The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls track teams are gearing up for the starting gun to a new season. The Hawks found plenty of success in 2024. The Golden Hawk girls were third as a team at the River Valley Championships, winning the RVC title in the distance medley. The Golden Hawk boys were fifth as a team at the RVC meet with Emmett Swartzentruber winning the mile and two-mile events. At the state qualifier meet in Eddyville, the Golden Hawk girls were team champs for the fourth straight year, winning event titles with Jovi Evans in the 100 and 200 and Emma Lueck in long jump. The boys were team runners-up at EBF with Jayden Stafford sweeping the wheelchair 100, 200, 400 and 800 titles and Landon Sullivan winning long jump. Once at State, the Golden Hawk girls finished 9th in 2A with fourth place finishes for Danielle Hostetler in the 1500 and the distance medley team of Dakota Mitchell, Lueck, Evans and Hostetler leading the way. The boys were 33rd in 2A with Stafford’s four state title sweep the highlight.
In the 2025 indoor season, the Golden Hawk girls and boys are putting Class 2A on notice. The Mid-Prairie girls won the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Indoor State Championship in Ames last week, scoring 52 points. The Hawks got a multi-State title record setting performance from freshman Jeorgia Evans who set a meet record and obliterated a 49-year-old Mid-Prairie long jump record to take the 2A event title, and was named fastest 2A girl on the track, setting a meet record winning the 60m dash. Other Golden Hawk scoring events included second for the 4×800 of Rachel Hostetler, Brooklyn Stutzman, Rebekah Wallington and Kendal Landstrum, third for Evans in the 200 and the 4×1 team of Evans, Tessa Bombei, Myli Hershberger and Ruby Miller. Fourth for the shuttle hurdle with Sophie and Ruby Miller, Bombei and Sarah Crowner, fifth for Stutzman in the 3000 and sixth for Hostetler in the 1500. Mid-Prairie head girls track coach Mark Hostetler joined the KCII Radio Coaches Corner last week to talk about what has him excited for the outdoor season, “Their youth, and the ability that they have. The young kids are just learning and have not been consistently training yet. They still have that potential. They were still able to perform well (At the IATC State Meet). A lot of it is, they are a lot more mentally tough than their age gives them credit for. I thought they did an outstanding job!”
The Golden Hawk boys finished sixth in 2A at the indoor championships, led by a trio of state titles. Emmett Swartzentruber won the two-mile, Burke Berry the shot put and Jayden Stafford the wheelchair 200. Other scoring events for the Hawks included Ryan Henry sixth in the 60m, along with Preston Yutzy in the mile, Tommy Miller in shot and the 4×800 team of Thomas Flynn, Max Swartzentruber, Max Kipp and Yutzy all eighth. Golden Hawk head coach Dain Jeppson spoke on the KCII Radio Coaches Corner about what he’s looking forward to most during the outdoor season with this group, “Our finish at the IATC indoor was exciting. Our top end events are going to be very good. We look to make some noise and in the RVC and hopefully, ultimately, at the state meet in May!”
The Hawks have their final indoor tune-up of the year tonight when they travel to the University of Dubuque for the River Valley Conference championship meet. In Dubuque they’ll see Iowa City Regina, West Branch, West Liberty, Tipton, Wilton, Durant, Anamosa, Monticello, Cascade, Camanche, Northeast Goose Lake, Maquoketa, Dyersville-Beckman and Bellevue. Action starts at 3:30 this afternoon and continues into the evening in Dubuque.