The expectations are high this season for the Ankeny boys’ cross country team.
Actually, they’re sky high.
The Hawks are second in the Class 4A preseason rankings after placing third in last year’s state meet with 158 points, which equaled the school’s highest finish in the modern era. Only one of the top seven runners from that team graduated.
“These guys are going to do some really special things this year,” said Ankeny coach Jon Lindaman. “I’d bet the house on it.”
Ankeny came on strong at the end of last season. The Hawks placed fourth in the CIML Conference meet before finishing second at the district meet, where they lost to Waukee Northwest by two points.
Ankeny was ranked seventh heading into the state meet, but placed two runners in the top 20 and four more in the top 65 to earn a team trophy. Levi Hill, who placed 19th for the Hawks, was the only senior in the lineup.
“Obviously, losing a kid like Levi and the leadership he brought to the team is tough, but the remaining six returners from last year’s team have taken their performance to the next level,” Lindaman said. “Expectations are certainly high, but these boys know if they are the best versions of themselves we can place several runners in the top 25 at the state meet.”
Seniors Jake Bosch, Aidan Farrell and Abel Squires are back for the Hawks along with juniors Tate Brownsberger and Ethan Zuber and sophomore Ike Smith. They are among the 65 boys on the roster.
“We strongly believe each one of these 65 kids plays a vital role on our team and helps create a positive culture for our program,” Lindaman said. “I know it is cliche to say, ‘We had a great summer of training.’ It is what every coach says this time of year, but our kids really have bought in. We had over 50 runners participating in workouts all summer long. Some of our younger runners are trimming minutes off their times, and I feel like the work our varsity crew has put in will allow them to again be competing for a spot on the podium in late October.”
Zuber became the team’s No. 1 runner at the end of last season. He placed seventh at the conference meet and third at the district meet before earning a spot on the podium at the state meet, where he placed 11th in the 5k race with a time of 15 minutes 58 seconds.
Zuber followed up his breakout cross country season with a tremendous campaign last spring on the track, where he set Ankeny school records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
“Ethan is extremely talented and a very special kid,” Lindaman said. “He has a particular set of skills that not many athletes possess. He knows the success he had on the track has made him one of the favorites to win a state cross country title, which is exciting. Our job as coaches is to make sure he stays hungry and humble, which he has done. He also knows he has put in the work to be an elite runner, and has also zeroed in on all the other aspects that go into being great. Distance running in Iowa is very strong right now, and we know there will be kids that emerge just as he did last season. We know these kids want that individual state title just like him. The best thing that can happen is for people to doubt Ethan; this fuels his desire to win even more.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun watching this kid compete this year,” he added.
Squires placed 44th at the state meet in 16:38. Bosch finished 53rd in 16:49.
“Both of those guys should be very confident coming off incredible track seasons, and both are ultra competitive kids that we can rely on to show up for big races,” Lindaman said.
Brownsberger also posted a time of 16:49 at the state meet, placing 54th. Smith took 65th in 16:56, and Farrell finished 113th in 18:04.
“We are excited to see what this group will be able to do this year,” Lindaman said.”Ike certainly did a nice job for us as a freshman last year, but this year he will be turning a lot of heads and people will be asking where this sophomore came from. Brownsberger and Farrrell return after a year of state experience, and both have put themselves in position to be very successful this season.”
Owen Evans, Justice Rathje, Nick Robie and Levi Stember are among the other runners battling for varsity positions. Stember ran in six varsity races a year ago, including a 39th-place finish at the conference meet, while Robie ran in three.
“Those guys will provide our team with some very high quality depth,” Lindaman said.
Ankeny was slated to open the season on Tuesday by competing in the Jaguar Invitational, but the meet was cancelled due to the extreme heat. The Hawks will now prepare to make their debut on Aug. 28 at the Schmaltz Invitational in Ames.
The cross country season will be a two-month journey to the state meet in Fort Dodge.
“Like other teams, we will have our ups and downs, and we’ll have to deal with injury and adversity throughout the season,” Lindaman said. “Our goal remains the same as it has been each year I have been coach here. We will continue to focus on the process and take the season one race at a time. We will compete as a team and build confidence through working hard. If we take care of these things, we will be running our best races during the championship portion of the season. I’d put this varsity group of boys and their toughness up against anyone in the state. They also know nothing will be given to them, and being the preseason No. 2 team in the state puts a giant bull’s-eye on their backs. Rather than being content as a team that just qualifies for the state meet, this core group of boys has become determined to go after it all.”