Metro Sports Report

Marion, Xavier boys make state meet

FAIRFIELD - The Marion Indians and Xavier Saints turned in strong performances at the Class 3A boys district cross country meet Thursday in Fairfield and qualified for the state meet.

The Marion Indians finished second in the team standings behind Myles Bach and Jeremy Fopma, who placed second and third in the individual results.

The Xavier Saints finished third in the team standings behind Steve Culpepper, who took fourth in the individual results. Jonathan Francois placed sixth for the Saints.

Linn-Mar girls take 2nd at district meet

CEDAR FALLS - The Linn-Mar girls cross country team finished second at the Class 4A district meet Thursday at Birdsall Park in Cedar Falls to qualify for the state meet.

Cedar Falls won the race with 40 points. Linn-Mar finished with 52 points and Ames was third with 72. The top three teams and top 15 individual advance to the state meet in Fort Dodge Oct. 31.

Maddie Mann led Linn-Mar in fourth place in 19 minutes, 16 seconds. Morgan Garcia finished fifth, Deanna Newhouse 11th, Amber Decker 14th and Abby Van Rheenen 18th.

Linn-Mar boys run 3rd at district meet

CEDAR FALLS - The Linn-Mar boys cross country team placed third at the Class 4A district meet Thursday at Birdsall Park in Cedar Falls and qualified for the state meet in Fort Dodge.

Ryan Murphy led the Lions with a fourth-place finish in 15 minutes, 57 seconds. Michael Mather finished seventh, Dalton Gosch 10th, Johnny Clymer 13th and Colin Johnston 26th for the Lions.

Cedar Falls won the team championship with 26 points. West Des Moines Valley placed second with 56 points, edging Linn-Mar by four points.

The top three teams and top 15 individuals qualified for the state meet Oct. 31.

MVC could have 16 teams at some point

The Mississippi Valley Conference could grow to 16 teams in the next few years if Liberty High School and Western Dubuque join the league, but there are more questions than answers at this point.

Liberty High School is undoubtedly headed to the Mississippi Valley Conference at some point, but it might take a few years after the school opens in 2017.

Western Dubuque would consider the possibility of leaving the Wamac Conference for the MVC, according to its athletic director, but no official overtures have been made.

John Hlubek, the athletic director at Western Dubuque, said he would listen if somebody called.

"Oh, sure," he said. "We want to keep our options open and see what they're thinking."

Western Dubuque is the biggest school in the Wamac Conference and will be competing at the Class 4A level in football in 2016 and 2017, making it the only Wamac school in 4A football.