FORT DODGE - Last year's runner-up finish didn't sit well with Brett Losen and his veteran South Winneshiek teammates.

During the off season, the Warriors' varsity lineup which consists entirely of juniors and seniors logged in plenty of extra miles in hopes of getting a chance to earn the team's second state championship in three seasons.

That extra effort paid off Saturday in the Class 1A boys state cross country meet as South Winneshiek edged Iowa Mennonite School by seven points with a state championship score of 99.

"This is just an awesome feeling," Losen said after leading the Warriors with a fourth-place team finish of 16:08. "Last year we came in thinking we could win and we were a little let down. …

"This year we had that come from behind win like we did the first year that we won. It's going to feel great to have another little (state championship) triangle up in our gym, because we're the only boys team to ever have a state championship in our school."

No. 2 runner Jon Ameling and No. 3 Ian Lienau backed up Losen with 10th and 13th place times of 16:57 and 17:02.

As is the case with most team competitions, however, it came down to the No. 4 and 5 runners. The duo of Easton Kuboushek and Tim Baldwin placed 32nd and 40th to secure the Warriors' championship.

"Our four and five (runners) really came up big for us there at the end," co-head coach Scott Conway said. "They passed about 10 kids each in the last half-mile or so. That really made a big difference and set us up for that (state championship)."

Class 4A

Cedar Falls' youthful boys team is showing potential to become a force to reckon with next season. The Tigers - who return five of their top seven runners next year - had seven, season-best times en route to an 11th place finish with 237 points. Senior Brandon Nicholson led the Tigers by finishing 18th in the team standings in 16:11.

"We're pretty thrilled," coach Troy Becker said of his team's seven, season-best times. "We knew were young. We knew we wouldn't be contending this year. It was all about improving and running our best, and we did that."

TEAM STANDINGS - 1. Pleasant Valley 76; 2. Iowa City High 95; 3. Burlington 141; 4. Urbandale 151; 5. Indianola 183; 6. West Des Moines Valley 189; 7. Marshalltown 196; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie 207; 9. Cedar Rapids Washington 212; 10. Ankeny 222; 11. Cedar Falls 237; 12. Cedar Rapids Xavier 243; 13. Waukee 245; 14. Southeast Polk 253; 15. Ames 326.

TOP 10 - 1. J.T. McCarthy (Burlington) 15:21; 2. Marshall Moyer (Burlington) 15:27; 3. Frank Canady (Iowa City West) 15:29; 4. Lewi Manirumva (C.R. Washington) 15:31; 5. Austin O'Brien (Pleasant Valley) 15:35; 6. Brennan McAllister (C.R. Xavier) 15:41; 7. Nick Young (Bettendorf) 15:45; 8. Omet Kak (Des Moines North) 15:50; 9. Zach Bozman (Pleasant Valley) 15:50; 10. Kit Coppess (West Des Moines Valley) 15:53.

CEDAR FALLS - 18. Brandon Nicholson 16:11; 34. Jacob Tayloe 15:25; 45. Jordan Velasquez 16:31; 69. Andrew Halloran 16:59; 71. Eric Neill 16:57.

Class 3A

Decorah's run at extending its team state title record to 15 came up short, but the fourth-place Vikings had a pair of strong individual efforts. Senior Marty Mitchell edged fellow senior and No. 1 runner Evan Neubauer for fifth place overall.

"I wanted to go out there and know that I had run my best," Mitchell said after edging his teammate for the first time this season. "That's what I did. I just went out there and pushed myself. … I went out a little bit slower than everybody else and made it up the rest of the race."

Both Mitchell and Neubauer plan to compete at the collegiate level next year. Columbus-Don Bosco's Evan Schares competed as an individual and placed 38th in 16:51.

TEAM STANDINGS - 1. Algona 88; 2. Pella 114; 3. Grinnell 117; 4. Decorah 138; 5. Mount Vernon 141; 6. Waukon 148; 7. Winterset 162; 8. Dubuque Wahlert 196; 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 210; 10. Boone 212; 11. Garner-Hayfield 255; 12. MOC-Floyd Valley 263; 13. DeWitt Central 276; 14. Nevada 345; 15. Glenwood 384.

TOP 10 - 1. Evan Selsor (Winterset) 15:30; 2. Chad Rutledge (Algona) 15:46; 3. Ryan McHon (Algona) 15:46; 4. Brett Egan (Waukon) 15:56; 5. Marty Mitchell (Decorah) 15:57; 6. Evan Neubauer (Decorah) 16:02; 7. Paul Yak (Strom Lake) 16:03; 8. Eyasu Russell (Mount Vernon) 16:03; 9. Brogan Austin (Boone) 16:12; 10. Zach Wittenberg (Pella) 16:19.

DECORAH - 5. Mitchell 15:57; 6. Neubauer 16:02; 16. Brian Minear 16:25; 54. Adam Voss 17:25; 57. Sam Zook 17:28.

AREA INDIVIDUAL - 38. Evan Schares (Columbus-Don Bosco) 16:51.

Class 2A

While Tipton's Eric Thien ran away with the individual title, Osage's Brett Castek finished a strong second in 16:17. Union Community's Josh Frush was just hoping to place in the top 10. He exceeded those expectations by finishing fifth in 16:30. "I did surprise myself," Frush said. "I found myself going around guys I had no idea I'd even be close to."

TEAM STANDINGS - 1. Spirit Lake 55; 2. PCM, Monroe 65; 3. Iowa City Regina 120; 4. Western Christian, Hull 178; 5. Monticello 182; 6. East Marshall 193; 7. Tipton 210; 8. North Polk 221; 9. Wilton 224; 10. Osage 228; 11. Unity Christian 237; 12. Solon 263; 13. CMB, Baxter 286; 14. Dike-New Hartford 297; 15. Mid-Prairie 299.

TOP 10 - 1. Eric Thien (Tipton) 15:53; 2. Brett Castek (Osage) 16:17; 3. Alec Baldwin (Spirit Lake) 16:18; 4. Tim Bierma (Spirit Lake) 16:29; 5. Josh Frush (Union) 16:30; 6. Chris Postma (Unity Christian) 16:34; 7. Nick Synan (I.C. Regina) 16:37; 8. Tyler Drenkow (Sheldon) 16:37; 9. Steve Bruxvoort (PCM, Monroe) 16:39; 10. Keith Byers (Spirit Lake) 16:40.

OSAGE - 2. Brett Castek 16:17; 42. David Wherry 17:36; 52. Jacob Wagner 17:51; 57. John Hanke 17:54; 75. Brandon Barker 18:16.

DIKE-NEW HARTFORD - 21. Sloan Beninga 17:09; 47. Cory Grandon 17:44; 72. Damian Garcia 18:10; 74. Ben Lizer 18:14; 83. Seth Nicholson 18:23.

AREA INDIVIDUALS - 5. Frush (Union) 16:30; 53. Evan Meyer (North Fayette) 17:35; 93. Tyler Patterson (Hudson) 18:17.

Class 1A

AGWSR junior Parker Drake wasn't intimidated by his first state meet as he placed eighth as an individual in 16:27. Grundy Center senior Drew Riesberg was 13th in 16:39. NU High's Terry Nielsen was 61st in 17:55.

TEAM STANDINGS - 1. South Winneshiek 99; 2. Iowa Mennonite 106; 3. Belle Plaine 138; 4. Woodbine 159; 5. BCLUW 166; 6. Council Bluffs St. Albert; 7. Griswold 191; 8. Battle Creek-Ida Grove 200; 9. Durant 204; 10. Prince of Peace, Clinton 207; 11. Laurens-Marathon 233; 12. Logan-Magnolia 234; 13. Grundy Center 277; 14. Bellevue Marquette 303; 15. Turkey Valley 338.

TOP 10 - 1. Drew Sikkema (Prince of Peace) 15:58; 2. Jamie Meek (Griswold) 16:02; 3. Dane McDonald (BCLUW) 16:05; 4. Brett Losen (South Winneshiek) 16:08; 5. Zach Baker (Eddyville) 16:11; 6. Shane Warehime (Prairie Valley) 16:26; 7. Bill Spencer (Iowa Mennonite) 16:27; 8. Parker Drake (AGWSR) 16:27; 9. Garret Ehlers (Battle Creek) 16:28; 10. Brandt Moore (Marquette) 16:29.

SOUTH WINNESHIEK - 4. Losen 16:08; 10. Jon Ameling 16;57; 13. Ian Lienau 17;02; 32. Easton Kuboushek 17:46; 40. Tim Baldwin 17:58.

GRUNDY CENTER - 8. Drew Riesberg 16:39; 47. Brandon Shuey 18:08; 59. Treye Schupbach 18:20; 80. Nick Mackie 18:48; 83. Ryan Davidson 19:01.

TURKEY VALLEY - 34. Kevin Langreck 17:50; 48. Adam Best 18:08; 72. Wade Wagner 18:14; 87. Layne Huber 19:11; 97. Derek Hansen 19:41.

INDIVIDUALS - 8. Drake (AGWSR) 16:27; 37. Kevin Klobassa (Nashua-Plainfield) 17:24; 61. Terry Nielsen (NU High) 17:55