Super meet begins the stretch run

The proverbial home stretch is around the corner. So what role, exactly does the Mississippi Valley Conference Super cross country meet play?

'It's a meet, and it's an opportunity to compete,” said Bill Schwarz, boys' coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Iowa City West girls' coach Mike Parker said, 'I don't want to downplay any meet that has the word ‘conference' in it. But there's no doubt, our bigger, more important meets are down the road.”

All 14 MVC teams will gather Thursday at Byrnes Park in Waterloo. The varsity girls will race at 5:05 p.m., the boys at 5:35.

Five of the boys' teams are ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A, led by second-rated Cedar Falls and No. 4 Prairie.

'Most people feel Cedar Falls is going to come out on top. They've been running really well,” Schwarz said. '(Sam Schillinger) is a beast, and their other kids have come along.

'They handled us pretty well earlier this season. Hopefully we're getting a little closer. I love the direction we're heading.”

Schillinger is the top-rated boy in 4A by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. Teammate Isaac Smith is fourth, Tysen VanDraska of Prairie fifth.

Iowa City West is ranked eighth, Dubuque Senior ninth, Iowa City High 10th. Schwarz said that Linn-Mar - the defending state champion, which has been slowed by injuries - 'is getting close to having it all together for the stretch run.”

West's girls are ranked No. 2 and ordinarily would be a shoo-in to rule Thursday, but Parker said top runners Bailey Nock (leg) and Gabby Skopec (ankle) both are questionable.

'If this was a divisional meet or a (regional meet), there's no doubt they would run,” Parker said. 'If they don't, it's going to be really, really close.”

Other girls' contenders include No. 9 City High, No. 11 Cedar Falls and No. 13 Linn-Mar.

City High's Mary Arch is ranked 10th individually.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com