In what could be a preview of the Class 4A state meet on the same course in a few weeks, the state’s top two boys’ cross country runners waged an intense battle on Thursday in the Fort Dodge Invitational at Lakeside Golf Course.
In the end, Ankeny’s Ethan Zuber edged Natnael Kifle of Sioux City North by the slimmest of margins. The top-ranked Zuber won the 5k race in a time of 15 minutes 10.1 seconds, while the No. 2 Kifle was clocked in 15:10.3.
It was the fourth win of the season for Zuber, who led the fifth-ranked Hawks to a second-place finish in the 29-team field.
“Coming in at the last 1k, (Kifle) took off and I was neck-and-neck with him until I got him at the beginning of the finish straight,” said Zuber. “I just barely held him off.”
No. 2 Dowling Catholic defended its team title by scoring 71 points. Ankeny finished with 127 points, while No. 7 Johnston took third with 144.
No. 16 Ankeny Centennial placed eighth with 245 points. The Jaguars were led by No. 3 AJ Schermerhorn, who placed third in a field of 240 runners with a time of 15:28.
Jake Bosch and Ike Smith both earned top-20 finishes for the Hawks, placing 14th and 17th, respectively. They both posted a time of 15:56.
Ankeny’s Nick Robie took 40th in 16:27. Tate Brownsberger placed 56th in 16:41, Abel Squires was 64th in 16:46, and Aidan Farrell finished 81st in 16:58.
Brayden Vander Wilt and Brendan Owens both posted a time of 16:36 for the Jaguars. They placed 48th and 50th, respectively.
Centennial’s Mark Nelson took 73rd in 16:55. Davis Johnson placed 82nd in 16:59, Sean Thomas was 86th in 17:02, and Cohen Moll finished 87th in 17:03.
Both teams will compete in the CIML Conference meet on Wednesday at DMACC.