden Hawks.

Mid-Prairie had 17 entries in 14 of the 19 events.

"What makes this one special is a great group of seniors who were undefeated up here,“ said Mid-Prairie coach Chris Tyler, who has been the Golden Hawks coach since 2008-09 season. ”It’s the deepest team I’ve had as the coach.“

Danielle Hostetler continued the Mid-Prairie and family dominance in the 1500-meter run at the state track and field meet Saturday.

Hostetler, a freshman, won the 1500 with a personal best time of 4 minutes, 45.09 seconds. Van Meter’s Clare Kelly got second with a time of 4:53.45.

It was the fifth straight 2A 1500 won by a Hostetler. Teammate Sydney Yoder was ninth.

“It means a lot to continue the legacy,” Hostetler said. “Both of my older sisters (Anna and Marie) are here today, and they were cheering me on. Also, my younger sister was here, and I want to be an inspiration to her.”

Hostetler wasn’t sure how she’d perform in the 1500 on Saturday in Drake Stadium. Just two hours before her 1500, she ran in the 800-meter run.

She finished eighth and looked wiped out, but it was her best time in the event.

“I was just thankful I could finish out the weekend with a win,” Hostetler said. “I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it after the tough 800-meter.”

It wasn’t just a win, it was a convincing win for Hostetler, who picked up the third state title of her young career.

Hostetler scored 21 points of Mid-Prairie’s total of 61. Williamsburg finished seventh in the team race with 31 points.

Mitzi Evans, a strong middle-distance runner, scored 19 points. She finished second in the same 800 Hostetler struggled in, third in the 400-meter dash and fourth in the 200-meter dash. She owns the school record now in both the 200 and 400.

Hostetler and Evans were part of the winning distance medley relay team with Maddie Edgington and Amber Swart. The 4:10.82 was just off the school record of 4:08.

Mid-Prairie’s team of Edgington, Amara Jones, Alyssa McDowell and Swart finished third in 50.59 in the 400-meter relay after qualifying in 51.10.

“This was our best time this year, so we smoked it,” Swart said. “Being a senior this was gonna be my last race ever so I just wanted to run the best I could. We got better than what we were seeded so that is just great. We knew coming into the meet that it wasn’t going to be the landslide that we had before like it was sophomore year. We knew the relays were important to get points and win as a team.“

Only the top eight places scored but the Hawks had others that were just as important to the team.

Tori Boyse was 11th in the discus at 118 feet, 6 inches and 13th in the shot at 36-2. Ella Groenewold was 12th in the high jump at 5-10. The sprint medley was 21st with Edgington, Jones, McDowell and Maya Nonnenmann. The shuttle hurdle relay was 12th in 1:11.42 with Jones, Sydney Davis, Emily Schlabach and Behla Schmidt. The 4x200 placed 11th in 1:49.67 with Edgington, Jones, McDowell and Swart. Yoder, Jaden Yoder, Annika Poll and Ana Fleming ran the 4x800 relay and placed 18th in 10:24.18.

“The team stayed focused with all that was going on around them and had a lot of fun,” Tyler said. “We have a lot back for next year so the future looks bright.”

CLASS 2A GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1. Mid-Prairie 61

2. Northeast 49

3. Osage 45

4. Panorama 42

5. Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central 38

Ben Visser, Gazette correspondent contributed to this article