The Ankeny Centennial girls’ track team took a two-point lead into the final event of the Hawkette Invitational on Thursday at Ankeny High School.
Its crosstown rival prevented the Jaguars from earning a share of the team crown.
Southeast Polk easily won the final event, the 4×400 relay, in a time of 4:02.63. That allowed the Rams to claim the team title with 148 points.
Centennial could have tied for the crown with a second-place finish, but the Jaguars were edged out by Ankeny for the runner-up spot. The Hawkettes posted a time of 4:15.51, nipping Centennial by .04 seconds.
“I’m sure Scott Osborne, our longtime timer of the meet who couldn’t be there, would have loved that the 4×400 named after him came down to two Ankeny teams battling like crazy for second place, and ultimately having the meet outcome rest on the finish,” said Centennial coach Andrew Kruzich. “I know he’d be proud of how all the Ankeny girls competed all-out against each other, then came together and celebrated at midfield together after the meet. That was what girls’ track in Ankeny is all about.”
The Jaguars had to settle for second place overall, finishing with 146 points. Ankeny took third in the eight-team field with 112.
“It was a good night for us,” said Ankeny coach Thomas Cotter. “We are continuing to see improvement and consistency in certain events, which is exactly what we want this time of year.”
Katie Petersen and Sophie Lampe each had a big night for Centennial. Petersen won the 100 hurdles in 15.67 seconds, while Lampe cleared the bar at 5 feet to win the high jump.
Petersen and Lampe also teamed up with Kayla Eilander and Meg Ridout to win the shuttle hurdle relay. The Jaguars were clocked in 1:09.13.
Petersen and Ridout also ran on the winning sprint medley relay. They combined with Hannah Wilson and Kathryn Vortherms to post a time of 1:52.51.
“We wanted to put together our best sprint med, 4×100 and 4x400s of the year, and we did that,” Kruzich said. “It wasn’t a night for PRs with the weather, but our girls were focused and highly competitive.”
Centennial also got victories from Morgan Graybill and Millie Hill. Graybill won the 3,000 in 10:56.50, while Hill took the 400 hurdles in 1:10.82.
“The Hawkette is the closest thing to a home meet that we have, and it’s our senior night too, so we loaded it up to try and win the meet,” Kruzich said. “Our girls ran very hard and we really did have a great night.”
Ankeny’s Shelby Romig won the long jump with a leap of 16-5. Mytika Mayberry captured the 100 in 12.79 seconds.
Eva van de Mortel was the runner-up in the 100, posting a time of 12.96. She also took second in the 200 in 27.10.
The Hawkettes won the 4×100 relay in 50.45 seconds. They also won the 4×200 relay in 1:47.82.
“The sprint crew showed a lot of depth, winning the 4×100 without a few members from our state-leading time at Waukee on Tuesday,” Cotter said. “The 4×200 dropped their time slightly to become the eighth-fastest in the state currently. That is an event we will continue to tinker with to get the most of the four we take to Drake.”
Cotter also praised the performance of freshman Eva Fulk.
“Eva had quite a load at this meet,” he said. “She ran three 400s (sprint med, open 400, 4×4) for us and was sub 1:03 twice. That’s not easy for anyone, especially a freshman.”
