Golden Hawk girls win middle school state championship

The Mid-Prairie Middle School girls? cross-country team won the Class 2A state championship at the 19

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annual Washburn Classic, which was held at Saydel High School on Saturday.

Abby Tornow, who won the individual Class 2A title, led the Golden Hawks. Anna Hostetler took third place, and Calli Shaw came in seventh. Greta Schmidt?s 14

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-place finish rounded out the scoring. Bailee Peiffer came in 18

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, and Shelby Zahradnek was 23

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.

?These young ladies are very talented,? Mid-Prairie head coach Chris Tyler said. ?If you mix that with the hard work and dedication they put in every day at practice, the sky is the limit for this group.?

Seventh-grader David Fleming started off the day for the Mid-Prairie, and he set the tone for the Golden Hawks with his 21

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-place finish. Later in the day, Nolan Bertelli finished 25

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in the eighth-grade division in a personal-best time on the two-mile course.

Tyler said that Saturday?s state meet was an outstanding finish to the season.

?This team has risen to challenges all season long, and continues to prove to themselves that simply, they can,? he said. ?This group of guys and gals had an experience this weekend that they will remember for a long time, and I couldn?t be any more excited for them. These young individuals learned a lot about themselves this season, and my hope is that they can take whatever that is with them the rest of their lives.?