PLEASANTVILLE

All the runners at the 1A district meet in Pleasantville had dreams of state on their minds and for Hillcrest, they had two Ravens make those dreams a reality.   

Earning the right to continue their seasons, a runner-up finish and a top five finish at the Pleasantville Golf & Country Club on Oct. 24 paved the way for Hillcrest’s Marie Yoder and Siena Stanerson to punch their tickets to state. 

“Marie and Sienna really came through when it was important. Marie has been here before, but Sienna has really improved the last several races of the season,” Hillcrest cross country coach Marty Gingerich said. “Huge improvements. It was just great to see them be able to qualify and have another race.”

For a team to qualify for state they needed to place first or as the runner-up. For an individual they needed to procure a top ten finish.

In the girls race, Earlham won the team title (28) and joining them at state was the runner-up, Lynnville-Sully (46). Placing first as an individual was Pekin’s Chloe Glosser (No. 3 in 1A) with a time of 18:43.

Yoder made it two-for-two when a chance to advance to state was on the line. The sophomore qualified for the state meet for the second straight year and she accomplished this impressive feat by placing 2nd at districts.

Yoder (No. 11 in 1A) ran a season best time of 19:15 at Pleasantville. Last year Yoder was the only Raven at state but this time around she will be joined by Stanerson.

Stanerson, a junior in her first season competing as a Raven, was able to break through this year and accomplish the goal she has been aiming at for a while, qualifying for state.

“I was very happy because I’ve been working at this for a couple years, trying to qualify, and over the season, just getting my time down, and just through the past years, I was really happy with what happened today,” Stanerson said about qualifying for state.

Leading up to this race, Stanerson (No. 25 in 1A) has been consistently improving her time and at Pleasantville all her hard work was rewarded when she set a new PR with a time of 19:32 to place 5th.

“I felt pretty confident in my ability, and just knew that it was going to be a tough race,” Stanerson said. “There’s great competitors during this race, and to make it, you have to run fast.”

The next finisher for the Ravens was Delaney Shaw who competed in her final high school cross country race. The senior placed 45th in 24:59, the time being her season best. During her four years running as a Raven, Shaw has been as dependable as they come.

“Shaw has been a great leader and guide for the team in her four years as a team member,” coach Gingerich said.

Brynna O’Rourke was the final Raven to complete the course for the girls team, placing 50th with a season best time of 26:22.

Switching gears to the boys race, Earlham won the team title (41) and Lynnville-Sully captured second place (60). Placing first as an individual in 16:40 was WACO’s Jude Dykstra (No. 18 in 1A).

Headlining the Ravens at districts was the senior duo, Jesse Blossom and Micah Gerber, who both landed in the top 25.

“[Blossom and Gerber] has been the team’s number one and two runners for the past three seasons,” coach Gingerich said. “It’s been a really close group of seniors that we have this year, from sophomore year on, we’ve had this group of seniors.”

The leading Raven was Blossom, who placed 20th in 18:35 and not too far behind was Gerber, finishing in 18:39 to place 23rd. 

“Jesse went after it. He moved up quite a bit and was as high up as 15th during the race,” coach Gingerich said.

As a team, Hillcrest was fifth with an overall score of 147. Other finishers were Braden Hartsock (32nd in 19:16), Isaac Beachy (36th in 19:33), Jeremiah Danler (58th in 21:32), Mateo Rodriguez-Yoder (59th in 21:34), and Kyle Neuschwander (64th in 22:58).

Next up for Hillcrest is the the Iowa State High School Cross Country Championships at Fort Dodge on Nov. 1, where Stanerson will make her state debut and Yoder will aim to outperform her top 15 finish from a year ago.

Girls results

1. Chloe Glosser, Pekin, 18:43

2. Marie Yoder, Hillcrest, 19:15

5. Siena Stanerson, Hillcrest, 19:32

45. Delaney Shaw, Hillcrest, 24:59

50. Brynna O’Rourke, Hillcrest, 26:22

Boys results

1. Jude Dykstra, WACO, 16:40

20. Jesse Blossom, Hillcrest, 18:35

23. Micah Gerber, Hillcrest, 18:39

32. Braden Hartsock, Hillcrest, 19:16

36. Isaac Beachy, Hillcrest, 19:33

58. Jeremiah Danker, Hillcrest, 21:32

59. Mateo Rodriguez-Yoder, Hillcrest, 21:34

64. Kyle Neuschwander, Hillcrest 22:58