State cross country capsules

Capsules and predictions for the 2013 state cross country championships:

DATE: Saturday

SITE: Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge

ADMISSION: Parking is $10 per vehicle

FORECAST: Mostly sunny, 51 degrees, wind from the NW at 12 mph. Chance of rain: 0 percent.

CLASS 4A GIRLS

Time -- 11 a.m.

Individual race -- Even with defending champion Stephanie Jenks opting not to compete this fall, there is still plenty of star power in this race. Start with McKenzie Yanek, a sophomore at Pleasant Valley, who placed fourth last year. Yanek raced to a convincing win at the Pleasant Valley regional, winning in 14:04 -- 53 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. Iowa City West's Ashlynn Yokom was the state runner-up last year and ran 14:24 at Cedar Rapids, winning by 37 seconds. Karissa Schweizer of West Des Moines Dowling was third in 2012 and had a convincing regional triumph of her own.

Team race -- It will take a giant effort for someone to unseat defending champion Pleasant Valley. The Spartans have three top-13 runners back from last year (Yanek, Maddie Reynolds and Addie Royer). Those three, plus freshman Addie Swanson, went 1-2-3-4 at the Pleasant Valley regional. The list of challengers is solid, led by Ames and West Des Moines Dowling, who ran to a 37-all deadlock at the Ankeny regional (Ames won by tiebreak). Johnston had four top-10 runners at the Lewis Central region, and all of them were on last year's third-place state team.

How they'll finish -- 1. Pleasant Valley, 2. Ames, 3. West Des Moines Dowling, 4. Johnston, 5. Linn-Mar. 

CLASS 4A BOYS

Time -- 11:30 a.m.

Individual race -- This is about all that's missing from the glossy high-school running resume of Linn-Mar's Josh Evans. The state runner-up in 2011, Evans settled for ninth last year due to injury. He's a title hopeful again, and probably the favorite. His stiffest competition could come from the West Des Moines Dowling duo of Ryan Schweizer and Spencer Clark. Clark was eighth last year, the highest of any returner. Cedar Rapids Prairie's Mitch Pritts was 13th last year; Linn-Mar's Tanner Rathje was 15th, and ran within 3 seconds of Evans at the Marshalltown district.

Team race -- When Cedar Rapids Prairie won the 2010 championship, it ended an 88-year drought for Metro schools in the big-school class. There's a distinct chance this "dry spell" will end after just three years. Prairie and Linn-Mar both are title hopefuls; the Lions were third, the Hawks eighth last year. Both were extremely impressive in district wins; Linn-Mar went 1-2-3-5 at Marshalltown; Prairie ran 1-3-4-5 at Cedar Rapids. Last year's sixth-place team, Johnston placed all five scorers in the top eight at Council Bluffs, and the Dragons are capable of raining on the Metro parade. Two-time defending champ West Des Moines Dowling was hit hard by graduation, but comfortably won the Ankeny district.

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

CLASS 3A GIRLS

Time -- Noon

Individual race -- Bethany Dykstra of MOC-Floyd Valley is the highest returning finisher from last year; she placed third. Dykstra was the champion at the Carroll regional in 15:38, winning by a second over Boone's Dianna Slight. Ballard sophomore Abby Kohut-Jackson had the fastest regional time (14:32, at Winterset), and ran eighth at state last season. Team favorite Davenport Assumption has a strong front pack of three consisting of Mallory King, Joy Ripslinger and Beth Mallon.Team race -- After finishing third last year, Davenport Assumption looks poised to win the championship. The Knights went 1-2-3-7-8 at the Solon regional. Defending champion Decorah doesn't figure to surrender its crown easily. The Vikings return four runners that placed in the top 20 last year, and ran to a convincing win at the Waverly regional. Spencer and MOC-Floyd Valley were separated by nine points at the Carroll regional, and figure to be the best challengers to the top two.

How they'll finish -- 1. Davenport Assumpton, 2. Decorah, 3. Spencer, 4. MOC-Floyd Valley, 5. Mount Vernon-Lisbon. 

CLASS 3A BOYS

Time -- 12:30 p.m.

Individual race -- They went 1-2 at state last year, and there's no reason to think Chandler Austin and Albert Meier of Boone won't repeat the feat. Austin ran 15:46 and Meier went 16:32 to claim the top two spots at the Carroll district last week. Jacob Day of Charles City was the next highest finisher at state last year (seventh), and won the Waverly district title. Center Point-Urbana's Josh Yeager was fifth in 2A in 2012 and ran away with the Solon district title, amassing a 20-second cushion.

Team race -- Same conference, different team. After Decorah earned the 3A title in 2012, the pendulum has swung in the direction of Northeast Iowa Conference rival Charles City. The Comets return five of their top six runners from last year's third-place team, and three of them (Day, Will Jarvill and Sam Lynch) were in the top 10 at districts. The frontrunning of Austin and Meier ought to put Boone in the mix. Decorah and Pella both were stung by graduation after going 1-2 last year, but both have reloaded nicely, and both have outstanding tradition.

How they'll finish -- 1. Charles City, 2. Boone, 3. Pella, 4. Decorah, 5. Algona. 

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Time -- 1 p.m.

Individual race -- A former West Des Moines Dowling standout, Grace Gibbons has transferred to Gilbert, and could win a title at her new school. Gibbons won the Gilbert regional by 38 seconds last week, running in 14:55. Unity Christian's Kassidy DeJong is the highest returning 2A runner, placing fourth at state last year. She was the champion at the Orange City regional, beating Western Christian's Erika Douma by 19 seconds. Douma was seventh last fall.

Team race -- Unity Christian is favored to capture its third consecutive championship, but the Knights will be challenged by Northwest Iowa rival Western Christian. At the Orange City regional, Unity outran Western by a 48-60 margin. Gilbert established itself as a threat by running 1-2-3-4 (led by Gibbons) and claiming its home regional by 76 points. Adrianna Kammerer led a 1-2-3 finish by Iowa City Regina at the Tipton regional; the Regals will compete for top-five spots with River Valley Conference rivals Cascade and Monticello.

How they'll finish -- 1. Unity Christian, 2. Western Christian, 3. Gilbert, 4. Iowa City Regina, 5. Cascade. 

CLASS 2A BOYS

Time -- 1:30 p.m.

Individual race -- It looks like a three-man race, and two of them are from Gilbert. Thomas Pollard and Wesley Greder were second and fourth last year, and finished together at the front of the Gilbert district in 16:53, with Greder ruled the winner. Michael Melchert of Monticello ran third at state last fall and breezed to a 30-second victory at the West Union district. John Crew of Dike-New Hartford could squeeze into the mix; he ran 15 seconds behind the Gilbert duo at districts and was the 1A runner-up last year as a freshman.

Team race -- Two-time defending champion Monticello is the team to beat again, because its sophomores have stepped forward. The Panthers captured the West Union district title by 47 points, placing four runners in the top nine. The duo of Greder and Pollard make Gilbert a viable challenger, though the Tigers probably don't have quite enough depth to bypass Monticello. Last year's runner-up, North Polk, returns three of its top four runners from last year.

How they'll finish -- 1. Monticello, 2. Gilbert, 3. North Polk, 4. Unity Christian, 5. East Marshall. 

CLASS 1A GIRLS

Time -- 2 p.m.

Individual race -- Two-time defending champion Rebekah Topham of Griswold has been slowed by a foot injury, but let it be known at regionals that she's still the runner to beat. The junior won by more than a minute at the Treynor regional, in 14:56. She'll be pushed, and pushed hard. Last year's runner-up, Leah Seivert of Sibley-Ocheyedan, also won her regional race by more than a minute. So did Tiffany Christensen of Eagle Grove. That pack of three could make this the most competitive girls' race of the day.

Team race -- Call this title chase "Young and Younger." The top two teams appear to be sophomore-dominated Pekin and freshman-heavy Pocahontas Area. Pekin, which has three championships and two-runner-up finishes in the last five years, easily captured the regional title at Ottumwa behind the 1-2 finish of Gwynne Wright and Shea Dahlstrom. Pocahontas' top three runners are ninth-graders who went 2-3-4 behind Seivert at Hawarden. Haley Schroeder leads a strong list of returners at Elkader Central, last year's third-place team

.How they'll finish -- 1. Pekin, 2. Pocahontas Area, 3. Elkader Central, 4. Griswold, 5. Emmetsburg. 

CLASS 1A BOYS

Time -- 2:30 p.m.

Individual race -- After placing fourth last year, Kyle Kehoe of Denver moves to the front of the pack of contenders. Kehoe emerged from a tough race with Bellevue sophomore Andrew Meyer to win the Jesup district title. Meyer should be one of Kehoe's strongest challengers again in Fort Dodge. Alex Van Ginkel of Trinity Christian was 13th last year and outran West Lyon's Micah Bajema (sixth in 2012) at the Hawarden district. Don't overlook either of those runners based on their slow district time.

Team race -- After finishing second to Council Bluffs St. Albert in last year's race, Denver has taken the proverbial baton and the role as small-school boys' favorite. Five of the last year's seven state runners return for the Cyclones, led by Kehoe. Two others -- Tanner Johnson and Nick Sabelka -- were top-10 runners last week at the Jesup district. St. Albert lost its top four runners from last year to graduation, but finished a close second to Oakland Riverside (third last year) at the Treynor district. Van Ginkel leads a talented troop of Trinity Christian.

How they'll finish -- 1. Denver, 2. Oakland Riverside, 3. Council Bluffs St. Albert, 4. Trinity Christian, 5. West Fork.