Mid-Prairie shines at Keota invite

The Mid-Prairie cross-country teams put on a good showing at the Keota invitational on Tuesday afternoon.

The Golden Hawk boys? and girls? teams combined for eight individual top-10 finishes, including sweeping the top individual spots in both contests.

In the team contest, Mid-Prairie swept the boys? and girls? competitions, as they continue their strong start to the season.

?On an evening with temperatures over 90 degrees that saw lots of slow times and many runners dropping out in the heat we were very pleased with our squad for hanging in and pushing through the heat to pick up the win,? Mid-Prairie assistant cross-country coach Aaron Fleming said.

The Mid-Prairie girls? runners cruised to the victory with Anna and Marie Hostetler finishing first and second respectively on the night.

Anna finished the race with a 19:17, nearly 40 seconds ahead of Marie, who took second with a 19:53.

Abbagail Evans took sixth on the night with a 24:58, Abby Tornow took eighth with a 25:14, Greta Schmidt finished in 10th with a 25:22, while Kate Cavanaugh took 14th with a 27:22.

?The new rankings by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches has Anna ranked No. 1 in Class 2A,? Fleming said. ?While early season rankings can change quickly it is a sign of the respect she is garnering around the state and is certainly a fun honor.?

On the boys? side of the meet, Mid-Prairie had the top three individual finishers, with Peyton Miller leading the way, posting an 18:15 to win the meet.

?Peyton handled both the heat and the competition in fine style, collecting his first career win to lead his team to victory,? Fleming said. ?Peyton is quickly establishing himself as a team leader this season, combining talent with determination in practice and very tough-minded racing.?

Floyd Evans posted an 18:45 to take second place, while Zach Pettit took third with a 19:42.

Brent Foster placed third in the meet, with a time of 20:17, while Quinn Schmidt finished in 20th with a 22:21 and Spencer Yutzy finished in 29th with a 23:23.

Mid-Prairie will run at Monticello on Saturday.

Columbus takes third in boys? meet

The Wildcat boys? cross-country team posted a third-place finish at the Keota cross-country meet on Tuesday afternoon, with three runners posting medal times.

Armando Quiroz took 16th with a 21:47, while Marc Estrada finished in 17th with a 21:58 and Erick Cantarerro took 18th with a 22:00 to lead the Wildcats.

Hunter Huston finished in 23rd with a 22:30, while J.D. Lekwa took 27th with a 23:05. Cheppo Cardenas (30th, 23:45) and Tucker Morrison (38th, 25:14) were the other varsity contributors for the Wildcats.

?This was a very good night, and it wasn?t because of our times,? Columbus head coach Steve Riley said. ?It was because of our effort and the fact that we competed hard. I was especially pleased with Erick, who had his best run of the season.?

On the girls? side of the meet, Jenessa Carpenter led the charge for the Wildcats, posting a ninth-place finish with a 25:21, while Aubrey Duncan took 17th with a 28:43.

?The girls showed as much toughness as the boys,? Riley said. ?This was a good building block in our season.?

The Wildcats will be in action next Thursday when they travel to Fort Madison.