WELLMAN

In early March, Danielle Hostetler was forced to cut short her workout.

The Mid-Prairie sophomore’s level of shin pain suddenly cast a lot of doubt on what the girls’ track season would look like for its defending state champion in both the 1,500-meter run and the 3000.

“With my injury, I kind of put all my dreams aside and was just going to try and make it through the season,” Hostetler said.

Hostetler missed the first month of meet competition as she worked through both the shin pain and some back discomfort and attempted to put herself in a position to be ready to compete. She decided to test it out April 11 at the Mike Kautz Invitational in Lone Tree, where the Golden Hawks’ junior-varsity team was scheduled to participate.

Hostetler ran in just one event – the 1500 run – and easily won it in 4:53.67.

“I wasn’t 100-percent sure that I was going to be able to do it, but I wanted to have a chance and I figured a JV meet would be a really good place to test it out,” Hostetler said. “I had been feeling pretty good. I had done a few hard workouts and I just told Coach (Chris Tyler) I was ready to go and I gave it everything. I didn’t expect that fast of a time. It wasn’t great, but it was just a blessing from God to be able to run that.”

Returning from the Lone Tree meet without any additional or new pain points, Hostetler improved on her 1500 time at both the Eastern Iowa Track & Field Festival in Iowa City April 16 and Mid-Prairie’s own Hawk Relays five days later, where her time of 4:41.67 earned her the top seed in the 1500 at the Drake Relays, which are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

“I am still working through a few things,” said Hostetler, who placed ninth in the 1500 (4:52.56) last year at Drake. “But for the most part, I would say I am mostly back to normal. ... I am going to give it all I’ve got. Try to stay up in the front and not trip.”

Hostetler will be bringing some teammates with her to the ‘Blue Oval’ at Drake Stadium. Mid-Prairie senior Mitzi Evans – who finished fourth at Drake last year in the 400 dash in 57.54 seconds – is seeded eighth (57.80) this time.

“That is going to be a fun one to watch,” Tyler said. “She will be able to hit that one fresh and it is going to be a good opportunity for her to be in that fast heat. I am glad she made the top eight so she can stay in the fast heat and run against the other top seven and just go out and leave it out there. She loves to go compete and I think being in that fast heat will help her know what she needs to do rather than have to race against the clock in the second heat.”

Evans will also anchor a pair of relays in which her younger sister, junior Tabitha Evans, also participates. The siblings will run the 400 relay (unseeded at 51.34) with sophomore Emma Lueck and senior Alyssa McDowell. That foursome originated April 5 in Williamsburg, but has had its handoff and exchange work hindered by the cold, windy conditions that all of Iowa has experienced this spring.

“We still can improve on that one,” Tyler said. “I am excited for what that race can be by the end of the season after we can critique some of these handoffs and things like that. Those four, it has been a great offseason. Several of them were involved in offseason programs, whether it is Iowa Speed (Youth Track & Field Club) and other coaches in the offseason, so that is just the fruits of their labor showing up there.” 

Mid-Prairie’s sprint medley relay (unseeded at 1:50.22) includes the Evans sisters and two juniors – Madeline Schrader and Amara Jones – who are both seeking a bit of redemption following injury.

Schrader lost her 2021 season to a back injury, while Jones has only competed in two meets this season due to a hip flexor. 

“The main thing there is just being hungry,” Tyler said. “They want to be the ones that step up and continue the tradition that has been built here.”

The Mid-Prairie boys will also be represented at Drake. Junior Cain Brown – who placed fourth in the high jump (6-03.00) at Drake last season – is seeded eighth (6-07.00) this year. Brown will also run in the 400 relay alongside seniors Tyler Helmuth, Will Cavanagh and Carter Harmsen. That group is unseeded at 44.75.

Freshman Jayden Stafford will compete in the 400-meter wheelchair race on  Friday. He participated in the 400-meter event for the first time on Tuesday and qualfied for Drake with a time of 1:17.36.

Even with a meet containing the prestige and history of the Drake Relays (this will be its 112th staging), coaches and competitors are always mindful of where it falls within their respective priorities. For a Mid-Prairie girls’ program that has won the last three Class 2A team state track and field titles and with state-qualifying meets on the horizon (May 12 in Eddyville), perspective is paramount.

“Drake is just kind of the icing on the cake, so to speak,” Tyler said. “It is a fun experience and it is a goal, don’t get me wrong, but it is not the main goal for what we do. If it happens, great, but we are not going to put together a lot of our training and we are not going to try to peak for the Drake Relays. ... It is part of our training, it is part of our plan, but it is not the purpose for what we are doing.”