Prairie Boys Cross Country

Prairie boys dominate MVC race

WATERLOO - Tysen VanDraska led a 1-2-3 finish by Cedar Rapids Prairie Thursday as the Hawks claimed top honors at the Mississippi Division cross country meet at Miriam City Park in Waterloo.

VanDraska won the race in 16 minutes, 37 seconds. Matt Lorenz placed second in 16:38 and Jake Moore finished third in 16:39 as the three Hawks nearly crossed the finish line together.

Prairie won the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet last week and had no trouble winning the division title as well, topping Hempstead 25-59.

Chris Oehlert of Prairie placed sixth. Finbar Berry of Washington finished eighth.

Cayla Renwick of Prairie finished third in the girls race, leading the Hawks to third place in the team standings. Sarah Altemeier of Washington ran fifth and Jenny Dickes of Xavier was seventh.

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Tysen VanDraska wins Metro Spotlight Award

Cedar Rapids Prairie junior Tysen VanDraska is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

VanDraska collected an impressive victory at the Mississippi Valley Conference cross country meet Thursday and led Prairie to the team championship with a strong finishing kick.

VanDraska is ranked third among Class 4A cross country runners and has stamped himself as a serious threat to contend for the state title in Fort Dodge this fall. He finished 11th in the individual standings last year as a sophomore when Prairie won the Class 4A state title.

VanDraska measures only 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, but he has a rare combination of speed and endurance. He had a neck-and-neck race with Daniel Murphy of Linn-Mar at the Super Meet Thursday, then left everyone behind with a punishing kick at the end.

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VanDraska leads Prairie to MVC crown

Cedar Rapids Prairie junior Tysen VanDraska is built to run.

A compact 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, he has the endurance to run long distances at a fast clip and the speed to finish a 5-kilometer race with a punishing kick that leaves others behind.

VanDraska put his talents to good use Thursday and captured the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on his home course at Prairie in 15 minutes, 59 seconds for a seven-second victory.

The Prairie Hawks edged Linn-Mar and Cedar Falls for the team championship in a tight three-school battle with VanDraska in first place, Matt Lorenz in fifth place and Jake Moore seventh for Prairie.

VanDraska and Linn-Mar senior Daniel Murphy ran stride-for-stride for much of the race and Murphy nudged in front at the 10-minute mark, but VanDraska was too fast for everyone else when they finished on the Prairie track.

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Prairie boys second at W. Dubuque

EPWORTH - The Prairie boys cross country team came up a bit short Thursday at the Western Dubuque Invitational, finished second just five points behind champion Bellevue.

Monticello's Matt Manternach won the individual title in 16:26. Cam Steffens was the top Prairie finisher, coming home seventh in 17:04.

Decorah won the team title with 42 points. Prairie finished with 128. Cascade's Becca McDermott won the event in 15.52. Prairie's top finisher was Sarah Meyers, who came home 20th in 16.57.

WESTERN DUBUQUE INVITATIONAL

BOYS
TEAM STANDINGS

1. Bellevue 65, 2. Prairie  70, 3. Decorah   81, 4. Monticello 105, 5. Western Dubuque 121, 6. Cascade 184, 7. Bellevue Marquette 213,  8. North Fayette Valley 227, 9. Maquoketa 239, 10. West Delaware 251, 11. Durant 306, 12. Anamosa 325, 13. Dyersville Beckman  337,  14. Calamus-Wheatland 376, 15. MFL MarMac 465

PRAIRIE: 7. Cam Steffens, 17:04; 12. Levi Lefebure, 17:28; 16. Luke Huedepol, 17:33; 17. Hunter Gearhart, 17:36; 18. Max Laue, 17:40

GIRLS

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Decorah 42, 2. Monticello 66, 3. Cascade 102, 4. Western Dubuque 124, 5. Prairie 128,  6. West Delaware 191, 7. Anamosa 220,  8. North Fayette Valley 225, 9. Durant 247, 10. Clayton Ridge  253, 11. Bellevue Marquette 286, 12. Calamus-Wheatland 328, 13. Springville/Central City 340,  14. MFL MarMac 379, 15. Easton Valley 403, 16. Dyersville Beckman 450.

PRAIRIE: 20. Sarah Meyers, 16:57; 23. Eilish Stanek, 17:00; 24. Hannah Frazee, 17:00; 30. Kirstin  Skriver, 17:23; 31. Victoria Enyart,  17:25