The weather this spring has been so consistently bad that Tuesday’s Jim Duea Invitational at Ames was held under mild conditions by comparison.
“It was a cold, cold night, but at least it wasn’t windy,” said Ankeny Centennial girls’ track coach Andrew Kruzich. “That feels like half a win this season with the way it’s been going.”
Waukee Northwest won the 10-team meet with 160 points. Ames was the runner-up with 127, followed by Ankeny in third with 91 points.
“It was a quiet night for us as we dialed things back with the forecasted weather and a tough matchup (on Monday) for soccer against Dowling,” said Ankeny coach Thomas Cotter. “We will look to really get after scoring Thursday and to try and polish up our final Drake entries in what looks to be some great running conditions.”
Centennial, meanwhile, finished in seventh place. The Jaguars scored 50 points.
“We’ve had so few decent chances to get Drake qualifiers that we really had to organize our meet around a couple of events, so we didn’t score that well,” Kruzich said. “We did get some things done: Rondi (Quass) hit the blue standard to auto qualify for the 3,000, and the 4×100 hit it, too. They’ve been running pretty well, but it hasn’t shown quite yet, and I think we can be sub-50 by season’s end.”
Ankeny won three events. Freshman Alli Macke took the 400 in 59.23 seconds, while teammate Lillian Smith was fifth in that event in 1:01.46.
“She currently sits in a position where she would qualify for Drake,” Cotter said of Macke. “But she likely will need to drop more time Thursday to secure her spot in that race.”
Kendra Winfrey won the shot put with a throw of 37 feet 3.75 inches, while Hannah Baier captured the discus with a toss of 122-1. Winfrey had a throw of 103-6 to place fifth in the discus.
Centennial got a victory from Kambria Leazer in the long jump. She jumped 16-8.25.
“Kam had a nice night,” Kruzich said. “If she pops a PR Thursday, she could get in (to the Drake Relays). We’ll be looking for our 4×800, 4×400 and 4×200 to see if we can get to Drake, too. Overall, it wasn’t a great night for our field events, but that is expected given the weather.”
Quass placed second in the 3,000. She posted a time of 10:19.69.
Ankeny’s Reagan Hanfelt took third in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5 feet. Teammate Ja’Dein Madison was fifth in the shot put with a throw of 34-7.5.
The Hawkettes placed second in the 4×400 relay in a time of 4:05.84. That team consisted of Morgan Johnson, Eva Fulk, Zoe Shadravan and Smith.
Centennial took third in both the 4×200 and distance medley relays. The 4×200 foursome of Malin Vallejo, Kylin Smith, Elle Street and Maraye Breeding was clocked in 1:50.18.
“Our 4×200 and 4×400 competed hard, but the conditions weren’t very conducive to good times,” Kruzich said. “We’ll have to put all of our eggs in Thursday’s basket.”
The Jaguars posted a time of 4:27.81 in the distance medley relay. That unit consisted of Averi Porter, Layla Hughes, Tillie Smith and Quass.
“We had several freshmen and sophomores pop some good races,” Kruzich said. “We knew we’d be young this year, and we’re a little behind where we’d usually be with all the cancellations we’ve had. But I’m optimistic about how I think we can end the season. But first, we’re excited to run well on Thursday in front of a home crowd.”
Ankeny’s Sophie Loeffler placed fourth in the 800 in 2:24.91. Teammate Drew Beason was sixth in the same event in 2:26.89.
Karsen Jacks placed sixth for the Hawkettes in the 200. She was clocked in 27.46.
Centennial’s Addison Arringdale added a sixth-place finish in the 100. She posted a time of 13.11.
Both teams will compete in the Jaguar Invitational on Thursday at Ankeny Stadium.