Only seven points separated the top four boys’ teams in the Kirk Schmaltz Invitational on Monday at the Iowa State cross country course in Ames.
Ninth-ranked Norwalk scored 86 points to defend its title, while No. 5 Valley took second in the 13-team field with 89. No. 11 Waukee Northwest and No. 2 Ankeny both finished with 93 points, but the Wolves placed third on a tiebreaker.
“When you roll into the first meet of the year with a No. 2 state ranking, and you leave the meet with a fourth-place finish there is nothing more to say than it was disappointing,” said Ankeny coach Jon Lindaman. “It is my job to have the boys ready to race, and I did not do a good enough job with that this week. The times were fast, but in a cross country race it’s less about the time you run, and more about crossing the finish line ahead of other runners. We let too many runners get to the finish line before us.”
Ankeny Centennial, meanwhile, placed fifth with 158 points. The unranked Jaguars defeated several ranked opponents.
“I think it was a very good start to the season for us,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “Across the board, the varsity guys ran well. It was impressive to see the amount of PRs that we had.”
Ankeny’s Ethan Zuber pulled away from the field in the 5k race to post his first varsity victory. He set a personal record with a time of 15 minutes 11 seconds.
“I wasn’t exactly sure how guys would go out,” Zuber said. “I know usually a plan would be for me to extend the gap and just maintain that gap because I’m a kick guy, so I did see that type of race playing out. It was just early on making sure to keep closing that gap, closing that gap because you’ve got to know that’s their race plan so if you don’t act upon it you’re going to get beat.”
Zuber held off a late charge from Centennial’s AJ Schermerhorn, who placed second in 15:14.
“Zuber dropped 31 seconds from a really fast time last year and had an impressive win against some very good senior runners,” Lindaman said. “He did a really good job showing his toughness and executing his race plan, but knows there are things he can clean up in his race.”
Schermerhorn set a school record for the Jaguars.
“I’m super thrilled with how I did,” said Schermerhorn. “I executed my strategy to near perfection.”
Ankeny’s Ike Smith and Jake Bosch also earned spots on the awards podium. Smith placed 12th in 16:01, and Bosch finished 14th in 16:07.
“Ike showed up and was everything we thought he would be,” Lindaman said. “Running 16 minutes as a sophomore and dropping 46 seconds was a big step for him.”
Abel Squires placed 32nd for the Hawks in 16:44. Tate Brownsberger was 36th in 16:48, Justice Rathje took 53rd in 17:17, and Nick Robie finished 55th in 17:25.
“Looking at times from last year to this year Justice showed the most growth,” Lindaman said. “He dropped 1:12, and had a really good race for us in the 6 spot.”
Centennial’s Brendan Owens placed 27th in 16:35. Brayden Vander Wilt was 29th in 16:40, Sean Thomas took 47th in 17:08, Mark Nelson placed 57th in 17:28, and Aammin Hassan finished 64th in 17:47.
“What’s nice about this group is the leadership from the top down, and we are looking at this race as a learning experience and looking at ways to get better to reach our goals,” Fickbohm said.
Centennial won the boys’ 9-10 division with 28 points. Jack Behrens won the race in 17:43 to lead the Jaguars’ sweep of the top three places.
“I’m really impressed with how my team performed,” Schermerhorn said. “Brendan had a 30-second PR, and we had Jack Behrens working with the sophomores in the 9-10 race to help them get prepared for what’s ahead.”
In the varsity race, Norwalk placed all five of its scoring runners among the top 29 finishers.
“Ten of the 13 teams were ranked, so we knew there would be great competition,” Lindaman said. “Some teams historically come out of the gate hot, and we know this. If we stay the course and grow each week, we will be right where we need to be when it matters most. This is a very resilient group of boys, and I am certain this adversity will make them stronger and we will continue to race with more confidence moving forward.”
The Hawks will compete in the Bobcat Invitational on Sept. 7 at Marshalltown. The Jaguars will run in the Cedar Rapids Kennedy Invitational on the same day at the Seminole Valley cross country course.
