Two teams, one championship goal

 FORT DODGE -- It's understandable why Josh Evans has grown to respect -- even like -- Mitch Pritts and Isaiah Vlasek.

"They're polite. They're humble," said Evans, who possesses those qualities himself, as well as being the best current male distance runner in Iowa."I consider them friends. Good friends."

Those friends will chase the same prize Saturday. Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Prairie are among the favorites to claim the Class 4A boys' championship at the state cross country meet at Lakeside Golf Course.

Competition begins at 11 a.m.

"You take Linn-Mar and us, and add Johnston and maybe Cedar Falls to the mix, and it's going to be a really tight race," said Prairie Coach Bill Schwarz, whose team broke an 88-year Metro big-school title drought when it won the 4A crown in 2010."Johnston has a fantastic pack of five runners, but doesn't have a huge hammer. Obviously, Linn-Mar has Josh. They have four outstanding runners, and I think we do, too."Linn-Mar is ranked No. 1 in the final Iowa Association of Track Coaches 4A rankings, followed by Johnston, Prairie and Cedar Falls.

The favorite? It's tough to call. 

* Linn-Mar rode the 1-2-3-5 finish of Evans, Tanner Rathje, Michael Mather and Daniel Murphy to win the Marshalltown district last week with 23 points. Cedar Falls was a strong second, with 36.

* Prairie was just as impressive at the district at the Tuma Soccer Complex. Sophomore Jake Moore won the race, followed by Pritts, Vlasek and Tyler Vandraska in third, fourth and fifth.

* Johnston's No. 1 through No. 5 runners were separated by only 11 seconds, finishing 2-3-6-7-8 as the Dragons stampeded throught the Council Bluffs district.

"I think Prairie and us, we match up pretty well," said Linn-Mar Coach Todd Goodell. "Both of us will have four guys in the hunt of being all-state (top-10) runners. One of us will need a good performance of our No. 5 to get the job done.

"Johnston, they've got that tight-knit pack of five. If they move their top people up with us and Prairie, they're going to be tough to beat."

Linn-Mar and Prairie have evolved into elite teams in recent years. One key reason is their excellent middle-school programs.

"It's such an advantage for us in that we have the high-schoolers and the middle-school kids on the same campus," Schwarz said. "All our coaches are involved, grades 7-12. We share one philosophy."

It was at the middle-school level that Evans met Pritts and Vlasek. All are seniors now.

"I've known those guys since seventh grade," Evans said. "We're just good friends.

"Winning a state championship would be so awesome. But if we don't do it, I hope those guys do.

"We just need to keep our heads and look at it as just another 5K race."

Evans was a state runner-up as a sophomore, then injuries slowed him at the end of last season, and he settled for ninth. He said he is healthy after battling through Achilles-heel issues earlier this season, and he's putting off his college decision (he's down to Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Stanford) until after the state meet and Nike regionals and nationals.

"(An individual title) would mean so much, but a team title would mean more," he said. "Our team has put in so much work. If I don't win and we do, I'd be OK with that."