MOUNT AYR — Nodaway Valley’s boys and girls teams feel they have several surefire state qualifiers if they run to their potential.
It’s the other teams that for the most part that are looking up and wondering just how many may be squeezed out from the top 15 individual qualifying spots and three team spots at the site.
From CNA area teams, Diagonal’s Maddie Lohmann is the lone state-qualifier from a year ago.
East Union’s girls had several runners barely miss out on appearances a year ago. They will be determined to try and grab a team spot.
Other locals, like Lenox’s Cassidy Nelson, Mount Ayr’s Paige Lynch, Makayla Jones, Chase Smith and Isaac Timmerman stand the best chance to qualify based on best times this season.
Janette Schraft of East Mills and Emma Lucas of Bedford, ranked second and third in the state respectively, will be the top entries in Thursday’s field.
On the boys side, sixth-ranked Brycen Wallace is the third highest ranked entree at sixth in the state. Exira-EHK’s Evan Wilson enters with the number two individual ranking and Treynor’s Jerry Jorgensen enters ranked fourth.
Tyler Breheny (9th), Josh Baudler (20th) and Skyler Rawlings (27th) enter as the other area ranked runners, all for Nodaway Valley.
The following teams will all be at Mount Ayr.
ASHTW, Audubon, Baxter, Bedford, CAM, Central Decatur, Clarinda Academy, Diagonal, Earlham, East Mills, East Union, Exira-EHK, Griswold, IKM-Manning, Iowa Christian, Lenox, Martensdale-St. Marys, Mount Ayr, Nodaway Valley, Orient-Macksburg, Panorama, Rverside, Southwest Valley, Stanton, Treynor, Wayne, West Central Valley, Woodward Academy (boys only), Woodward-Granger.