Iowa high school state cross country 2023 preview: Scouting the individual and team races

FORT DODGE — Capsules for the state cross country meet Friday and Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course.

Class 4A girls

Time — 10:30 a.m. Friday

Top individuals — Two former champions are in the field: Keelee Leitzen (2020), a senior at Dubuque Hempstead, and Addison Dorenkamp (2021), a senior at West Des Moines Valley. So is top-ranked Johnston senior Olivia Verde, the runner-up last year and Friday’s slight favorite. Verde won the Pleasant Hill regional by 40 seconds and Dorenkamp prevailed by 21 seconds at Marshalltown. Leitzen finished second at Pleasant Valley to Iowa City High junior Ani Wedemeyer. Another to keep an eye on is Ames junior Claire Helmers, the champion of the Ames regional.

Charting the team race — Dubuque Hempstead has won the last two 4A titles and has three of its top four runners back from last year. But the Mustangs aren’t quite at the level they’ve been, and that opens the door for several challengers, including perennial power Johnston. The Dragons had six runners in the top eight on their way to an 18-point tally at Pleasant Hill. Dubuque Senior edged West Des Moines Valley by two points at Marshalltown; Pleasant Valley outran Hempstead by nine on the Spartans’ home course.

How they'll finish — 1. Johnston, 2. Dubuque Senior, 3. West Des Moines Valley, 4. Pleasant Valley, 5. Dubuque Hempstead.

Class 4A boys

Time — 11:15 a.m. Friday

Top individuals — The top eight runners from last year’s state meet have graduated, and a new crop of stars has emerged. Sioux City North senior Natneal Kifle and Ankeny junior Ethan Zuber conducted a stirring race at the Ames district, with Kifle winning and both running 15:20. Expect another duel at Lakeside, with sophomore Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls, senior A.J. Schermerhorn of Ankeny Centennial, sophomore Adam Gray of Cedar Rapids Kennedy and senior Tommy Hensley of Urbandale providing the chase group. Jack Fiori, a junior at West Des Moines Dowling, is the top returner from last year (he was ninth).

Charting the team race — West Des Moines Dowling ran away with the title last year (by 73 points). It’s going to be much closer this time. The Maroons scored 29 points at the Marshalltown district and won by 24. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is the Mississippi Valley Conference champion and had four runners in the top 10 at the Pleasant Valley district. Cedar Falls is running healthy now, and the Tigers placed five runners in the top eight at Iowa City, while Ankeny did the same thing at Ames.

How they'll finish — 1. West Des Moines Dowling, 2. Cedar Falls, 3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4. Pleasant Valley, 5. Ankeny.

Class 1A girls

Time — 2 p.m. Friday

Top individuals — Start with a pair of Tri-Rivers Conference competitors. Junior Noelle Steines of Calamus-Wheatland has won the last two titles, but senior Meghan Wheatley of North Linn enters as the favorite. Wheatley has been blistering all season, running 17:40 at the Troy Mills regional and beating Steines by 53 seconds. Others to watch include Nora Peterson, a junior at Alta-Aurelia who finished third last year and won the Spencer regional by 46 seconds, and Manson-NW Webster junior Alyssa Richman, the seventh-place finisher in 2022 and the champion of the Panora regional.

Charting the team race — Even with its top two runners from its 2022 runner-up squad graduated, South Winneshiek has the look of a contender, again. The Warriors always seem to peak at Fort Dodge, and they are coming off an impressive title run at the Manly regional. Earlham brings back its key pieces from last year’s title team, and might challenge again. Madrid went into the regional meet ranked No. 1 and got a 1-2 finish from Katelyn Brandhorst and Madelyn Grothus at Leon. Dyersville Beckman dips into the 1A waters after finishing fourth in 2A last year.

How they'll finish — 1. South Winneshiek, 2. Madrid, 3. Dyersville Beckman, 4. Fort Dodge St. Edmond, 5. Earlham.

Class 1A boys

Time — 2:45 p.m. Friday

Top individuals — Senior Landon Bendgen of Woodbine is back in an effort to retain his crown. He won the title by 15 seconds last year, and rolled to the title of the Spencer district in 16:05. The Madrid duo of Clay Warson and Ethan Loutzenheiser, both seniors, ran together at the front of the Leon district. Loutzenheiser was fifth at state last year. Justin Rygh, a senior at Lake Mills, placed seventh in 2022 and ran second to Grundy Center sophomore Emerson Vokes at Manly.

Charting the team race — Last year’s runner-up, Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center, has five of its seven runners back, led by district runner-up Andrew Mahaffy. ACGC enters as a solid favorite. Defending champion Iowa City Regina is coming on strong at the end of the season, winning a district title on its home course, and it would be silly to discount the Regals. Second-ranked Lake Mills edged No. 3 Grundy Center by 13 points at the Manly district, and both are top-five material. So is 2022 third-place squad Woodbine, who — with Bendgen as a frontrunner — is basically scoring four against everybody else’s five.

How they'll finish — 1. Guthrie Center ACGC, 2. Iowa City Regina, 3. Lake Mills, 4. Grundy Center, 5. Woodbine.

Class 2A girls

Time — 10:30 a.m. Saturday

Top individuals — Mid-Prairie senior Danielle Hostetler is gunning for her fourth consecutive state championship, which would put her alongside Rebekah Topham (Griswold, 2011-14) as the only two girls to win four. She also is running to extend her family’s title haul to eight in a row. But she’ll have a stern challenge from Sumner-Fredericksburg senior Hillary Trainor, who was fifth last year, Trainor won the Dike regional by 41 seconds (Jesup’s duo of Mackenzie Wilson and Clare Wright were second and third), while Hostetler led by pack at Williamsburg by 42 seconds. Wilson was fourth last year.

Charting the team race — Mid-Prairie’s five-year title run ended last year with a fifth-place finish, but the Golden Hawks are favored to soar back to the top. Led by Hostetler, they placed seven runners among the top 18 at the Williamsburg regional and outran 2022 champion Van Meter by a 29-43 ledger. Van Meter might be the team to challenge Mid-Prairie on Saturday. Albia had been ranked No. 2 before the postseason began, but was topped by Des Moines Christian at the Pella Christian regional. Monticello is perennially strong and could push for a podium finish.

How they'll finish — 1. Mid-Prairie, 2. Van Meter, 3. Des Moines Christian, 4. Albia, 5. Monticello.

Class 2A boys

Time — 11:15 a.m. Saturday

Top individuals — As a freshman, Caleb Ten Pas of Des Moines Christian ran to a runner-up finish last year. He’s the favorite to climb to the top of the ladder Saturday morning, but is likely to get a challenge from Evan Osler, a junior at Okoboji. Ten Pas and teammate Collin Houg (a senior) ran 1-2 at the Pella Christian district, in 15:54 and 16:14, respectively. Osler was the champion at the Orange City district, winning by 9 seconds over Brandon Hughes of Spirit Lake. The top area 2A boys are district champions Alex Torres of Vinton-Shellsburg and Emmitt Swartzentruber of Mid-Prairie, plus Clay Bohlmann of Tipton, all of whom are juniors.

Charting the team race — Des Moines Christian is the favorite to repeat. The Lions bring back three top-26 guys from last year’s title team, and ran 1-2-4 at the front of the Pella Christian district. Waukon has a strong pack, and figures to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish. The Indians led the field at Monticello, which also included an up-and-coming Vinton-Shellsburg crew that could finish in the top five. Unity Christian and Okoboji, who finished in a tie at Orange City, are top-five contenders, as is Mediapolis.

How they'll finish — 1. Des Moines Christian, 2. Waukon, 3. Unity Christian, 4. Vinton-Shellsburg, 5. Okoboji.

Class 3A girls

Time — 2 p.m. Saturday

Top individuals — This could be the most wide-open of the eight runners, and locating a clear favorite is guesswork. Pella’s Marissa Ferebee is the top returner from last year; she was fifth as a freshman. She was the titlist at the Pella regional, winning by 29 seconds. Junior Lindsey Sonderman of Harlan went into the postseason as the No. 1 runner, but finished third at Pella. Iris Dahl of Washington and Avery Rump of Fort Madison are solid sophomores, and there is a strong group of freshmen in Glenwood’s Grace Berglund and Emee Dani of Gilbert.

Charting the team race — Book it: Pella is going to win it. All seven runners from last year’s title team are back, and the Dutch had six in the top 13 in winning a regional title on their home course by nearly 70 points. The race for second place consists of five teams — regional champions Gilbert, Mount Vernon-Lisbon and Glenwood, along with Solon and 2022 runner-up Ballard. Solon was third, MV-L fourth last year, and the Mustangs topped the Spartans by 12 points for the Solon regional title last week.

How they'll finish — 1. Pella, 2. Gilbert, 3. Mount Vernon-Lisbon, 4. Glenwood, 5. Solon.

Class 3A boys

Time — 2:45 p.m. Saturday

Top individuals — Ethan Eichhorn, a senior from Lewis Central, is the defending champion and claimed a district title last week at Winterset, in 15:50. He’ll have company at the front, particularly from Pella sophomore Canaan Dunham (sixth last year). Dunham was the Pella district victor, winning by 17 seconds over senior Micah Rees of Washington, who also figures to be in contention Saturday. The other three district champions — South Tama senior Tommy Tyynismaa (seventh in 2022), Western Dubuque soph Quentin Nauman and Gilbert freshman Logan Bleich — also are worth watching.

Charting the team race — Potentially the best duel of the weekend. Seventh last year, Gilbert has moved into the role of favorite (albeit slightly). The young, hungry Tigers went 1-2-3-5-6-7 in a 17-point effort at the Spencer district, and their top two runners were freshmen. Reigning champ Pella isn’t going to surrender its crown without serious debate. The Dutch scored five in the top eight in a 21-point district tally. After that, it’s more congested. Lewis Central should make a swift ascent from its 13th-place finish last year; the Titans were impressive in a title run at the Winterset district. Mount Vernon-Lisbon and Solon are podium hopefuls.

How they'll finish — 1. Gilbert, 2. Pella, 3. Lewis Central, 4. Mount Vernon-Lisbon, 5. Glenwood.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com