Ethan Zuber made a promise to Ankeny boys’ cross country coach Jon Lindaman a year ago that he would become a Class 4A state champion in 2023.
The junior delivered on that promise Friday at the Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.The second-ranked Zuber pulled away from No. 3 Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls in the final mile to win the 5k race in a time of 15 minutes 7.7 seconds. He finished about 6 seconds ahead of Merrick.
“It feels great,” said Zuber, who had placed 11th as a sophomore. “I must thank God for blessing me with the best coaches in the state of Iowa and the best teammates I could ask for that push me every day. I wouldn’t be here without the culture of this team, and I credit this win to them.”
Top-ranked Natnael Kifle of Sioux City North placed third in a time of 15:26. He moved into the top spot in the rankings after outkicking Zuber to win a district meet on Oct. 18 at Ames.
That was one of only two losses this season for Zuber, who pushed the pace on Friday to make sure that Kifle couldn’t track him down again.
“I definitely wanted to take this one out fast to eliminate a 100 meter sprint out between me and Kifle, and I was thrilled to see that Merrick felt the same way,” Zuber said. “Then coming around the corner, I remember how 365 days ago me and Lindaman signed the contract with ourselves that next year we would walk away with a state championship. And that was all the motivation I needed to pull away with the win.”
Zuber became the Hawks’ third individual champion in the last seven years. Current Iowa State runner Tim Sindt won back-to-back crowns in 2017-18.
“Ethan closed out his junior year exactly the way we thought he would–as a state champion,” said Lindaman. “To be in this position requires a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice–things Ethan demonstrated to us on a regular basis after leaving this meet a year ago. He made running sub-15:10s look easy this season, and I am just so dang proud of how he has evolved as a runner and young man. He found different ways to win races and run fast this season, just like Jordan found different ways to win basketball games in the 1990s. The exciting thing is that he has a lot of room for growth and ways he can still improve. We will get back to work drawing up a new contract with bigger goals and challenges for him to fulfill next season.”
Zuber led third-ranked Ankeny to a second consecutive third-place finish in the team standings. The Hawks finished with 102 points after scoring 158 points a year ago.
No. 1 Dowling Catholic captured its third straight crown by placing five runners in the top 25. The Maroons totaled 72 points and edged No. 2 Cedar Falls by 12 points.
“Our coaching staff is bursting with pride about the way these seven runners competed,” Lindaman said. “Make no mistake, the goal was a state championship, but even after a lights out race by our kids, there just happened to be two teams that found a way to score fewer points than us on this day. Conference champs, district champs and third place at state is a pretty remarkable close to the season. The guys should be very proud of what they accomplished. Our team prepared like champions, executed their race plans flawlessly, and did exactly what we asked them to do and then some.
“The three top teams were actually much closer than the final score indicated. Our five scoring runners had an identical average time as Dowling and Cedar Falls (15:52), and the total times were all nearly identical between the three schools as well. Considering it was a cold and windy day on a slow and soggy course, our times were comparatively right on par with the best times we have run all season, which is exactly what you want to do at the state meet,” he added.
Meanwhile, No. 14 Ankeny Centennial also matched its ranking with a 14th-place finish. The Jaguars finished with 292 points.
“I’ve got to say I’m very proud of how the guys competed,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “This team has the school record for the fastest team time and scoring team time. I really want these guys to enjoy their hard work and what they’ve achieved and be proud of what they’ve done this season.”
The Jaguars were led by fourth-ranked AJ Schermerhorn, who closed out his high school career with a top-five finish. He placed fifth in a time of 15:37 to join Zuber as a two-time placewinner.
Schermerhorn was in 14th place at the 1-mile mark, then passed 10 runners in the second mile.
“The race unfolded like I expected, and I planned on starting a bit back then move up and catch. I just wasn’t able to move up to the degree I hoped for,” said Schermerhorn, who placed 12th as a junior. “I was disappointed with how things ended for me, but I’m thankful for all the opportunities I was given this year and and I’m thrilled with how the team has grown toward the end of the year, which I’m really happy with. I am also very excited to see where this program is going to go in the next couple years.”
Fickbohm praised Schermerhorn for his strong leadership.
“I couldn’t be more proud of AJ for his season and his career,” Fickbohm said. “He comes out as one of the best leaders we’ve ever had, and he’s going to come out with the school record for the all-time average.”
Schermerhorn and Zuber were joined on the awards podium by the Ankeny duo of Jake Bosch and Ike Smith. Bosch placed 11th in 15:45 in the final race of his career, while Smith took 15th in 15:49.
“We set out to make this season memorable, and the guys did just that by earning their second straight podium finish along with three individual all-state performers,” Lindaman said. “Jake closed out his illustrious career in a really big way. He ended up being one of the fastest runners in Ankeny history this season, and had his best-ever race on the biggest stage when we needed him most. Jake has competed at such a high level during all four years of his cross country career–it was so cool to see him go out like this. It has also been so cool to see Jake mentor and race with Ike this season–to ensure the next generation of Ankeny runners are ready to compete at a high level.
“And when Ike sets out to do something, there is a pretty darn good chance he is going to do it. I love that he sets his goals high and works his tail off to achieve them. I had to remind myself often this year that this kid is still just a sophomore. He certainly didn’t train or compete like a kid in his second year of high school. One thing that drives Ike is that he likes to compare where he is at as a sophomore to where Zuber and Sindt were at as sophomores. He is set up to do some pretty great things over the next couple years,” he added.
Tate Brownsberger placed 39th for the Hawks in 16:17. Nicholas Robie took 46th in 16:22, Abel Squires was 86th in 16:55, and Aidan Farrell finished 118th in 17:16.
“These guys brought a sense of excitement to the sport that I have never seen–there was a buzz about cross country from the kids and teachers at school to the community and alumni. They are just a really inspirational group by the way they have fun and compete,” Lindaman said. “I would say the culture of the team is in a really good place if they were disappointed with a third-place state finish. We lose some really instrumental guys with Jake, Abel and Aidan who have provided so much to us over the last four years, but we also return a pretty solid core that I know will be excited to take another crack at Dowling next year.”
Cohen Moll placed 70th for the Jaguars in 16:40. Brendan Owens took 78th in 16:46, Brayden Vander Wilt placed 89th in 16:58, Davis Johnson was 99th in 17:03, Mark Nelson placed 100th in 17:04, and Sean Thomas finished 112th in 17:12.
“It was a good way for Brendan to finish his his career, and it was nice for the other guys to get some great experience for next year,” Fickbohm said. “With the experience that they got, they’re already focused on getting back next year and in placing higher as a team.”
