Cedar Rapids Prairie senior Mitch Pritts has been a very good distance runner for a long time now with a string of top-12 finishes at state track and cross country meets.

Now he could be ready to climb from "very good" into one of the elite high school runners in Iowa.

Pritts topped a strong field at the Cedar Rapids Invitational Thursday at Noelridge Park to help the Hawks claim the team championship by 22 points over top-ranked Linn-Mar.

Isaiah Vlasek finished second for Prairie, just five seconds behind Pritts, as the two seniors placed 1-2 in a field of 122 runners from 18 schools on a perfect day for cross country.

Pritts was timed in 15 minutes, 32.94 seconds for five kilometers.

"I sat back a little bit in the first mile, then I picked it up at the mile mark," he said. "It felt good the whole rest of the way. I actually felt fresh."

Prairie is ranked 11th in the state by the Iowa Track Coaches Association, but that will change once Thursday's results are figured into the mix. If Linn-Mar is truly No.1, then Prairie might by No. 1A.

Linn-Mar distance star Josh Evans, nursing a minor injury, did not compete Thursday. It might have been a dead heat between the Lions and the Hawks if both teams had been at full strength, so there could be quite a battle this year between Linn-Mar and Prairie for top billing in the Mississippi Valley Conference and the state.

"They will be a formidable team when they get their full 5-6-7-8-9-10 kids in there," said Prairie Coach Bill Schwarz. "They're deservedly the top-rated team. They're going to be tough. When Josh (Evans) gets healthy and gets some training behind him, he's one of the best in the nation."

Evans, a state track champion at 1600 meters, jogged around Noelridge Park Thursday and is expected to compete at a major meet in Ames Sept. 21.

"I feel bad for Josh," said Pritts. "He's one of the best kids I know. He's nice and humble. I hope he gets back soon."

The Prairie Hawks placed five runners in the top-25. Jake Moore finished fifth, Tysen VanDraska was 11th and Connor Neuhaus ran 25th.

"We wanted to do really well today and I think we accomplished that," said Pritts. "We know we can contend. We just wanted to come out and prove it today."

Pritts placed 12th at the state cross country meet last fall. He finished ninth in the 3200 meter run at the state track meet this spring and placed 12th in the 1600. It looks like he's ready to move up.

"I was really happy to see him bust it out there on the second mile," said Schwarz. "He had a lot left. He's been working hard all summer."

Pritts is being recruited by college track and cross country programs, but has not made a decision. "There are a lot of people interested in him," said Schwarz. "He's going to have a good career in college."

Linn-Mar claimed three spots in the top-10 with Tanner Rathje (4th), Daniel Murphy (7th) and Michael Mather (8th).

Ames High School won the girls race with 44 points. Kennedy placed second with 92 points behind a 10th-place showing by Allison Culver.

The Linn-Mar Lions finished third in the girls race behind a seventh-place performance by Amber Decker. The Lions are ranked No.1 in the state, but 2012 state cross country champion Stephanie Jenks is not running for Linn-Mar this season while concentrating on swimming and triathlons.

Ashlynn Yokom won the girls race in 14:08.67. Shannon Gorman of Washington placed fifth.

CEDAR RAPIDS INVITATIONAL
At Noelridge Park

GIRLS RESULTS
4K

Team Standings

1. Ames 44, 2. Kennedy 92, 3. Linn-Mar 104, 4. Iowa City West 115, 5. Muscatine 136, 6. Iowa City High 138, 7. Bettendorf 180, 8. Washington 244, 9. Prairie 263, 10. Xavier 271, 11. Jefferson 325, 12. Wahlert 326, 13. Davenport West 328, 14. North Scott 371, 15. Davenport Central 389, 16. Marion 450.

Top 10 Individuals

1. Ashlynn Yokom, IC West      14:08.67
2. Brina Kraft, Muscatine           14:23.20
3. Caroline Marnin, Ames          14:36.48
4. Ellen Carman, IC High           14:39.18
5. Shannon Gorman, Wash       14:42.08
6. Payton Boylston, Ames         14:42.67
7. Amber Decker, Linn-Mar       14:44.91
8. Claire Dupuis, Ames             14:49.13
9. Zoe Pritchard, Ames            14:49.58
10. Allison Culver, Kennedy      14:51.68

Kennedy - 10. Allison Culver 14:51.68, 14. Lauren Meyer 15:02.43, 15. Alyssa Averhoff 15:02.73, 25. Laura Feld 15:28.40, 28. Carolyn Stone 5:31.37, 37. Alissa Meyer 15:48.81, 78. Jamie Vogl 16:54.88.

Linn-Mar - 7. Amber Decker 14:44.91, 13. Maddie Saville 14:56.01, 20. Morgan Garcia 15:18.18, 31. Deanna Newhouse 15:41.05, 33. Sydney Johnston 15:44.83, 36. Katie Sommer 15:47.82, 55. Hanna Saville 16:19.32.

Washington - 5. Shannon Gorman 14:42.08, 41. Morgan Stuckenschneider 15:53.09, 48. Madison Stuckenschneider 15:59.57, 60. Kristin Mackenburg 16:26.49, 93. Brett Visser 17:20.08, 95. MJ Kamin 17:23.76, 98. Sarah Witt 17:32.85.

Prairie - Cayla Renwick 15:36.58, 47. Katie Costigan 15:58.69, 59. Eilish Stanek 16:25.66, 63. Sarah Meyers 16:32.31, 70. Victoria Enyart 16:43.30, 84. Anna Rubsam 17:05.05, 86. Holly Wisnousky 17:08.63.

Xavier - 23. Jenny Dickes 15:21.89, 56. Marinna Schroud 16:22.06. 62. Addy Hoffman 16:30.99, 68. Maddy Bailey 16:40.26, 69. Hannah Chicchelly 16:42.87, 92. Lydia Brown 17:18.97, 106. Brady Hoffman 18:01.03.

Jefferson - 38. Meredith Koenigsfeld 15:50.18, 39. Sarah Hanna 15:51.74, 46. Megan Ely 15:56.99, 102. Caleigh Meyer 17:57.44, 104. Jasmine Blue 17:59.85, 107. Maddie Robinson 18:09.63, 117. Anna Petersen 19:53.28.

Marion - 44. Madison Bach 15:54.77, 96. Sam Livingston 17:28.85, 103. Sydney Brase 17:59.52, 108. Tara Zumwalt 18:30.71, 109. Grace Ehlinger 18:36.45, 112. Ellie Conzett 18:45.66, 115. Haley Clifton 19:11.56.

BOYS RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Prairie 44, 2. Linn-Mar 66, 3. Ames 86, 4. Iowa City High 141, 5. Iowa City West 149, 6. Muscatine 192, 7. Bettendorf 216, 8. Waterloo West 233, 9. Xavier 246, 10. Wahlert 253, 11. Davenport Central 284, 12. Pleasant Valley 300, 13. Kennedy 357, 14. Marion 369, 15. North Scott 390, 16. Davenport West 449, 17. Jefferson 487, 18. Washington 519.

Top 10 Individuals

1. Mitch Pritts, Prairie              15:32.94
2. Isaiah Vlasek, Prairie            15:38.00
3. Daniel Gardarsson, IC West  15:38.21
4. Tanner Rathje, Linn-Mar      15:53.06
5. Jake Moore, Prairie             15:57.13
6. Mason Tope, Dav Central    15:59.87
7. Daniel Murphy, Linn-Mar      16:01.71
8. Michael Mather, Linn-Mar    16:02.24
9. Bennett Luedtke, Musky    16:02.72
10. Daniel Lee, Ames            16:07.23

Prairie - 1. Mitch Pritts 15:32.94, 2. Isaiah Vlasek 15:38.00, 5. Jake Moore 15:57.13, 11. Tysen VanDraska 16:09.67, 25. Connor Neuhaus 16:43.82, 31. Ross Adams 16:58.04, 63. Chris Oehlert 17:33.02.

Linn-Mar - 4. Tanner Rathje 15:53.06, 7. Daniel Murphy 16:01.71, 8. Michael Mather 16:02.24, 23. Ryan Murphy 16:37.92, 24. Greyson Dolezal 16:38.27, 44. Jay Halverson 17:08.12, 70. Jack Sanor 17:43.55.

Xavier - 22. Jacob Schmitt 16:34.06, 36. Luke Koechner 17:03.82, 52. Steven Culpepper 17:15.94, 62. Jonathan Francois 17:32.30, 74. Nick Koechner 17:47.89, 89. Evan Gradoville 18:12.06, 112. Evan Bednar 19:00.13.

Kennedy - 53. Addison Furry 17:18.47, 59. Matt Stevens 17:28.81, 75. Derek Girling 17:49.58, 83. Ethan Williams 18:03.03, 87. Tim Zange 18:10.77, 90. Hunter Schoenauer 18:12.27, 94. Ignacio Perea 18:23.92.

Marion - 34. Colton Forster 17:02.34, 76. Jacob Manderscheid 17:51.65, 82. Austin Yirkovsky 18:02.71, 85. Hunter Reifschneider 18:06.97, 92. Maverick Miller 18:17.28, 106. Salem Snoop 18:54.09, 114. Jeremy Ellerby 19:02.31.

Jefferson - 61. Jason Chung 17:31.23, 97. Tim Bell 18:27.84, 103. Christopher Haring 18:40.82, 111. Nathan Prochnow 18:59.47, 115. Matt Swenson 19:02.53, 117. Nate Homan 19:03.02, 118. Kane Kramer 19:09.08.

Washington - 93. Robbie Gearhart 18:21.35, 96. Sam Kline 18:26.97, 98. Wyatt Forster 18:36.34, 113. Weston Burdt 19:01.47, 119. Sam Werner 19:25.83, 120. Oliver Hammond 19:32.14, 121. Jacob Spurrell 19:45.68.