The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls track and field teams took care of the competition and their to-do-lists at Thursday’s Class 2A State Qualifier meet at Dean Nelson Field in Monticello. Sweep the team championships, check. Win events, check, 14 of them combined between the boys and girls. Qualify events for state, check, 25 of them automatically between the boys and girls, and put themselves in excellent position to earn several more state spots through performance qualifying.
The Golden Hawk boys were team champions with their score of 124 points. Mediapolis was second with 71.5. The Hawks had eight event titles on the night including Jayden Stafford sweeping through his program with wins in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 wheelchair events in 17.17 seconds, 33.35 seconds, 1:11.51 and 2:47.34 respectively. Emmett Swartzentruber went double gold, winning the two-mile with a time of 10:31.48 as part of a 1-2 Golden Hawk punch with Preston Yutzy second. Swartzentruber’s other win was the mile in 4:33.23. Burke Berry was king of the ring, winning the shot put at 56’4.75”. The Golden Hawk 4×100 was gold with the team of Kaden and Kendrick Kos, Nolan Jergens and Ryan Henry breaking the tape first in 43.57 seconds.
Other auto-qualifier events that finished second included Henry in the 100, Jayse Yoder in the 800, Yutzy in the two-mile, the distance medley with Kaden Kos, Henry, Cash Brown and Yoder and the 4×2 with Jergens, Kendrick Kos, Brown and Henry. On the bubble for a spot at state as performance qualifiers include third place events with Yutzy in the mile and Thomas Lueck in long jump.
For the Golden Hawk girls it was a team score of 169 points, running away from Tipton in second place with 100. The Hawks had six event championships, including a perfect night from freshman Jeorgia Evans who was a rare quad gold winner, taking the 100 title in 12.05 seconds, 200 title in 25.32 seconds, long jump at 18’5” and was part of the 4×100 winners with Tessa Bombei, Myli Hershberger and Jovi Evans in 50.76 seconds. The Golden Hawk throwers completed their own sweep with Harper Pacha winning shot put at 38’3.25” and Dessa Poll discus at 120’3”. Other auto-qualifiers as runners-up were Jovi Evans in the 100 and 200, Rachel Hostetler in the 3000, the 4×200 with Hershberger, Hannah Rodgers, Ruby Miller and Jovi Evans, the shuttle hurdle with Sophie Miller, Bombei, Olivia Schlabach and Ruby Miller and the 4×800 featuring Kendal Landstrum, Tessa Brokaw, Brooklyn Stutzman and Hostetler. On the bubble in third for bids to state include Sophie Miller in the 100 hurdles, Landstrum in the 800, Hostetler in the 1500, Stutzman in the 3000, Pacha in discus, the sprint medley of Hershberger, Sophie Miller, Rodgers and Kyrie Poll and the d med of Hershberger, Sophie and Ruby Miller and Landstrum.
This is the first time since 2022 the boys and girls swept the team titles. This is the fifth-in-a-row for the girls, while it’s the boys first team championship since 2022. The complete list of events to qualify for state will be finalized by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and boys Iowa High School Athletic Association by the end of the day Friday. For interviews with each of Mid-Prairie’s championship events from Thursday night, listen to the KCII Radio Coaches Corner Saturday, beginning at 9a.m. The Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships will begin Thursday, May 22nd at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.