Title repeat a goal, but not the only one

CEDAR RAPIDS - Jake Moore's a-ha moment came late last season.

'It was just a matter of realizing what I was capable of,” said Moore, a junior at Cedar Rapids Prairie. 'It just kind of happened.

'I realized I could keep my pace and keep up with the top guys. I started to pull away during races.”

In the shadow of teammates Mitch Pritts and Isaiah Vlasek through his first season and a half, Moore blossomed last October. And that late development was one big reason the Hawks captured the Class 4A boys' state cross country championship.

'He finished the season very well,” said Prairie Coach Bill Schwarz. 'He's got a lot of ability, he has the ability to be the best we've ever had.”

That's saying something. Prairie has developed some elite runners recently, including Pritts and Vlasek (who have graduated), and the Stocker twins a few years before that.

Despite losing three seniors from last year's state team to graduation, the Hawks open the new season ranked No. 1 in 4A.

'We'll have a pretty good team,” Schwarz said. 'Being No. 1, that's based on last year. But we do have some good kids coming back.”

Certainly, the Hawks have the best returning 1-2 tandem in 4A in Moore and Tysen VanDraska, who placed fourth and 11th in Fort Dodge last season. Moore ran in 15:34, VanDraska 15:44.

Moore missed a good share of the track season with what he called 'calf problems” (he's healthy now).

VanDraska, meanwhile, caught fire last May, running a 1:52.0 anchor split as the Hawks won the 4A 3,200-meter relay title at the state track meet.

'I ended the track season well and have a lot of momentum coming in,” VanDraska said.

But this symphony is much more than a simple duet.

'Those two juniors are great, but it's more than just those two,” Schwarz said. 'We've got some other kids that are looking fantastic. And we have a three-headed freshman monster that keeps nipping at their heels and making them work.”

Senior Zack Fiser and sophomore Cam Steffens were the fifth and sixth runners last fall at state. Other potential key contributors include sophomore Matt Lorenz (also a member of that winning 3,200 relay) and juniors Chris Oehlert and Levi Lefebure, among others.

Surely, the Hawks will enjoy vast success this season. Maybe they'll repeat at Lakeside Park on Nov. 1. But that's not the main mission for this program.

'Our No. 1 program goal is to have fun,” Schwarz said. 'We do emphasize that. It's no fun if you're not having fun.”

And that's why you'll see them on a late Friday night, after home football games, on the John Wall Field turf, playing Ultimate Frisbee. Or running the trails near the Amana Colonies before a team breakfast.

'The kids like to hang out together,” Schwarz said. 'They don't have to be best buddies, but they do treat reach other well.

'We want to have the right kind of kid, one that knows when to relax and when it's time to get down to business.”

The season begins Saturday with the Prairie Invitational. It's time to get down to business.

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