Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook
The fourth biggest story in Hillcrest Academy athletics from last year took place during fall on the cross country course, where the Ravens had one of their best seasons in recent memory. In the regular season, sophomore Marie Yoder strung together three straight wins, taking the title at English Valleys, Fairfield and Burlington. At the Southeast Iowa Superconference Championships, the Ravens were girls team runners-up with 98 points. Yoder led the Raven charge, finishing as individual runner-up for the second straight season, re-tying the school record. Siena Stanerson also cracked the top five with a fourth place finish. The Hillcrest boys were eighth at the conference meet, scoring 219 points, paced by a 25th place finish from Jesse Blossom. At the 1A Pleasantville State Qualifier, the Raven girls scored two bids to state with Yoder going second and Stanerson fifth. The Hillcrest boys had a fifth place showing as a team with 147 points and Jesse Blossom’s 20th place the top performance.
At Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge for the 1A State meet, Yoder earned Elite All-State honors for the second straight season with an eighth place medal, the highest girls individual finish in the KCII listening area, and Stanerson was 32nd. Yoder’s 19:15 time at State is a new school record, her eighth place finish is the second highest in Hillcrest history, best ever for a sophomore Raven runner.
Wednesday our countdown continues with the third biggest story in Raven sports from last year, on the blue oval at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.