Anna Hostetler receives special honor

A Mid-Prairie cross-country runner has received an additional honor, for having an outstanding season.

Junior Anna Hostetler was named the 2016-17 Gatorade Iowa Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. She is the first from Mid-Prairie to receive this honor.

The award recognizes not only her outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character shown both on an off the race course.

Over the past season, the 5-foot-9-inch runner won the State meet with a time of 17:57.7, and helped the rest of the Golden Hawks team to earn a third-place finish.

Hostetler will also have the ability to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a $1,000 grant as part of the Gatorade Pay It Forward program as part of winning this award.

When not running, she is busy working every day on her family farm as well as playing violin and piano. She also volunteers locally with the Special Olympics as a youth track and field coach.

She is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award which will be announced later this month.