Thursday’s Fort Dodge Invitational at Lakeside Golf Course showed that the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial girls’ cross country teams can compete with some of the state’s top squads.
The meet featured seven of the top 11 teams in Class 4A. A total of 22 squads and nearly 200 runners competed.
Ninth-ranked Centennial placed fourth with 123 points. No. 8 Ankeny finished fifth with 135 points.
“Our varsity had a stellar performance, finishing within striking distance of Des Moines Roosevelt and Ames–two of the top teams in the state,” said Centennial coach Eric Cogdill. “And we finished ahead of No. 5 Valley.”
Only 43 points separated the top six teams. No. 4 Ames won the meet with 99 points, edging No. 2 Roosevelt by a single point.
No. 10 Dowling Catholic took third with 115 points. Ankeny finished seven points ahead of Valley, even though the Tigers had the top two individual finishers.
“We had great performances across the Hawkette squad tonight,” said Ankeny coach Eric Klingensmith. “While hot temperatures were a minor factor, our ladies ran excellent strategies. We are so proud of their teamwork, dedication and competitiveness. While we aren’t satisfied with our team placement tonight, we know that our hard work will pay off at just the right time this season.”
Valley’s Addison Dorenkamp won the 5k race in a time of 18 minutes 17 seconds. She finished 9 seconds ahead of teammate Kamryn Ensley.
Ankeny’s Alli Macke placed fourth in a time of 18:33 on the course that will host the state meet later this month.
“Alli again gave us all she had, beating some highly-ranked individuals,” Klingensmith said.
Centennial’s Rondi Quass also earned a top-10 finish. She took eighth in 19:14.
“Rondi looked dominant from one mile on as she ran away from the chase pack,” Cogdill said. “She got boxed in early and lost contact with the next group, and that has her eyeing her next race.”
The Jaguars also got strong performances from the freshmen trio of Bella Hodges, Tillie Smith and Anika Mohrhauser. Hodges placed 21st in 19:56, Smith was 22nd in 19:57, and Mohrhauser finished 26th in 20:05.
“That freshman pack was just incredible,” Cogdill said. “With under a mile to go they were 27-28-29, and they made great passes at the end to finish 21-22-26. If our No. 5 and 6 can return to close the gap to those three, then we are really going to catch fire.”
Centennial’s Anja Peck placed 51st in 20:43. Julia Flick was 63rd in 20:56, and Kendall Jorgensen finished 64th in 20:57.
Cogdill said the Jaguars rode the momentum from their junior varsity squad, which easily won its division with 41 points.
“Our JV was just outstanding with four girls in the top 11 among 20-plus teams and 400-plus finishers,” he said. “They immediately preceded the varsity, who peaked at their finish during warmups. That extended confidence to our girls that our training and race plans were well aligned for the day.”
Ankeny got a 16th-place finish from Drew Beason. She was clocked in 19:47.
“Drew remained calm and continued to reel in one competitor after another,” Klingensmith said.
Lauren Jackson took 38th for the Hawkettes in 20:30. Talia Dosh was 39th in 20:31, Savannah Gage placed 42nd in 20:34, and Paige Beason finished 50th in 20:42.
“Lauren and Sav worked together from somewhere in the 80s to 38 and 42, catching up to Talia who kept pushing up after the start into the 39th spot,” Klingensmith said. “Paige rounded out our top six with a top-50 finish.”
Brylee Moyer was Ankeny’s No. 7 runner. She finished 104th in 21:45.
Both Ankeny and Centennial will look to continue to improve as they prepare for next week’s CIML Iowa Conference meet at DMACC.
“They know there is room for growth which shows me they have their eyes on the future,” Cogdill said of the Jaguars. “The girls are excited for what is ahead in October and are looking forward to more improvement.”