Josh Evans finished second at the Class 4A state cross country meet last fall as a sophomore, which was a terrific accomplishment for someone so young.

He's proud of that silver medal, but sorely wants to reach the top this year.

"I am beyond motivated," Evans said Saturday morning after claiming top honors at the Prairie Invitational. "I've got little note cards pinned on my wall with my goals for state this fall.

"I'm planning every workout with that in mind and doing all the little things right: Getting to bed early, eating the right foods."

Ben Anderson of West Des Moines Valley won the state title last year as a junior in 15:02. Evans defeated Anderson in a race during the regular season, but finished eight seconds behind him at the state meet.

Evans said Anderson has "a ridiculous amount of talent," but he's looking forward to a rematch at the 2012 state meet on Oct. 27 in Fort Dodge.

"I'm going to try my very best to beat him," Evans remarked.

Evans finished in 15 minutes, 10 seconds at the 2011 state meet. He'd like to chop 25 seconds off that time this year.

"I'm hoping for 14:45, if we have good conditions like we did last year," he said. "I don't think that's out of the question."

If Evans runs 14:45 at state and Anderson runs 14:44, he'll shake his opponent's hand and accept the result.

Evans said he ran approximately 450 to 500 miles this summer, getting ready for the new season. He went for a five-mile jaunt on Friday, even though he was facing a 5 kilometer race at the Prairie Invitational Saturday morning in warm conditions.

Evans found himself in a tight race with Mitch Pritts of Prairie and Isaac Steffensmeier of Fort Madison after several miles, and there was a look of mild concern as Evans calculated his strategy for the rest of the race.

"We were together for the longest time," he said. "I was kind of doubting myself: Maybe I don't have it as much this year.

"I got the wind at my back and I prayed and I focused and I said, 'I've got to go now.' "

It was a good race, for awhile.

"It surprised me," Evans remarked. "They're both great runners, but it surprised me they were with me that long."

Evans pulled away and won the race in 15:51. Steffensmeier took second place overall in 16:04 and Pritts fell back a few spots.

Evans won the Black Division race for the six biggest schools at the Prairie Invitiational. Steffensmeier won the Orange Division title for schools in the next-largest class.

Linn-Mar won the Black Division title with 36 points with Daniel Murphy (3rd), Tanner Rathje (7th) and Kyle Read (9th) joining Evans in the top-10 for the Lions.

Evans is one of the most dedicated distance runners in the state, but he's the first to admit he's not perfect. There might be an occasional potato chip and a few "late" nights along the way, although "late" is a relative term.

"I went to our first home football game last night," he said, "but we got to bed pretty early after that.

"You have to learn to relax, too. You've got to have fun. You can't be all serious. That will be the time you get hurt."

Evans does not run 365 days of the year, but comes close. "I take Sundays off," he said. "That's God's day and I take it off. I rest. Other than that I run six days a week."

Evans said he feels in great shape, despite the mild scare Saturday. "I feel fantastic," he said. "My body feels really strong."

Pritts finished in fourth place for Prairie. Etienne Nzoyisaba placed fifth for Washington in the Black Division.

Jacob Schmitt finished fifth for Xavier in the Orange Division.

PRAIRIE INVITATIONAL 5K

BLACK DIVISION RESULTS

Team Standings
1. Linn-Mar 36, 2. Iowa City West 49, 3. Washington 66, 4. Prairie 73, 5. Kennedy 144, 6. Davenport West 149.

Top 10 Individuals
1. Josh Evans, Linn-Mar            15:51
2. Isaac Jensen, IC West           16:21
3. Daniel Murphy, Linn-Mar         16:21
4. Mitch Pritts, Prairie                   16:23
5. Etienne Nzoyisaba, Wash         16:32
6. Daniel Gardarsson, IC West      16:36
7. Tanner Rathje, Linn-Mar         16:41
8. Bailey Wetherell, IC West       16:47
9. Kyle Read, Linn-Mar             17:08
10. Adrian Ortega, Davenport West  17:08

Linn-Mar
1. Josh Evans 15:51, 3. Daniel Murphy 16:21, 7. Tanner Rathje 16:41, 9. Kyle Read 17:08, 16. Jay Halverson 17:34, 20. Duggan Trenary 17:51, 22. Noah Decker 17:56.

Washington
5. Etienne Nzoyisaba 16:32, 12. Joe Berry 17:25, 13. Trevor Luebe 17:26, 17. Matt Wittman 17:36, 19. Jon Rockwell 17:44, 31. Dillon Stuckenschneider 19:18, 35. Robbie Gearhart 19:36.

Prairie
4. Mitch Pritts 16:23, 11. Isaiah Vlasek 17:21, 14. Zach Waite 17:31, 21. Luke Galloway 17:52, 23. Juan Loera 18:03, 27. Ross Adams 18:54, 30. Karl Moseley 19:12.

Kennedy
24. Addison Furry 18:24, 26. Matthew Stevens 18:45, 29. Austin Trotter 19:08, 32. Ethan Williams 19:20, 33. Reece Linder 19:22, 36. Zach Grobstich 19:39, 37. Andrew Solsrud 19:42.

ORANGE DIVISION RESULTS

Team Standings
1. Pella 25, 2. Fort Madison 67, 3. Mount Vernon/Lisbon 73, 4. Solon 126, 5. Marion 128, 6. Xavier 142, 7. West Delaware 191, 8. Maquoketa 194

Top 10 Individuals
1. Isaac Steffensmeier, Fort Madison   16:04
2. Keegan Fitzsimmons, Pella           16:53
3. Evan Jones, Pella                   17:07
4. Matthew Klein, Pella                17:37
5. Jacob Schmitt, Xavier                17:41
6. Nick Sailer, West Delaware          17:44
7. Wade Pingel, Pella                  17:45
8. Nick Guzman, Fort Madison           17:48
9. Michael Schemm, Pella               17:56
10. Ryan Sievers, Pella                18:00

Marion
16. Peter Rethwisch 18:26, 22. Cole Kuethe 18:50, 25. Colton Forster 19:09, 31. Isaac Smith 19:22, 34. Jacob Manderscheid 19:34, 37. Hunter Reifschneider 19:49, 52. Brad Willimack 21:09.

Xavier
5. Jacob Schmitt 17:41, 15. Grant Hunt 18:18, 38. Hunter Wille 19:50, 40. Jacob Herndon 19:56, 44. Zach Schowalter 20:14, 46. Brandon Gradoville 20:24, 51. Bryce Volk 21:07.