Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Anthony Valles of St. Edmond will be ranked 2nd in Class 1A to open his senior cross country season.

Anthony Valles is one of the top returning state cross country finishers from a year ago.

Valles, a senior for St. Edmond, is ranked No. 2 in Class 1A to begin the season by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches.

Behind Valles, the Gael boys are No. 12 in the initial team rankings in 1A, as the St. Edmond girls are ranked 17th overall.

Last fall, Valles placed sixth with a time of 16:14.4. Hayden Thompson of Lake Mills, who was fifth at state, is ranked No. 1 ahead of Valles.

Seven other area runners are in the preseason rankings led by West Bend-Mallard’s Tyra Schupbach, who is ninth in 1A. Joining her in the Top-30 are Julia Swift of Bishop Garrigan (No. 14), Iris Melody from South Central Calhoun (No. 23) and Danika Meyer of Newell-Fonda (No. 30).

South Central Calhoun’s Redge Potts is ranked 15th in 2A along with Thatcher Oswald of Manson Northwest Webster, who is No. 22. Algona’s Gavin Weber is ranked 25th in 3A.

At the state meet a season ago, Schupbach finished 11th overall, Swift was 16th, Melody placed 29th and Meyer was 38th. Potts was 31st at state, Weber placed 40th and Oswald was 43rd overall.

The individual top-ranked runners by class include Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls and Piper Messerly from Dallas Center-Grimes in 4A; Quentin Nauman of Western Dubuque and Marissa Ferebee of Pella in 3A; Emerson Vokes from Grundy Center and Laura Streck of Van Meter in 2A; and Thompson and Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert in 1A.

Entering the season ranked No. 1 in the team rankings are the Cedar Falls boys and Johnston girls in 4A; the Gilbert boys and Pella girls in 3A; the Chariton boys and Mid-Prairie girls in 2A; and the Lake Mills boys and Madrid girls in 1A.

The state cross country championships are set for Friday, Oct. 31 for 2A and 3A, with 1A and 4A hitting the course inside Kennedy Park at Lakeside Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 1.