Pleasant Valley Girls Cross Country (PVGXC) met and exceeded expectations at the district race on Oct. 20. In a meet where the top three teams out of 10 qualify for state, PVGXC finished second. This was after getting third place at MAC the week before. According to senior, Addie Swanson, the girls’ post-conference approach was to simply, “continue the right training, which led to further improvement.”

Throughout the race, the PV girls continued to pass opponents and move up in the race. Swanson, who was the first PV runner to cross the finish line, explained that her race strategy was to “just run with no regrets or doubts.” Laura Brown was PV’s last scoring runner, finishing in 20th place overall. The team ended up with 54 points.

The Bettendorf girls team, who edged PV out by one point at MAC, got fourth place at Districts–missing a state-qualifying spot by one point.

Pleasant Valley was only five points behind Iowa City West, the 2016 district champion. The promising districts results serve as a confidence booster for PVGXC as they head into what will be a highly-competitive state meet on Oct. 29.

The PV boys’ team continued their winning streak with an indisputable District championship. All five of the scoring runners finished in the top 11, with PV’s own Nicholas Yanek taking first place.

The PV team finished with an overall score of 33. The next closest team was Cedar Rapids Prairie, trailing the Spartans by 22 points. Also advancing to the state meet is Iowa City West with a score of 64.

The boys have had a record-breaking season, but it’s not over yet. Junior Nicholas Yanek stated, “Everyone had amazing performances at districts, so hopefully we can continue through to state. We have a great pack, and I believe we have the potential and the makings to do great.”