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Stutzman earns All-State honors
Mid-Prairie girls team, Max Swartzentruber compete in 2A race
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FORT DODGE - Mid-Prairie girls cross country battled adversity all season. Injuries and illness became unexpected curve balls for the defending Class 2A team state champions.
The Golden Hawks depth and resilience shined through. Mid-Prairie willed itself back to Fort Dodge for the 2025 team race with a second place finish at the Regina qualifier.
Mid-Prairie finished ninth in Friday’s race with 203 points. It wasn’t the result they envisioned at the start of the season, but the team remained proud of its effort to battle through everything thrown at them. They expressed that in a huddle after the final Golden Hawks runner crossed the finish line.
“Just talking about how we love each other,” senior Rebekah Wallington said of the message after the race. “I really do not believe there's a team as close as our team and as supportive of each other as us.”
Despite missing out on the top three in team scoring, Mid-Prairie still had something to celebrate. Junior Brooklyn Stutzman finished in 19 minutes, 20.1 seconds to take seventh overall and earn All-State honors.
Stutzman was recognized on the deck of the club house at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course along with the other top-15 finishers. Her teammates cheered from an area below the deck when Stutzman’s name was called.
“I think I did pretty well,” Stutzman said. “It wasn’t obviously the outcome that I was hoping for, but through the wind and the conditions, I think everyone’s times were slow and I was proud of the way that I finished.”
Rachel Hostetler was the second Mid-Prairie runner to cross the finish line. She finished 34th overall at 20:44.6. Wallington was 53rd at 21:08.1. Kyrie Poll finished 93rd at 22:04.9. Tessa Brokaw rounded out the top five Golden Hawks runners who count for team scoring in 106th at 22:13.2. Hannah Rodgers finished sixth on the team and 113th overall at 22:34.2.
The other highlight for the Golden Hawks came from freshman Nikkari Poll. The seventh runner for Mid-Prairie, Poll finished in 22 minutes, 44.7 seconds to set a new personal record in the biggest meet of the year.
Wallington and Stutzman both praised their younger teammate’s accomplishment. Wallington, who wrapped up her cross country career Friday, said performances like Poll’s highlight how Mid-Prairie’s culture is strong enough to overcome tribulations.
"No matter how hard the workout, we still found joy in it," Wallington said. “These girls, I've seen them work their butts off in practice every single day. They are not slackers and I know that next year they're going to come back even stronger."
Mid-Prairie was also represented in the boys 2A race. Max Swartzentruber crossed the finish line in 17 minutes, 43.4 seconds to finish 59th overall.
Competing in his third state race, Swartzentruber battled strong winds and said it was difficult running without a teammate. He was part of the 2024 Golden Hawks squad that finished second the 2A team race at state last season.
Swartzentruber’s teammates did join him before Friday’s race. The junior said their presence helped calm his nerves before the season’s biggest event.
“They prayed with me and they were really encouraging and that really helps,” Swartzentruber said. “So I was just trying to just stay relaxed in my mind and remind myself that this is state. This is supposed to be fun. I don’t need to stress about it. I made it. So I just go out there and enjoy it.”
Swartzentruber said he’s looking forward to a bounce back performance at state next year. The junior wrapped a strong campaign that included a River Valley Conference individual title. Swartzentruber set a personal record of 17:03 in the meet.
