Ankeny girls’ cross country coach Quinn Groff has put a lot of emphasis on having fun during his first season with the Hawkettes’ program.
The Ankeny runners certainly enjoyed Wednesday’s Class 4A regional meet at the Iowa State cross country course in Ames.
The eighth-ranked Hawkettes advanced to the state meet for the fourth consecutive year by placing second in the 10-team field. They finished with 50 points.
“Our girls continue to work hard and have fun, which I have said all year is the biggest thing,” said Groff. “Our staff can’t be more proud of where each one of our girls is at right now. We have one more meet to put it all together, and I am excited to see where that puts us!”
Juniors Drew Beason and Sophia Graber will both be competing in their third state meet. They qualified as individuals along with teammates Makenna Madetzke, Ainsley Kiene and Lauren Jackson.
“We’re pretty happy about how we ran and anxious to see what we can do at state,” said Graber.
No. 5 Dallas Center-Grimes claimed the team title with 34 points. Running on its home course, No. 17 Ames took third with 57 points and also advanced to state.
“DCG is a heck of a squad and Ames is no joke either. They are both solid teams, so congrats to them,” Groff said. “Overall, I’m just super proud of our girls! We came in with a goal and accomplished just that! Five of our top seven had PRs, and you know that’s what you want this time of year!”
Claire Helmers of Ames pulled away from the field to win the 5k race in a time of 17 minutes 45 seconds. She is ranked third in Class 4A.
Beason, who is ranked fourth, outkicked No. 6 Piper Messerley of Dallas Center-Grimes to earn a runner-up finish. She was clocked in 18:06, 1 second ahead of Messerley.
“It felt really good,” said Beason. “(Messerley) was leading about the first 2 miles, and then the last mile we kept switching who was (ahead). I really didn’t know if I could keep (the lead), but I just went for it.”
Graber placed ninth for the Hawkettes. She posted a time of 19:12.
“My goal was just to get top-10 and stay with my pack and catch the other competitors in front of me,” Graber said. “My first mile was a little bit faster than I wanted, but the rest of the race I was able to stay mentally strong. So I was happy with that.”
Madetzke took 11th in 19:16. Kiene was 13th in 19:21, and Jackson finished 15th in 19:26.
Gwen Briggs, the lone senior in Ankeny’s lineup, placed 17th in 19:33. Raegan Prendergast took 21st in 20:21.
“I think we’re doing really good right now,” Beason said. “Second place is good for us.”
The state meet will be held on Oct. 27 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Ankeny took seventh at last year’s meet after placing sixth in 2021, its highest finish since 1988.
“I think our team goal would definitely be to get in front of a couple more schools and move up,” Graber said. “Hopefully, a top-three or top-five finish for our team. That would be great, and we know we can do it.”
Beason will try to become a placewinner for the third time. She placed 15th last year after finishing 11th as a freshman.
“I definitely want to be on the podium,” Beason said. “I’m hoping for maybe a top-five finish.”