Postseason race competition begins in Panora this afternoon for the Panorama Panther cross country teams. The annual West Central Activities Conference meet takes place at the Lake Panorama Par 3 Golf Course and will feature runners from AC/GC, Des Moines Christian, Earlham, Madrid, Ogden, Van Meter, West Central Valley, Woodward Academy, and Woodward-Granger. Panorama head cross country coach Greg Thompson says the first 10 runners to cross the finish line in each varsity race will make up this year’s all-conference squad.

Today marks the first of at least two postseason races left for the Panther boys and girls cross country teams. The squads learned this week they’ll run in next Thursday’s Class 1A state qualifying meet hosted by Mount Ayr. The top 15 individual finishers and the top three lowest scoring teams will advance to the 2017 Iowa High School State Cross Country meet October 28 at Fort Dodge’s Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. Both Panther cross country teams competed in last year’s Class 1A state meet; the girls finished 10th out of 15 teams while the boys placed 14th. Senior Devyn Kemble recorded the best finish among the Panorama runners, taking 18th place in the varsity girls race at 20:59.

The West Central Activities Conference cross country meet begins at 5 p.m. with the varsity girls race and the boys to follow at the Lake Panorama Par 3 Golf Course in Panora.