Iowa 2A state cross country: Tipton’s Caleb Shumaker ‘got it done;’ Mid-Prairie girls dominate

FORT DODGE — Caleb Shumaker caught his breath and beamed.

'I got it done,' he said.

Locked in a duel with Sheldon's Brendan Cain for more than 2 1/2 miles, Shumaker prevailed down the stretch and claimed the Class 2A boys' individual championship at the state cross country meet Saturday morning at Lakeside Golf Course.

'That was a fun one,' said Shumaker, a senior at Tipton High School. 'I think we both ran to our limits.'

Especially Cain, who wobbled down the stretch, collapsing twice before finishing 18th. So Shumaker, whose title run of 16:13 was anything but secure as he headed up the final hill, ended up winning by 37 seconds.

On paper, it looked easy, but it wasn't.

Shumaker was bitterly disappointed after last year's third-place finish.

'I've thought about it for 365 days,' he said. 'It was going through my mind, coming down the stretch last year in third place. It motivated me every day, gutting it out, doing repeat 200s, getting my legs ready for this.

'I didn't know where (Cain) had gone. He ran a great race. I was just looking ahead. I was listening to the cheers, knowing if they were getting louder, he was getting closer. It gave me more motivation to get to the finish line.'

Led by individual champion Danielle Hostetler, Mid-Prairie claimed its fourth consecutive 2A girls' crown. The Golden Hawks' 45-point total was the lowest by a 2A girls' team in the 5K era, and the second lowest by any girls' team (Johnston scored 26 in the 2016 4A competition).

All of the Golden Hawks ran a controlled start, including Hostetler, who was running about 20th at the half-mile mark. But she was in front as she passed 1 mile, and breezed to victory in 19:08, 23 seconds ahead of runner-up Addison Parrott of Danville-New London.

Danielle, a freshman, is the third Hostetler sister to win a state title — Anna won in 2016 before Marie followed with the next three. So that's five in a row for the family.

'Marie flew in yesterday (from Liberty University) to watch, and that made it really special,' Hostetler said. 'I think I heard her about four times during the race.'

The Golden Hawks were back in the pack for a while, and that was by design.

'I just wanted to pace myself,' Hostetler said. 'I knew a lot of them would go out too fast, and I knew I could catch them.'

'We were supposed to hang back for the first 800,' teammate Mitzi Evans said, 'I didn't know if we had waited too long, but we were running better by the second mile.'

Jaden Yoder finished third, Evans was eighth and Sydney Yoder was 11th.

Tipton was the runner-up in both team races. The girls scored 107 points; Williamsburg (119), Jesup (135) and Starmont (152) made it a top-five sweep for Gazette-area girls teams.

Four freshmen ran for the Tipton girls.

'I think the biggest thing is that we're not just a team,' senior Kallie Wallick said. 'We're a family.'

Jesup's Amanda Treptow and Clare Wright were sixth and ninth; Williamsburg's Ruth Jennings was seventh.

Danville-New London was the 2A boys champion, scoring 64 points. The 2A champ in 2018 and 2019, Tipton tallied 86 points. Des Moines Christian was third with 105. Mid-Prairie, Williamsburg and Waukon were sixth, seventh and 10th.

Class 2A state cross country results

GIRLS

Teams 

1. Mid-Prairie 45

2. Tipton 107

3. Williamsburg 119

4. Jesup 135

5. Starmont 152

6. Denver 194

7. Cherokee 215

8. Sibley-Ocheyedan 230

9. Davis County 238

10. Unity Christian 244

11. Dike-New Hartford 248

12. Panorama 281

13. Danville-New London 305

14. Roland-Story 312

15. Des Moines Christian 315

Individuals 

1. Danielle Hostetler (Mid-P), 19:08

2. Addison Parrott (Dan-NL), 19:31

3. Jaden Yoder (Mid-P), 19:38

4. Amber Homan (Denver), 19:46

5. Clara Teigland (Treynor), 19:47

6. Amanda Treptow (Jesup), 19:47

7. Ruth Jennings (Williamsburg), 19:54

8. Mitzi Evans (Mid-P), 19:56

9. Clare Wright (Jesup), 20:00

10. Maria Kruse (Beckman), 20:02

11. Sydney Yoder (Mid-P), 20:02

12. Kyrstin Agnitsch (Cherokee), 20:03

13. Mayson Hartley (Clarinda), 20:14

14. Taylor Kvale (Dike-NH), 20:26

15. Georgia Paulson (Underwood), 20:27

16. Kallie Wallick (Tipton), 20:31

17. Chloe Ristau (Denver), 20:34

18. Zada Buchholtz (Williamsburg), 20:36

19. Madison Brouwer (Sib-Och), 20:37

20. Alivia Edens (Tipton), 20:39

BOYS

Teams 

1. Danville-New London 64

2. Tipton 86

3. Des Moines Christian 95

4. Western Christian 105

5. Davis County 137

6. Mid-Prairie 177

7. Williamsburg 189

8. Denver 224

9. Central Decatur 239

10. Waukon 242

11. Unity Christian 289

12. Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 301

13. GLR-Central Lyon 305

14. Albia 317

15. North Fayette Valley 339

Individuals 

1. Caleb Shumaker (Tipton), 16:13

2. Ty Carr (Dan-NL), 16:50

3. Alexander Julian (Dan-NL), 16:50

4. Carson Houg (DMChr), 16:58

5. Aaron Fynaardt (DMChr), 16:59

6. Tage Hulstein (WestChr), 17:00

7. Kenny Cronin (DavisCo), 17:07

8. Carson Shively (DavisCo), 17:11

9. William Gillis (CentDec), 17:18

10. Kenny Day (GCGR), 17:19

11. Dylan Darsidan (Camanche), 17:21

12. Harrison Garber (Williamsburg), 17:21

13. Deven Henry (West Sioux), 17:22

14. Joey Hovinga (Forest City), 17:23

15. Ty Nichols (Tipton), 17:25

16. A.J. Bonnesen (Dan-NL), 17:27

17. Cody Bohlmann (Tipton), 17:30

18. Brendan Cain (Sheldon), 17:35

19. Nolan Evans (Jesup), 17:36

20. Cole Dooley (Treynor), 17:37

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