WATERLOO - Tysen VanDraska was not happy when he lost to a pair of runners from Cedar Falls at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational back in August at the start of the cross country season.

He did something about it Thursday.

VanDraska used a blistering kick to conquer those same two runners from Cedar Falls and take top honors at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet at Byrnes Park in Waterloo.

Sam Schillinger and Isaac Smith of Cedar Falls pulled away from VanDraska in the final stages of the Prairie Invitational to finish first and second in that race, but this time the Prairie senior was ready for them.

VanDraska sprinted away from the Tigers in the home stretch and won the race in 15 minutes, 46 seconds. He beat Schillinger by four seconds and topped Smith by six seconds.

The three premier distance runners ran neck-and-neck for most of the 5K race before VanDraska took control. It was two-against-one for much of the day in terms of strategy, but VanDraska handled the challenge.

"I knew they were going to try and pick on me the whole race and eventually beat me down, so I just tried my best to stay on them as much as I could," he said. "And I knew I could finish with them."

VanDraksa had a hunch how the race might develop.

"I knew they were going to make a move around the two-mile mark, so I thought if I could hold on until then I'd be good for the finish," he remarked.

It was a significant victory for VanDraska. Schillinger is the top-ranked runner in Class 4A, Smith is ranked fourth and VanDraska is ranked fifth, so he beat two premier guys.

VanDraska got a measure of personal revenge, but Cedar Falls edged Prairie for the MVC title in a tight race. The Tigers finished with 28 points and Prairie finished with 34 as the two MVC powers dominated the meet.

Remarkably, Prairie and Cedar Falls runners claimed 10 of the top 11 spots. Michael Mather of Linn-Mar broke the chain by placing fourth.

Cedar Falls edged Prairie by nine points for top honors at the Prairie Invitational, so the Hawks inched a little closer Thursday at the Super Meet by finishing six points behind. The Tigers finished 2-3-6-7-10 and the Hawks placed 1-5-8-9-11.

VanDraska feels his team is gaining on Cedar Falls. The ultimate test will come at the state meet at Fort Dodge Oct. 31.

"We're definitely getting better every day," he said. "All of the guys have been coming down in times. And we've got a freshman, Colton LaGrange, who's just killing it. I think he's going to have a good one at Fort Dodge."

LaGrange placed 11th Thursday.

"We're not anywhere near our best shape," VanDraska said, "so every week we're going to come down and get faster and faster and we think that (Oct. 31 in Fort Dodge) will be a fun day for us."

Jake Moore placed fifth for Prairie at the Super Meet. Cam Steffens was eighth and Chris Oehlert ninth.

VanDraska was disappointed when he finished seventh at the state meet last year as a junior. He likes the way things are shaping up this time.

"I think I'm doing a lot better than I was last year," he said. "I think I'm coming along and getting up for state."

Linn-Mar finished a distant third in the team standings.

Team standings

1. Cedar Falls 28, 2. Prairie 34, 3. Linn-Mar 109, 4. Iowa City West 124, 5. Dubuque Senior 127, 6. Hempstead 159, 7. Iowa City High 177, 8. Washington 190, 9. Waterloo West 195, 10. Xavier 282, 11. Wahlert 343, 12. Kennedy 347, 13. Jefferson 348, 14. Waterloo East 470.

Top 5 individuals

1. Tysen VanDraska, Prairie 15:46

2. Sam Schillinger, Cedar Falls 15:50

3. Isaac Smith, Cedar Falls 15:52

4. Michael Mather, Linn-Mar 15:57

5. Jake Moore, Prairie 16:08

Prairie - 1. Tysen Van Draska 15:46, 5. Jake Moore 16:08, 8. Cam Steffens 16:16, 9. Chris Oehlert 16:20, 11. Colton LaGrange 16:23, 28. Elijah Vlasek 16:53, 33. Luke Huedepohl 17:01.

Linn-Mar - 4. Michael Mather 15:57, 17. Ryan Murphy 16:37, 22. Dalton Gosch 16:48, 29. Grant Chlystun 16:55, 37. Johnny Clymer 17:04, 53. Colin Johnston 17:16, 69. Carter Lorenz 17:46.

Washington - 16. Samuel Eck 16:35, 24. Finbar Berry 16:50, 42. Patrick Gorman 17:08, 46. Paul Schneidermann 17:09, 62. Khory Nobles 17:38, 85. Sam McDermott 18:19, 90. Ian Klopfenstein 18:38.

Xavier - 25. Steven Culpepper 16:50, 35. Jonathan Francois 17:03, 72. Nicholas Lyon 17:55, 73. John Pape 17:56, 77. Joseph Sciezinski 18:05, 82. Nolan Pithan 18:13, 84. Mahlon Steeplton 18:17.

Kennedy - 63. Jackson Foley 17:40, 64. Jacob Ciabatti 17:40, 67. Jackson Middlekauf 17:42, 74. Derek Girling 17:59, 79. Riley Patton 18:09, 89. Gage Cadenhead 18:35, 91. Sean Casey 18:53.

Jefferson - 61. Barrett Wise 17:37, 65. Eli Sarantakos 17:40, 71. Robert Larson 17:54, 75. Mac Karr 18:00, 76. Nate Homan 18:03, 81. Kane Kramer 18:11, 83. Sri Sheshashai 18:13.