Ankeny Centennial senior Isaiah Valentine jumped 21 feet 6 inches on his second attempt in the long jump at the Class 4A state track meet on Friday at Drake Stadium.
Valentine wasn’t able to improve his mark on the next four jumps, but he held on for a fourth-place finish. He scored five points for the Jaguars, who are tied for 23rd place heading into the final day of the meet on Saturday.
Abu Sama of Southeast Polk won the long jump with a leap of 24-2.75, which set a state meet record. Trey Campbell of Cedar Falls jumped 22-11.75 to place second.
Valentine finished 3/4 of an inch behind third-place finisher Isaac Guerrero of Linn-Mar.
“To be honest, my goal was to get first, but fourth is pretty decent,” said Valentine. “I came in (seeded) sixth, so I did alright. I think I jump better when it’s hot out, but it wasn’t too cold today.”
Ankeny’s Patrick Westover also competed in the long jump. He placed 19th with a leap of 19-9.5.
On the track, the Hawks placed fifth in the 4×200 relay. The foursome of Jack Belding, Aidan Adamson, Tyler Sickerson and Tyson Miller was clocked in 1:29.77.
Dowling Catholic posted a time of 1:27.50 in the second section to win the event. Ankeny ran in the final section against Cedar Rapids Washington, which crossed the finish line in 1:27.53 to place second overall.
“I am really proud of what we were able to accomplish today in all of our races considering most of us are underclassmen,” said Belding. “Dowling’s time was super fast today, and it gives us something to shoot for in the next couple years.”
Iowa City High leads the Class 4A field with 43.5 points after 10 of the 19 events. Linn-Mar (Marion) is in second with 32.
Ankeny is tied for seventh place with 18 points.
“Overall, I am happy with how our team has been doing this weekend and I am pumped for the future,” Belding said.
Both Ankeny and Centennial qualified for Saturday’s final in the 4×100 relay. The Jaguars’ foursome of Alec Schneider, Connor Welsch, Owen Gates and Nick Severson posted the second-fastest time of 42.40, which was also the second-fastest time in school history.
Cedar Rapids Washington was the top qualifier in 41.98. Centennial was seeded 12th coming into the meet.
“Our team’s confidence is very high right now, but I still think we have our best race to run as we can get some of our handoffs better,” Welsch said.
The Hawks posted the fifth-fastest qualifying time of 42.73. Belding, Sickerson and Miller were joined on the relay by Colin Kadolph.
“I think if we clean a few little details up on (Saturday) we should be able to put up an even faster time,” Belding said.
Ankeny’s Carter Accola also advanced to the final in the 110 hurdles. He posted the fourth-fastest qualifying time of 14.79.
Eric Lucas of Iowa City Liberty was the top qualifier at 14.43.
The Hawks later placed 12th in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Caden Henkes, Jamison Patton, Jacob Kruger and Jake Bosch posted a time of 3:36.18, with Bosch running the 800-meter anchor leg in 1:57.55.
Iowa City High won the event in 3:28.69.
Centennial got a 10th-place finish from Sam Dietz in the shot put. Dietz, who was seeded 23rd coming into state, had a throw of 51 feet 6.75 inches on his second attempt.
Nolan Recker of Muscatine won the event with a toss of 59-9.75.
The Jaguars got a 17th-place finish in the 400 hurdles from Cooper Majors, who turned in a time of 57.85 seconds. Teammate Drake Dittmar finished 21st in that event in 58.48.
Matthew Kruse of Dubuque Senior surged past Logan Piper of Indianola in the final 50 meters to win the race in 52.80.
Ankeny later closed out the Friday session with a 10th-place finish in the 4×400 relay. The team of Miller, Belding, Kruger and Bosch posted a time of 3:26.64.
Centennial finished 20th in that event with a time of 3:29.96. That team consisted of Gates, London Hershberger, Gabe Murphy and Thomas Bunce.
