Area small schools fill state XC list

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Fort Dodge, especially for the Union area small schools, which predictably filled the state qualifier list on Thursday.

Three different sites hosted the area’s Class 1A and Class 2A schools. Four Union area teams punched their tickets to the state meet, which begins on Friday morning.

The defending Class 2A champion Mid-Prairie girls got pushed by Albia, but the currently second-ranked Golden Hawks still came away with a district championship. Mid-Prairie scored 49 points, and the sixth-ranked Lady Dees scored 54.

Danielle Hostetler led the way for the Golden Hawks, winning the meet by over one minute, with a final time of 19:08.13. Abby Fleming finished third, in 20:21.60. Phobe Shetler finished ninth. Greta Sieren was 17th, and Dessa Poll took 20th.

Also winning the district was Danville-New London, the third-ranked team on the Class 2A boys side. The Bears scored 61 points, besting ninth-ranked Pella Christian by 12.

D-NL’s AJ Bonnesen took first overall, crossing in 16:27.67. Rylan Martin was fifth, in 17:11.34. Jackson Shacklett took 11th. Talan Whaley was 21st, and Cauy Garrett finished 25th.

The Mid-Prairie boys sneaked into the third position to earn themselves a state qualification. Three teams and 15 individuals qualify in Class 2A, as opposed to just two teams and 10 individuals in Class 2A.

Even if the Golden Hawks hadn’t qualified as a team, they still would have had a pair of qualifiers, as Emmett Swartzentruber finished sixth, in 17:25.76, and Preston Yutzy took eighth, in 17:29.41. Nathan Wallington was 17th. Blake Creed took 24th, and Daniel Rodgers finished 30th.

The area did have one individual qualifier come out of Pella Christian that wasn’t already going with his team. Van Buren County’s Lincoln Bainbridge, in just his freshman year, finished 14th at the qualifier with a final time of 17:39.53.

The Class 1A meet at Central Decatur saw the Pekin girls roll to victory, scoring 42 points to take first place. The sixth-ranked Panthers blew out 13th-ranked Madrid, who scored 71.

Chloe Glosser and Lauren Steigleder both pulled out Top-5 finishes for the Panthers. Glosser took third, in 20:25, and Steigleder was fifth, in 20:40. Brooke Miller finished 12th. Audrey Fariss was 13th, and Brooke Sylvester finished 23rd.

The Pekin boys didn’t make it as a team, but the Panthers will have a representative in Fort Dodge. Brady McWhirter flew to a second-place finish, crossing the line in 17:03.12.

In Iowa City’s Class 1A meet, the 20th-ranked Danville-New London girls were pushed to third place in a tough region that included both No. 5 Hudson and No. 12 Regina. D-NL scored 88, a full 37 points behind the hosting Regals.

The D-NL girls did have two Top-10 finishers. Alaina Gourley finished second, crossing the tape in 21:06.9, and Kamryn Sherwood was seventh, finishing in 22:04.7.

The area had two qualifier on the boys’ side in Iowa City. Columbus’ Damian Vergara was the top area qualifier, finishing sixth place, in 17:59.3.

Winfield-Mount Union’s Kohlby Newsom took seventh place, in 18:15.1. Teammate Gabriel Hemsworth was one spot away from a return trip to state, but finished 11th.

The first meet on Friday will be the Class 1A girls, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. The Class 1A boys will be next, at 11:15 a.m. The Class 2A girls and boys will start at 2 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.

Class 3A and 4A will be the next morning, with Class 3A beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Class 1A boys at Iowa City Regina

TEAM SCORES: 1. Regina 30; 2. Bellevue 60; 3. Hudson 90; 4. Columbus 104; 5. Winfield-Mount Union 127; 6. Montezuma 145; 7. WACO 188; 8. Durant 223; 9. Wapello 261; 10. Highland 281.

AREA TOP-10: 6. Damian Vergara, Columbus 17:59.3. 7. Kohlby Newsome, Winfield-Mount Union 18:15.1.

Class 1A girls at Iowa City Regina

TEAM SCORES: 1. Hudson 28; 2. Regina 51; 3. Danville-New London 88; 4. Montezuma 92; 5. Bellevue 119; 6. Columbus 151.

AREA TOP-10: 2. Alaina Gourley, Danville-New London; 7. Kamryn Sherwood, Danville-New London

Class 1A boys at Central Decatur

TEAM SCORES: 1. North Mahaska 76; 2. Madrid 103; 3. Collins-Maxwell 113; 4. Pekin 135; 5. Lynnville-Sully 141; 6. Central Decatur 149; 7. Colfax-Mingo 157; 8. Southeast Warren 194; 9. Wayne 212; 10. Baxter 212; 11. Pleasantville 338; 12. Bedford 289; 13. Moravia 348.

AREA TOP-10: 2. Brady McWhirter, Pekin 17:03.12

Class 1A girls at Central Decatur

TEAM SCORES: 1. Pekin 42; 2. Madrid 71; 3. Collins-Maxwell 95; 4. Central Decatur 96; 5. Lynnville-Sully 100; 6. Wayne 139; 7. Colfax-Mingo; 8. Pleasantville 190

AREA TOP-10: 3. Chloe Glosser, Pekin 20:25; 5. Lauren Steigleder, Pekin 20:44.

Class 2A boys at Pella Christian

TEAM SCORES: 1. Danville-New London 61; 2. Pella Christian 73; 3. Mid-Prairie 81; 4. Grundy Center 89; 5. I-35 Truro 94; 6. Albia 146; 7. Davis County 154; 8. Central Lee 263; 9. West Marshall 266; 10. Union Laporte City 281; 11. Van Buren County 290; 12. PCM 307

AREA TOP-15: 1. AJ Bonnesen Danville-New London 16:27.67; 5. Rylan Martin, Danville 17:11.34; 6. Emmett Swartzentruber, Mid-Prairie 17:15.76; 8. Yutzy Preston, Mid-Prairie 17:29.41; 11. Jackson Shacklett, Danville-New London 17:34.52; 14. Lincoln Bainbridge, Van Buren County 17:39.53.

Class 2A girls at Pella Christian

TEAM SCORES: 1. Mid-Prairie 49; 2. Albia 54; 3. Pella Christian 84; 4. Union Laporte City 107; 5. Grundy Center 130; 6. Davis County 143; 7. PCM 190; 8. West Marshall 196; 9. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 233; 10. Cardinal 282; 11. I-35 Truro 288.

AREAT TOP-15: 1. Danielle Hostetler, Mid-Prairie 19:08.13; 3. Abby Fleming 20:21.60; 9. Phoebe Shetler 20:59.47.