Several teams with state championship aspirations across three classes will collide at Pickard Park for the annual Little Hawkeye Conference cross country meet this afternoon.
Multiple teams in the Iowa Track and Field Coaches Association polls are competing for the final time before next week’s state qualifying meets.
The boys races features #1 in 4A Indianola in their push to hold that ranking toward a 4A title in a few weeks in Fort Dodge. Head coach Kevin Barnes said while they will be running on their home course at Pickard Park, the hills and long grass of the unique course may not be as much of an advantage for his team as it once was.
“I love Pickard. I think it’s a beautiful course, it’s gorgeous, it’s true cross country. If I’m going to be totally transparent, these fast guys on my team, they love race courses now. They like tracks, they want to run fast, and I understand that. So I think we’ve lost a little of that advantage over the years, but I’ll still come out here and smile.”
The Indians will tussle with #4 in 4A DCG, #10 Norwalk, the #2 in 3A Dutch, and #6 in 2A Pella Christian. Newton and Oskaloosa will attempt to push their way into a crowded All-Conference individual field, paced by #1 in 3A and two-time league champion Canaan Dunham.
The girls race highlights a heavy favorite in the front with the defending champions and #1 in 3A Pella Dutch, but several other ranked teams are trying to pull off the upset. Among those are #6 in 4A DCG, #15 in 4A Norwalk, #18 in 4A Indianola, and the surging Pella Christian Eagles, who are now up to #3 in 2A. Head coach Mike Buchheit says that the meet will provide another tough test for his squads ahead of next week’s State Qualifier.
“Our kids have battled in some major meets all season long, and the Little Hawkeye Conference certainly is not going to be easy. We’ve got five of the seven teams that have got both boys and girls teams ranked, so we’ll see how we stack up once we get there, but we certainly aren’t going to shy away from the competition in both the varsity and the JV races.”
The girls individual race is also highlighted by a two-time champion in Marissa Ferebee, ranked #1 in 3A. She’ll attempt to hold off #3 in 4A Piper Messerly, the defending individual 4A state champion. Pella Head Coach Doug Cutler looks forward to two exciting races that should prepare the teams well for their bigger goals in Fort Dodge.
Action begins with the JV teams at 4:15 p.m., with varsity races to follow at 5:15 and 5:45 p.m. at Pickard Park in Indianola.