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State Cross Country Meet Schedule

11 a.m.: Girls' Class 4A Race

11:30 a.m.: Boys' Class 4A Race

Noon: Girls' Class 3A Race

12:30: Boys' Class 3A Race

1:00: Girls' Class 2A Race

1:30: Boys' Class 2A Race

2:00: Girls' Class 1A Race

2:30: Boys' Class 1A Race

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WEBSTER CITY - For the first time since 1996, the monstrous field at the state cross country meet will include the South Hamilton boys' team, and the Hawks are elated they received an invitation to the party.

Webster City junior Alex Lamp will be at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge on Saturday for the event too. And he's got his sights set on a quality conclusion to an already quality season.

The 2009 Iowa State Cross Country Meet will get underway at 11 a.m. with the girls' Class 4A race, and another race will follow every half-hour. Lamp is scheduled to run in the boys' 3A race at 12:30 p.m., with the Hawks in the boys' 1A field at 2:30 p.m.

A runner-up finish at Monday's district meet in Marshalltown propelled South Hamilton to a No. 9 ranking in the latest poll released by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. Hawks' head coach Jim Klein just chuckled at the rankings, and he says there's little to no pressure on his seven-man crew of state-meet rookies.

"Whatever we do is going to be gravy," Klein said. "It was just about getting there for us, and I honestly don't know how we're going to do. You've got to be at the state meet to understand what it's like to be there because it can get a little overwhelming at times. But the way we've been going all season, I have a feeling we may be surprised because when it's least expected we always seem to run our best."

Keaton Hake, Ryan Fisher, Arlen Burroughs, Allen Fiddelke, Joe Mechaelsen, Jordan Lutjen and Zach Coster will toe the line for South Hamilton and take off with more than 100 other runners. Hake is the unquestioned leader after he finished 12th at the district meet.

Lamp competed at the state meet as a freshman in 2007 and finished 119th in 18 minutes, 53 seconds. But his goals for Saturday are light years away from his previous performance.

"I'm really excited to go and I want to try to get into the top 30 or possibly top 20," Lamp said. "I have fewer nerves than (in 2007) because I've run there before."

Lamp finished in the top six in every regular-season meet and then placed ninth at Monday's district meet in Spencer. Webster City head coach Tony Bussan says Lamp's season leading up to the big event should give him confidence.

"It's a tremendous accomplishment for him to achieve individual state qualification," Bussan said. "He was certainly a quality runner a year ago, but what he's done this year is an indication of how much effort and commitment he's made to our team, and he's been running against quality competition meet in and meet out."

One advantage Lamp will have is his starting assignment. He'll head out onto the course right beside the Algona team - which just happens to be the defending 3A state champion and a contender once again this season. Lamp has run with the Bulldogs on several occasions this season and he hopes to do so again on Saturday.

"Even though Alex doesn't have his own team at the state meet, we feel like he has a team to run with," Bussan said. "We know that they have very high goals and are running for a state title, so that's an advantage to Alex."

Other defending boys' team champions include Pleasant Valley (4A), Spirit Lake (2A) and South Winneshiek (1A).

On the girls' side, looking to defend their titles will be West Des Moines Dowling (4A), Mount Vernon-Lisbon (3A), Union (2A) and Pekin (1A).