In the past five years, both the Iowa men’s and women’s cross-country programs have experienced some of their most successful seasons in Hawkeye history. Since 2004, Valaparaiso High School in Indiana has had five runners contribute to that success.

The newest addition to the Valaparaiso dynasty at Iowa is freshman women’s cross-country runner Megan Ranegar.

Beginning with graduated runners Jeff Kent and Racheal Marchand, the legacy continues with current cross-country juniors Amanda and Lauren Hardesty and now Ranegar.

“Racheal ended her career as one of the best runners ever at Iowa,” women’s cross-country head coach Layne Anderson said. “She came in with a tremendous level of success, and we’ve just been able to capitalize on that and attract more of them after the fact.”

Ranegar said that having predecessors from her hometown influenced her decision to join the Hawkeyes.

She noted she ran with the Hardesty twins at the two state competitions her sophomore year of high school. That team finished second in a track relay and second in state for cross-country that year.

The Hardestys hosted Ranegar the weekend she visited Iowa, an experience she said was the reason she decided to don the Black and Gold. In addition to Iowa, Ranegar considered running at Indiana and Butler.

“When I went on visits, I would try not to make a decision, but I found when I was leaving Iowa, I really couldn’t find anything to talk myself out of it,” she said. “Everything just felt right.”

Her high-school coach, Karen DeVries, can be credited with coaching Marchand, the Hardestys, and Ranegar in her 21-year career at Valaparaiso. In her time at Iowa, Marchand was a four-time All-American and received the Iowa Female Athlete of the Year award in 2009.

Having graduated in May, Marchand is now a professional runner for Asics. DeVries said she sees similarities in Ranegar and Marchand and predicts the same level of success for the rookie runner.

“I see the same kinds of things in my top runners,” DeVries said. “They are focused, driven, self-motivated, and you don’t need to instill that in them because they already have it. Megan was born to run, and when that gun goes off, she is one of those girls I’m never worried about performing.”

Ranegar’s new coach, Anderson, said he is also confident about her abilities, and she has potential to make “a big splash” immediately. He noted she is one of the best-equipped freshmen he has seen.

Ranegar credits her preparedness with being able to train with Marchand and the Hardestys all summer, saying they helped her learn what to expect out of college workouts. She also said they have “set a path” for her Iowa career.

“Lauren, Amanda, and Racheal are definitely role models for me,” Ranegar said. “I trained with all of them during the summer, and it’s just such an advantage I have because we all live in the same town.”

Marchand, the leader of the Valpo pack, said she hosted the Hardestys when they were looking at colleges. She said she was “flattered” that her legacy has continued after her graduation.

“Having me go before them shows there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Marchand said. “All of us were really similar in high school, and it is just kind of like a chain effect that we have coming out of Valpo.”