Prep Cross Country- The Iowa Association of Track Coaches (IATC) released their preseason team and individual rankings Monday afternoon, and the Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) will continue to be a contentious arena of competition with four teams and five individuals ranked.
Class 3A
Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler burst onto the scene as a freshman, even winning the Southeast Conference individual crown against some impressive competition that included Washington’s Iris Dahl and Fort Madison’s Avery Rump. She finished last year ranked at #6 in the polls but took home 24th at the state meet with a time of 19 minutes and 22 seconds.
A great time for most, but Fedler was expecting better and Panther head coach Lyle Murray has noticed a change in regimen,
“You know, she did not end the cross-country season the way she wanted to, but she did a great job in track. And I’ve seen her training change a little bit, and I think it’s going to be for the better. You know, I think she’s recovering more, and I think that’s hard when you’re a younger runner or newer runners. You just always want to go hard. And, you know, she’s a fantastic runner. I’m really looking forward to seeing how well she does this year.”
To start the 2026 season, Fedler was slotted in at #16 for the girls’ Class 3A rankings.
Class 2A
The Mediapolis boys’ team has been a mainstay at Fort Dodge over the last three years taking home 6th place in 2023 and 13th place last year. The Bulldogs graduated two talented runners—Simon Wendel and Logan Frank—but are still set to return four sub-19:30 runners and for that Mediapolis was placed at #16 in the team rankings.
Another reason for the top 20 ranking is the return of #10 Will Schmidgall. The senior is eyeing a fourth trip to the state meet after grabbing 17th place last year with a time of 16 minutes and 52 seconds. Schmidgall should be able to step into Wendel’s spot, but someone will have to step up and take his.
On the girls’ side, Notre Dame/West Burlington had their own impressive freshman grace the trails last year in Hannah Ritter. It took her awhile to break into the top 30 last year, but she displayed her prowess by qualifying for state and even flagging down a 39th place time of 20 minutes and 47 seconds. To start the year, Ritter is sitting at #27 in the poll.
Class 1A
For the first time in a while, there are no individual runners ranked from the SEISC on the boys’ side but there are two reams finding a spot inside the top 20. In fact, the entire boys’ team enters the year ranked at #3 and for good reason. The Wildcats are set to return their entire team that took 6th at the state meet last year.
The strength of this team is in their consistency. The Wildcats had four runners finish within 20 spots of one another at the state meet. Still, Ryan Villa and Cade Storm would be two names to watch as the season progresses.
Joining them in the top 20 is Van Buren County at #16. The team will have to navigate the loss of all-around talent Lincoln Bainbridge, as the graduate heads to the University of Northern Iowa to continue his running career. Still, last year’s squad that went to state was made up of four underclassmen, which included a pair of freshmen.
On the girls’ side, Van Buren County’s team congruency is expected to lead them again this year, as the Warriors were slotted in at #5 for the team rankings. Much like the Columbus boys’ team, the reigning conference champions consistently put multiple runners in the top 15 during the regular season and ran away with easy victories. Kayley Snowgren is expected to lead this team, which will again tout both youth and experience.
Individually, WACO’s Josie Dykstra was put at #10 and Iris Garza for Columbus was ranked at #17. Both competed at state last year with Dykstra nearly breaking into the top 20 as a sophomore, clocking a time of 19 minutes and 54 seconds for 21st place, while Garza was not far behind at a mark of 20 minutes and 19 seconds, which was good enough for 29th place.
Up Next
The first day of competition around the state of Iowa will be Monday, August 24th, with the next set of rankings to be announced on August 31st.