Top Nine Boys Teams At The Nike Heartland Regional

Dubuque Hempstead (IA)

This young team took a bit of time to really find themselves this year, and throughout the month of September, they didn't really look the part of a national contender. However, with a dominating win at the Steve Johnson Invitational on September 29th(which also produced big season bests for most of the team), Hempstead became hard to ignore, and their follow-up performances reinforced their position as one of the state's elite, easily winning every subsequent race until their District Championships. That meet did result in a one-point loss to Pleasant Valley, and they eventually lost the State Championships by one point to Dowling Catholic as well. While a healthy Will Ode will likely put more distance between Dowling and Hempstead, the fact alone that they came so close to that win has to be great motivation for the team, and a few big PRs in the right places could easily put them in a position to contend for an automatic bid, but if they don't finish first or second, they're very unlikely to get a wild card bid.