2010 state cross country glance

A comprehensive look at the state cross country meet Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge:

CLASS 4A GIRLS

Time -- 11 a.m.

Individuals to watch -- After finishing third last year,

Shelby Houlihan of Sioux City East appears to be the heiress to the throne. Houlihan ran an impressive regional race last week at Fort Dodge, finishing in 13:49 and winning by 45 seconds.

Rebecca Rethwisch of Iowa City High has delivered an outstanding season and won the Pleasant Valley regional in 14:29. She was sixth last year.

Carolyn Newhouse and

Brooklynn Kascel of Linn-Mar finally are rounding into shape after battling physical maladies and could contend.

Teams to watch -- The names have changed, but three-time defending champion 

West Des Moines Dowling remains the favorite. The Maroons had four in the top six in winning the Marshalltown regional. Last year's runner-up,

Iowa City High appears to be the top challenger. The Little Hawks edged

Pleasant Valley by a four-point margin at the Pleasant Valley regional.

How they'll finish -- 1. West Des Moines Dowling, 2. Iowa City High, 3. Pleasant Valley, 4. West Des Moines Valley, 5. Cedar Falls.

CLASS 4A BOYS

Time -- 11:30 a.m.

Individuals to watch -- Defending champion

Marshall Moyer of Burlington returns, as does 2009 runner-up

Tyler Meseke of Pleasant Valley. They met at the Pleasant Valley district, with Moyer claiming the title in 15:43.

Ben Witt of Burlington was second, Meseke third.

Kevin Lewis of Ottumwa is top-ranked, placed fourth at state last year and claimed the title of the Indianola district. 

Teams to watch -- Is this the year a big-school title comes back to Cedar Rapids? The runner-up in 2009 and ranked No. 1 all year,

Cedar Rapids Prairie appears poised for glory. The Hawks nailed their dress rehearsal, going 1-2-3 and scoring 19 points. The top two teams at the Marshalltown district --

Cedar Falls and

West Des Moines Dowling -- will provide stiff competition, as will

West Des Moines Valley, which claimed the title at Indianola.

How they'll finish -- 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie, 2. Cedar Falls, 3. West Des Moines Dowling, 4. West Des Moines Valley, 5. Cedar Rapids Washington.

CLASS 3A GIRLS

Time -- Noon

Individuals to watch -- Four of the top five finishers from 2009 are back, and all should be in the lead pack. Waverly-Shell Rock sophomore

Anna Holdiman might be the girl to beat after finishing fifth last year. Holdiman claimed individual honors at Charles City last week, beating 2009 runner-up

Moran Lonning of Decorah by 9 seconds. Defending champion

Ali Krogman of Atlantic returns, but finished third at the Perry regional.

Jessica Janecke of Dubuque Wahlert was the champion of the Anamosa regional, edging

Alex Wilson of Mount Vernon-Lisbon, last year's third-place finisher.

Teams to watch -- Led by Janecke and Lauren Rusch,

Dubuque Wahlert is primed for a repeat. The Golden Eagles were the class of a strong field at the Anamosa regional, winning by 25 points. Two regionals ended in deadlocks that were determined by the No. 6 runners --

Decorah edged

Garner-Hayfield/West Hancock/Ventura at Charles City while

Pella owned the tie-breaker on

Benton Community at Knoxville. Those four teams are the primary pack that will chase Wahlert.

How they'll finish -- 1. Dubuque Wahlert, 2. Decorah, 3. Pella, 4. Benton Community, 5. Garner-Hayfield/West Hancock/Ventura.

CLASS 3A BOYS

Time -- 12:30 p.m.

Individuals to watch -- Five of the top seven runners from last year are back, and all of them put forth title-worthy performances at districts.

Conner Smock of Mount Vernon-Lisbon was the runner-up in 2009 and won the Anamosa district by 43 seconds.

Johnny Fuller of Glenwood jumped into the elite of Iowa distance runners at last year's Drake Relays, and captured the title of the Denison district in 15:46, five seconds in front of Algona's

Ryan McMahon. Fuller and McMahon were 3-4 at state last year.

Zach Buchheit of Pella and

Evan Selsor of Winterset were sixth and seventh in '09, and were district champions last week.

Teams to watch -- The state's No. 1 team heading into districts,

Knoxville was beaten by

Grinnell. The state meet could be a multi-team free-for-all.

Glenwood is extremely strong out front; Fuller led a 1-3-4 finish at Denison.

DeWitt Central edged former No. 1 

Marion twice in eight days at Anamosa -- at the Wamac Conference championships and the district meet. Both will contend. So could

Boone (the winner at Perry) and possibly

Decorah (the champ at Charles City).

How they'll finish -- 1. Glenwood, 2. DeWitt Central, 3. Boone, 4. Marion, 5. Grinnell.

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Time -- 1 p.m.

Individuals to watch -- A year ago,

Lauren Benzing was out for volleyball. Now the sophomore from Solon is undefeated and dominant. She rolled to a 53-second margin in winning the Columbus Junction regional and is one of the favorites to reap the title in Fort Dodge. She will be challenged by a number of top runners from the West Union regional, led by

Jodi Miller of Sumner-Fredericksburg (fourth last year and top-ranked this year),

Holly Halstead of Hudson and

Arden Betzer of Springville-Central City. Freshman

Leah Seivert of Sibley-Ocheyedan rang up a 42-second margin of victory at Orange City.

Teams to watch -- This class has the makings of a multi-team mess in which the champion won't be able to be determined by the naked eye on the course.

Union is a three-time defending champion and appears to be rounding into shape at the right time. The Knights got a 4-5-6 finish from their top three and won the regional at West Union.

Solon and

Iowa City Regina finished 1-2 at the Columbus Junction regional, and both look imposing. Regina was third last year;

Unity Christian was fourth.

How they'll finish -- 1. Solon, 2. Union, 3. Iowa City Regina, 4. Unity Christian, 5. Humboldt.

CLASS 2A BOYS

Time -- 1:30 p.m.

Individuals to watch -- With one exception, graduation gutted the top end of last year's 2A race.

Alec Baldwin of Spirit Lake was the runner-up and the only underclassmen in the top six. He won the title of the Orange City district in 16:05, 18 seconds in front of the pack. Teammate

Keith Byers was next followed by

Logan Hovland of North Iowa, last year's seventh-place finisher.

Jake Potter of Monroe PCM is ranked second and won the Knoxville district.

Justin Hochstetler of Mid-Prairie won at Columbus Junction and should be a participant in the lead pack.

Teams to watch -- Defending champion

Spirit Lake looks like the team to beat, based on a district title in which the Indians edged No. 1

Unity Christian by a 56-64 margin. Despite losing six of its top seven runners from last year to graduation,

South Winneshiek has successfully reloaded; the Warriors were champions of the West Union district.

Iowa City Regina had a down year in 2009, finishing seventh, but should move back up the ladder Saturday.

How they'll finish -- 1. Spirit Lake, 2. Unity Christian, 3. South Winneshiek, 4. Iowa City Regina, 5. Monticello.

CLASS 1A GIRLS

Time -- 2 p.m.

Individuals to watch -- The fifth-place finisher in 2A last year,

Emily Franks of Northeast is the favorite. She claimed the title at the Arlington regional by 38 seconds. Her top competition ought to come from

Lauren Sharp of Dike-New Hartford and

Grace Moore of Mason City Newman, who waged a close battle at Marshalltown. Moore was third in 1A last year. Also keep an eye on

Ashley Corrin of Tri-Center and

Erin Reedy of Algona Garrigan (the fourth-place finisher in 2009).

Teams to watch -- After claiming the 1A title in 2008,

Pekin moved up a class and was edged by Union for the 2A title. The Panthers are back down in 1A, and should prevail. They had the top three girls at the Wapello regional and rolled to the team title. Southwest Iowa schools

Tri-Center, Earlham and

Griswold should be the primary challengers. Tri-Center had four runners in the top eight at Holstein.

How they'll finish -- 1. Pekin, 2. Tri-Center, 3. Earlham, 4. Griswold, 5. Bellevue Marquette.

CLASS 1A BOYS

Time -- 2:30 p.m.

Individuals to watch -- Senior

Bill Spencer of Iowa Mennonite is back in search of a second straight championship, and looked every bit the part of favorite in winning the district title at Wapello by 31 seconds. His closest pursuit came from

Chase Moser of Wapello, who finished fifth last year.

Taylor Huseman of Manson-Northwest Webster conquered the field at Holstein, winning by 48 seconds. He was fourth in 2009.

Teams to watch -- Another race that appears too close to call. Each of the three qualifiers from the Arlington district (

Cedar Falls NU High, Northeast and

Elkader Central) figure to be part of the scramble at the top. Defending champion

Iowa Mennonite can't be discounted, though it was beaten by five points at the Wapello district by

Wapello. Council Bluffs St. Albert looks to be the best team out west.

How they'll finish -- 1. Cedar Falls NU High, 2. Wapello, 3. Iowa Mennonite, 4. Council Bluffs St. Albert, 5. Northeast.