Golden Hawks take 2nd

DES MOINES — The Mid-Prairie girls might not have scored enough points to win an unprecedented fifth-straight track and field title at the 2023 state meet this weekend, but there were still plenty of fireworks for Southeast Iowa’s perennial power.

Mid-Prairie won two state titles and scored 49 points on state track weekend, taking second in the girls’ team race after polishing off a four-peat in 2022.

The first of Mid-Prairie’s championships came on Thursday. Danielle Hostetler, a two-time defending champion in the 3000-meter run, looked to stay unbeaten in the event and keep alive a family tradition that saw a Hostetler win the event in every year since 2017.

In her toughest race yet, Hostetler did just that. She kicked it in for the final lap to pass Sumner Fredricksburg’s Hillary Trainor, cross the finish line in 10 minutes, 20.73 seconds, and make it seven-straight 3000-meter winners for the Hostetler sisters.

“There comes a point in the race where you have to choose,” Hostetler said. “Am I going to have the temporary pain and really make it hurt, or am I going to have regret? Thankfully, God gave me the strength to choose the pain.”

Hostetler’s 3000-meter win gave her 10 points individually on the weekend. On Saturday, she finished third in the 1500, crossing the tape in 4:40.80, for six more. She also took eighth in the 800, finishing in 2:19.13.

All the glory to God,“ Hostetler said. ”He gives me the strength and the courage to go out there.“

Along with Hostetler’s individual performance, Mid-Prairie was once again helped out by an incredible weekend in the relays. The highlight on that front came when the 4X200 team of Madeline Schrader, Amara Jones, Jovi Evans and Tabitha Evans won the race in 1:44.49, earning the squad 10 more points.

“I was so stressed even though Tabitha had a 10-meter lead,” said Jones after the win. “When she crossed the finish line I was just so excited and so proud of all of us.”

The winning relay team consisted of three seniors and a freshman. Ninth-grader Jovi Evans said she relished the opportunity to learn from the other three.

“It is like a dream come true to run with these girls,” Evans said. “Not only are they very good athletes, but they're just really good people, and so fun to be around. They're like family to me.”

The distance medley quartet of Schrader, Jones, Jovi Evans and Hostetler brought the team a second-place finish. The Golden Hawks crossed the tape in 4:12.16, adding another notch on the belt of one of the Golden Hawks’ most decorated events.

“I remember in middle school, sitting in my teacher's classroom, watching Mid-Prairie win the D-Med,” Schrader said. “To be a part of it now, with these girls. I couldn't ask for more.”

On Saturday, the sprint medley quartet of Schrader, Nevaeh Decker, Evans and Evans took third, in 1:49.89.

Decker, who was tasting her first major score of the weekend, says she fit right in with the group that had been doing it all weekend.

“ (My nerves) were definitely low,” Evans said. “They've been doing it. They've been doing good. They calm me down.”

Finally, at the end of the day on Saturday, the 4X100 team of Schrader, Jones, Evans and Evans placed second, grabbing eight more points in the team race. The same team that had won the 4X200 one day prior embraced one final time, as their state meet had come to an end.

“I was trying to just keep it out of my mind,” Tabitha Evans said. “Once I saw Madeline, the tears started coming.”

Those tears encapsulated a bittersweet moment for the Golden Hawks. It was the final performance in a decorated career for the team’s three senior sprinters.

“Even though it's tears of sadness, it's kind of tears of joy,” Evans said. “We've made a lot of memories, and we really grew off each other, so it means a lot.”

CLASS 2A GIRLS’ TEAM SCORES: 1. Van Meter 71; 2. Mid-Prairie 49; 3. Unity Christian 36; 4. Denver 35; T-5. panorama 30; T-5. Pella Christian 30.