Johnston (IA)
In 2016, Johnson entered the Heartland competition anticipating a fantastic three-way struggle with Edina and Willmar for two automatic bids to NXN. Unfortunately, their aggressive strategy backfired in the heat of the day and they wilted into a fifth-place finish. That team was also without Paige Horner, who had just finished seventh at the Iowa 4A Championships.
Nearly their whole team comes back this year for redemption, and they have plenty of momentum after taking home a state team title. Horner, an accomplished triathlete with a lot of cross-training miles under her, shocked Iowa to win individually after missing the first month of the season for the World Triathalon Championships. While pre-meet projections really undersell how good this Johnston team is, there is one thing that will need to happen if they really hope to claim a qualifying bid: the gap between their excellent front trio -- made up of Horner and sisters Jessica McKee and Brooklyn Mckee -- and their next two runners need to close. If that happens, they may become the first Iowa team since Dowling Catholic in 2010 to qualify.