Ethan Zuber continued his dominance on Wednesday, and the Ankeny boys’ cross country team took a big step forward.
Zuber raced to a victory in the CIML Conference meet at DMACC, and his win helped fourth-ranked Ankeny to the league crown. The Hawks scored 60 points to finish two points ahead of No. 1 Dowling Catholic, the defending champion and the two-time defending Class 4A champ.
It was Ankeny’s first league title since 2007, when the Hawks captured their sixth consecutive CIML Central Conference crown.
“It was a really fun meet for our team across all three races,” said Ankeny coach Jon Lindaman. “Obviously, winning the varsity division was a big step in the right direction for our program, but also just another step in the journey. I can’t remember a year where that trophy didn’t go back to a really good Dowling program in the past 15 years. We trained through this meet prepping for districts and state, so I think we are in a really good place to have a strong finish to the season.”
No. 12 Ankeny Centennial, meanwhile, placed seventh in the nine-team field. The Jaguars finished with 150 points.
“It was a good night with the best competitors in the state,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “It was a really nice finish for everyone with everyone beating or right at their personal bests. It’s great to see all of the hard work these guys do get rewarded.”
The top-ranked Zuber pulled away from No. 3 AJ Schermerhorn of Centennial to win the 5k race in a time of 15 minutes 19 seconds. It was the sixth win in seven races for the junior, whose only loss this season came to an out-of-state runner–Juan Gonzalez of Fremont (Neb.)–at the Heartland Classic on Sept. 16.
“I’m confident in the training and the work we put in,” Zuber said. “With the great teammates I’ve got behind me at every race and the coaches I got cheering me on around every corner, I got all the confidence I need once the gun goes off.”
Schermerhorn, a senior, pushed Zuber for much of the race.
“He’s a competitor,” Zuber said. “I’ve been battling it out with him now since my sophomore year. It’s all love for the competition.”
Lindaman was confident that Zuber would prevail.
“Zuber did what he needed to in this race,” he said. “He took it out pretty conservative, so it felt pretty smooth for him all race long.”
Schermerhorn held on for a second-place finish in 15:31. He crossed the finish line 6 seconds ahead of Urbandale’s Tommy Hensley.
“AJ had another nice race,” Fickbohm said. “It’s just fun watching him and Zuber race.”
Schermerhorn, though, wasn’t pleased with his performance.
“Overall, I wasn’t happy with how I performed,” he said. “I was more happy with how the guys on the team executed their strategy to push each other. I knew there was going to be a big pack in the front so I tried to push them to push me.”
Zuber and Schermerhorn were joined on the all-conference first team by two other Ankeny runners. Ike Smith placed seventh in a time of 15:47, and Jake Bosch finished eighth in 15:58.
Bosch is currently ranked 17th in Class 4A, five spots ahead of Smith. The duo has been running together at nearly every race this season.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Bosch said. “I’ve never had a teammate I feel like that I could run with, but it’s always fun running with Ike and working together. He pulls me. He makes me work harder, and he’s an awesome teammate. During summer training, you could just tell he had put in a lot of work. I mean, shout out to him. He never takes any shortcuts. He’s always putting in the extra mile.”
Lindaman praised the effort of his top three runners.
“Being first-team all-conference is a tremendous honor in the ultra competitive CIML,” he said. “These guys are prime-time performers. They have just been unshakable all season long. All three of these guys are physically ready for a strong finish to their season, but more importantly all three are in the right headspace to do great things for our team.”
Tate Brownsberger and Nick Robie were the Hawks’ other scoring runners. Brownsberger placed 21st in 16:17 and was joined on the all-conference third team by Robie, who finished 23rd in 16:19.
“Tate and Nick were beyond impressive,” Lindaman said. “They were most definitely the superstars of the conference meet for us. They are hitting their stride at the right time, which is really exciting.”
Aidan Farrell placed 42nd for the Hawks in 16:50. Abel Squires finished 50th in 17:01.
It took a team effort for Ankeny to topple the Maroons–with Zuber leading the way.
“It’s awesome,” Bosch said. “All around the varsity is great, but having a guy like Ethan do what he does is just great. He’s pushing the whole state. It’s just awesome having a guy like that and being able to witness that.”
Centennial’s Brayden Vander Wilt placed 34th in a time of 16:37. Cohel Moll was 37th in 16:42, and Brendan Owens finished 40th in 16:47.
“Brayden and Cohen had nice races with Brendan just behind them,” Fickbohm said.
Davis Johnson was the Jaguars’ fifth scoring runner. He placed 45th in 16:56.
Aammin Hassan took 55th in 17:08. Sean Thomas finished 57th in 17:11.
Both Ankeny and Centennial will compete in a state qualifying meet on Wednesday. The Hawks have been assigned to the site hosted by Ames, which will be held on the Iowa State cross country course.
“The conference meet was really the first time where we showed our potential,” Lindaman said. “The boys have done a really nice job of running loose and staying confident. They are also seeing the benefits of working together as a team. As we have all season, we will take things one race at a time. Next on the list is the state meet qualifier.”
The Jaguars are headed to the Iowa City West site.
“We are looking forward to it,” Fickbohm said.
