Top stars, best performances in Iowa high school girls cross country

Some of the top performances in Iowa girls prep cross country this week

By Barry Poe | Photos by Matthew Putney

West Des Moines Valley’s Addison Dorenkamp will be back to defend her Class 4A state girls cross country championship. 

Paityn Noe (Ballard) returns to seek a repeat 3A state title. Danielle Hostettler (Mid-Prairie) has her sights on a second straight 2A state crown while Noelle Steines (Calamus-Wheatland) is perhaps the biggest story of them all, coming back late in the season to win three straight meets as she hopes for the ultimate prize, defending her 1A state title.

Races will take place Friday (1A, 2A) and Saturday (3A, 4A) at Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge. Will anyone defeat any of the returning champions?

If so, they tuned up for the state meet by finishing first or placing high at last week’s state qualifier meets. SBLive now analyzes some of last week’s best finishes. 

Adrienne Buettner-Cable, Sr., Des Moines Roosevelt

Some of Buettner-Cable’s best races as a senior have come at Marshalltown, including the Iowa Alliance Conference meet, which she won (17:52.5). A week later, Class 4A’s second-ranked runner qualified for the state meet for the second time in her career, timed in a first-place 17:43.01 at Marshalltown.

Geneva Timmerman, Sr., ADM

Timmerman scored a runaway victory during a Class 3A state qualifier at Glenwood, clocked in 17:59.60, almost a minute faster than runner-up and No. 4 Lindsey Sonderman (Harlan). The third-ranked Timmerman was last year’s 3A state runner-up and will mark her fourth straight 3A state appearance.

Grace Boleyn, So., Pleasant Valley

Third-ranked in Class 4A, Boleyn followed her victory at the Mississippi Athletic Conference meet with her fourth triumph of the season, timed in 18:45 during a 4A state qualifying meet her team hosted. Boleyn’s goal is now to better last year’s second-place finish in the final 4A state team standings.

Clare Kelly, Sr., Van Meter

Third-ranked in Class 2A, Kelly was timed in 19:24.12 while posting her fourth triumph during a qualifier at Shenandoah where she and her sister, No. 10 Mary Kelly (3rd, 19:46.93) led the Bulldogs to a first-place 37 points. The Kellys are three-time state qualifiers who competed in 1A in 2019 and 2020.

Megan Wheatley, Jr., North Lynn

Make that seven wins on the season for the third-ranked Wheatley, her most important triumph to date coming at the 1A qualifier hosted by South Hardin where she was clocked in 20:26.79, winning by 77 seconds. Wheatley finished sixth in last year’s 1A state meet.

Nora Peterson, So., Alta-Aurelia

The last time Peterson faced Madison Brouwer, the Sibley-Ocheyedan senior won by four seconds at Alta-Aurelia. This time, the No. 4 Peterson won (18:54.01) and Brouwer (No. 2) was second (19:01.32) in the Holstein 1A qualifier. It was the sixth win of 2022 for Peterson, a third-place state finisher in 2021.

Kayla Young, Sr., Solon

Young captured her fifth victory of the season at the Class 3A state qualifier in Manchester, where the eighth-ranked senior was timed in 18:32.39 while leading No. 5 Solon to its fifth triumph. Young was a fifth-place finisher for last year’s squad that won the 3A state title.

Hillary Trainor, Jr., Sumner-Fredericksburg

Currently ranked fifth in Class 2A, Trainor posted her fastest time of the season (18:59) and it was important because her fifth season triumph came at the Monticello qualifier where she defeated three state-ranked contestants. A year ago, Trainor finished ninth at the Class 1A state meet.

Olivia Verde, Jr., Johnston

Seventh-ranked in Class 4A, Verde turned in just her second triumph of the season, clocked in 18:14.93 while leading the No. 5 Dragons to a first-place 29 points in a 4A qualifier at Indianola. Verde has been very consistent in her two previous 4A state trips, taking seventh as a freshman and fourth last year.

Alyssa Richman, So., Manson Northwest Webster

Richman escaped the Class 1A qualifier at Manly with the narrowest of victories, as she was clocked in 19:15.21, roughly 1.5 seconds ahead of another sophomore, No. 17 Kadence Huck (Nashua-Plainfield). It was the first win of the season for the seventh-ranked Richman, a returning 1A state qualifier.

Avery Trunkhill, Fr., Denver

The top four girls competing at the Class 2A qualifier in Oelwein were state-ranked, including the No. 7 Trunkhill, who finished fourth (20:16.29) and paced fourth-ranked Denver to a first-place 68 points. It was the Cyclones’ fifth team triumph of the season.

Peyton Morey, So., Spencer

These two will likely run into each other, not only at Fort Dodge, but for the next two years. During a 3A state qualifier at Humboldt, the No. 9 Morey was first (20:28.65) while unranked Humboldt freshman was second (20:41.75). Morey finished 10th at last year’s 3A state meet.

Desi Lang, Fr., Hudson

Three of the first five finishers at the 1A state qualifier in Iowa City were freshman, topped by the ninth-ranked Lang, whose 20:37.5 was almost 30 seconds faster than the runner-up, Danville freshman Alaina Gourley (21:06.9). Lang and classmate Elle Steele (5th, 21:51.9) led Hudson to a first-place 28 points.

Mackenzie Harger, Fr., Earlham

Harger is one of 16 freshman girls, statewide, who have won at least one cross country meet this fall. Tenth-ranked in Class 1A, Harger was timed in 20:02 while leading the No. 2-ranked Cardinals to a first-place 28 points during the 1A state qualifier hosted by A-C/GC.

Emma Wilkerson, Jr., Center Point-Urbana

Currently ranked 13th, Wilkerson led No. 19 Center Point-Urbana to the third and final Class 3A state berth in the Washington qualifier with a second-place 19:11.51. Wilkerson has helped the Stormin’ Pointers to 11th (2020) and 12th (2021) finishes at Kennedy Park.

Alex Woodley, Fr., Johnston

Woodley has had an outstanding freshman season which included a second-place time of 18:19.30 during a Class 4A state qualifier at Indianola. Among the highlights of her rookie cross country season was a fifth-place showing at the CIML Conference meet.

Autumn Blink, Jr., Pella

Blink, Class 3A’s 15th-ranked runner, was among two Top 5 finishers for No. 2 Pella, a narrow 49-53 winner over Ballard in a 3A qualifier at Pella. A two-time 3A state qualifier, Blink has helped the Lady Dutch win seven meets this season.

Annika Larsen, So., Ballard

Larsen has taken advantage of the senior example provided by teammate Paityn Noe while helping Ballard to three team victories and other tests against top-notch central Iowa competition this year. The No. 16 Larsen was a 3A state qualifier for the second straight year, taking fourth (19:13.83) at Pella.

Evie Henneberry, So., Dubuque Hempstead

Henneberry was the last of four strong runners at or near the top for the defending Class 4A state team champions, clocked in a fourth-place 18:32 for a squad that tallied 18 points in the 4A qualifier at Dubuque. Ranked 16th, she will help the Mustangs try to repeat at Fort Dodge.

Leah Klapatauskas, Jr., Dubuque Senior

Klapatauskas was also familiar with the Class 4A state qualifier course at Dubuque, as she finished in fifth (18:36) while leading the Rams to a second-place 45 points. Seventeenth-ranked, Klapatauskas is a three-time 4A state qualifier who finished 15th a year ago.

Billie Wagner, Sr., South Winneshiek

Had Calamus-Wheatland’s Noelle Steines not returned from a knee injury, the No. 19 Wagner could have been the Class 1A qualifier champion at Cascade, but she welcomed the competition from the defending 1A state champ. The runner-up (20:31.82), Wagner is a three-time Top 10 1A state finisher.

Chloe Glosser, Fr., Pekin

Glosser and Madrid’s Katelyn Brandhorst (2nd, 20:18) were two of the freshmen near the top during the 1A qualifier hosted by Central Decatur. The winner of five races this season, the No. 21 Glosser took third (20:25) and was one of two Top 5 finishers as Pekin won the meet with 42 points.

Greta Bergman, Fr., West Des Moines Valley

One of just three freshman girls listed in the IATC’s Class 4A state ratings, the No. 21 Bergman has held her own in some of the state’s biggest races of year thanks to the leadership of her No. 1-ranked teammate Addison Dorenkamp. Bergman took second (19:55.80) at the 4A qualifier in Council Bluffs.

Michelle McConkey, Fr., Waukee

McConkey is another of the state-ranked freshmen cited by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. Listed at No. 25, McConkey finished third (19:56.50) at Council Bluffs while leading No. 8 Waukee to a first-place 36 points.

Megan Courtwright, So., Cherokee

Class 2A state meet appearances are becoming a pleasant habit for the Cherokee girls cross country program, as the 10th-ranked squad scored a first-place 60 points during a qualifier at Orange City. The No. 20 Courtwright took third (20:19.3) and hopes the Braves improve last year’s fifth-place finish.