WILLIAMSBURG

Emmett Swartzentruber ended the 2023 cross country season with a powerful run to a state championship in Fort Dodge.

Last week, he began a new season precisely the same way.

Swartzentruber, a Mid-Prairie senior, was the only runner to finish under 17 minutes at the Williamsburg Raider Invitational on September 3, winning the boys individual title with a time of 16 minutes, 56.2 seconds.

He helped lead a season-opening day in which Golden Hawk runners won both varsity individual titles and captured both the boys and girls team titles.

Brooklyn Stutzman, a sophomore who made her 2A state debut last year, won the girls race with a time of 19:52.9, a remarkable achievement because it was the first win of her life in a cross country race.

“It was better than I had expected,” Stutzman said. “I had goals. I wanted to run under 20 (minutes).”

Stutzman won by nearly 20 seconds, leading a charge of three Mid-Prairie runners finishing among the top four. Rachel Hostetler, the younger sister of three-time cross country state champion Danielle Hostetler, finished third in her high school debut with a time of 20:23.9. Kendal Landstrum, a sophomore, was fourth in 20:36.5.

Mid-Prairie won the girls title with 32 points, defeating host Williamsburg by 22 points. All of the Golden Hawks’ top five finished among the first 13. Dessa Poll, a senior, was 11th and Rebekah Wallington, a junior, was 13th.

A seventh Golden Hawk, Hannah Rodgers, was just four spots back, in 17th.

On the boys side, the Golden Hawks’ top five finished among the top 19 and Mid-Prairie won the team title by 27 points over Grinnell, scoring 38 points.

Preston Yutzy, a senior, finished third with a time of 17:10.3 and Jayse Yoder, a senior, was seventh with a time of 17:24. Max Swartzentruber, a sophomore, was 10th and Luke Brokaw, a junior, was 21st individually but 19th in the team competition.

Tessa Brokaw, a Mid-Prairie freshman, won the girls JV race with a time of 22:35.2.

“If she can stay healthy, she’ll keep moving up,” said head coach Mark Hostetler.

WILLIAMSBURG RAIDER INVITE

MID-PRAIRIE RESULTS

GIRLS: 1, Brooklyn Stutzman, 19:52.9; 3, Rachel Hostetler, 20:23.9; 4, Kendal Landstrum, 20:36.5; 11, Dessa Poll, 21:52.5; 13, Rebekah Wallington, 22:26.3; 17, Hannah Rodgers, 22:53.3; 31, Kyrie Poll, 23:55.1.

BOYS: 1, Emmett Swartzentruber, 16:56.2; 3, Preston Yutzy, 17:10.3; 7, Jayse Yoder, 17:24; 10, Max Swartzentruber, 17:55.4; 21, Luke Brokaw, 18:38.1; 27, Jesse Stultz, 18:57.8; 28, Thomas Flynn, 19:01.

GIRLS JV: 1, Tessa Brokaw, 22:35.2; 7, Ivy Reschly, 24:31.2; 11, Averi Janecek, 25:49.5; 29, Samantha Wunderlich, 30:22.5; 31, Natalie Weaver, 31:28.6; 34, Stephanie Parks, 32:15.4; 37, Marissa Parks, 32:37.8; 40, Fiona McClellen, 33:22.6; 42, Skyler Swift, 33:33.4; 43, Lexi Miller, 34:04; 45, Gwen Wunderlich, 36:33.1.

BOYS JV: 7, Reece Waters, 20:06.9; 43, Easton Rios, 24:09; 61, Cayce Damschen, 26:32.6; 73, Evan Reschly, 29:12.4.