The ultimate goal for the Ankeny boys’ track team is to win the Class 4A state championship next month.
And despite some mishaps, the Hawks showed over the last two days at the Drake Relays that they are clearly the team to beat.
“I’m just ready for May,” said Ankeny senior Jake Bosch, who ran on the winning 4×800 relay on Saturday. “I’m looking forward to May, being back here with the team–everyone healthy and everyone ready to go (for state). Our expectations are through the roof. We want a title. That’s what we’re here for–we’re here to win.”
Ankeny won two events at the Relays for the first time since 2003, when Andy Brodell captured the 100 and the Hawks also took the 4×800 relay. Ironically, coach Jordan Mullen’s team won the same two titles over the last 48 hours.
Ankeny earned its first crown on Friday, when junior Logan Fairchild raced to a victory in the 100 in 10.62 seconds. ADM’s Aiden Flora was the runner-up in 10.75.
“It feels amazing,” said Fairchild. “I worked all year for this, and for it to actually pay off it’s really rewarding.”
Fairchild transferred to Ankeny from Winterset after last season because he wanted to run with Jack Belding and Tyler Sickerson, two of his club teammates.
“We’ve been training at club since like sixth grade, so it just feels like another club year I guess,” Fairchild said. “But it’s cool.”
Sickerson set the school record of 10.42 at the Waukee Relays on April 18, when he ran the third-fastest time ever in Iowa. Earlier on Friday, he ran the fastest qualifying time during the preliminaries and was the only runner to go under 11 seconds, crossing the finish line in 10.77.
About six hours later, Sickerson pulled up midway through the final due to a tight hamstring.
“My hamstring had been sore for a while leading up to Drake, but I didn’t think much of it to be honest–competing through soreness is pretty common so I wasn’t stressing about it,” said Sickerson. “After my 100 prelim it got even more sore, but I knew I couldn’t skip the final. That’s just not who I am as a competitor, but I guess I just pushed it too hard.”
On Saturday morning, the Hawks claimed a second Relays crown in stunning fashion. Bosch teamed up with Nicholas Robie, Ike Smith and Ethan Zuber to win the 4×800 in 7:39.54, the fastest time in the country this year.
“It was just awesome,” Bosch said. “We haven’t run this team as a 4×8. This is our first time running it, and it was awesome.”
Bosch had missed some training due to a minor injury, but he ran the opening leg in 1:55.06 to put the Hawks just .06 seconds behind Dowling Catholic.
“For a second, you’re scared that you won’t be able to contribute to the team (if you’re injured), but you’ve got to find your role,” Bosch said. “You just have to be a good teammate, whether that’s cheering or just going to the meets. Be there to support your team. Everyone here has found their role and is doing their part.”
Robie ran the second leg in 1:55.11 to put Ankeny into the lead. Smith extended the advantage with a split of 1:57.77 on the third leg.
Zuber then ran the final 800 meters in 1:51.62 to seal the victory. Dowling was a distant second in 7:43.16.
“I wanted to run away with this win,” Zuber said. “We’ve got a senior here (in Bosch), and he’s been a great part of our program. He deserves (a Drake Relays) flag. Once I got (the baton), I was like, ‘This is ours.'”Ni
The top four teams broke the previous Relays record of 7:45.63 that was set by Marshalltown in 1985. The Hawks posted the third-fastest clocking ever in Iowa.
Zuber, the reigning Class 4A state cross country champion, was determined to close out the race after being outkicked in the 3,200 by Cedar Falls’ Jaden Merrick on Thursday and by Iowa City West’s Moustafa Tiea on the anchor leg of the distance medley relay on Friday.
“I was just focusing on the last 120 meters of the race after getting outkicked in those two at the end,” Zuber said. “Nothing is more painful than that, but it’s the greatest motivator out there. I came in with 120 left and made the decision that there’s nobody passing me, whether they’re close or not. I’m closing this race out and getting the rest of my team a flag.”
The win allowed Ankeny to capture the Drake Relays Cup team title with 23 points. The Hawks scored 10 points in the 4×800, eight in the distance medley and five in the 4×100.
In the distance medley, Zuber teamed up with Sam Sandvig, Devon Akers and Belding for a runner-up finish in 3:28.32. Teia anchored the Trojans to the victory in 3:27.83, allowing them to defend their title.
“We obviously came into the race thinking we could win it all,” said Akers. “We went 3:25 earlier in the season, so it kind of sucks to run 2 or 3 seconds slower but the conditions weren’t good. We gave it all we got.”
Zuber later closed out the weekend on Saturday night with his third second-place finish–this one in the 1,600. He broke his own school record and the previous Relays mark with a time of 4:09.49, while Smith placed 18th in 4:22.04.
“Breaking the school record is always nice. That hasn’t been brought to my attention until now, but it really demonstrates the great coaching staff and teammates I’ve had around me this season to continue to improve myself as a runner,” Zuber said. “Without coaches that understand how to develop me and teammates that push me every day, I wouldn’t have reached any records. With that being said, second place isn’t something I will celebrate very much.”
Zuber led through the first three laps before Tony Anania of Norwalk ran the final 400 meters in 57.30 seconds to win the race in 4:06.54, setting a new Relays mark and posting the fourth-fastest time ever in Iowa. Two weeks ago on the same track, Anania outkicked Zuber on the final lap to win the 3,200 at the Jim Duncan Invitational.
“Anania ran a smart race and closed it out hard with a 57, which was very impressive,” Zuber said. “I’m already looking forward to seeing Tony around the blue oval again come May. And if he closes in 57 that day, I’ll just have to close in a 56.”
Ankeny also earned some medals in two other events. On Friday, Belding and Fairchild both placed among the top four finishers in a loaded 400 field.
Belding placed third in 47.83 seconds, while Fairchild followed up his 100 win by finishing fourth in 48.40. Belding broke the school record of 47.91 that was set by Tyrese Miller when he won the same race two years ago.
“I felt really good about that race,” Belding said. “I kind of felt like I had a lot left in me, so I think that’s a good sign. If I had kicked it in a little sooner, maybe I could have won it. But I’m still super happy with that time.”
Jackson Johannes of Cedar Rapids Prairie came out of Lane 1 to win the race in 47.67. Braedin Zondervan of Carlisle, who dove across the finish line, was the runner-up in 47.72.
“I definitely felt like it was going to be a fast race, especially with the weather not really being that bad anymore. The wind died down (after the storm),” Belding said. “It was a tough race, and you could see at the end all the effort that everyone was putting into it. I didn’t think I was going that fast, but then I saw I was neck-and-neck with Braedin–and he’s gone 47.75. And Johannes is a great athlete. He’s really built himself up this year.”
On Saturday morning, Belding and Fairchild teamed up with Caden Henkes and Akers to break the Relays record in the 4×100 relay, posting a time of 41.70 seconds during a preliminary heat. The Hawks also erased the school mark of 41.76, which was set earlier this season with Sickerson on the anchor leg.
“I’m proud of my teammates,” Sickerson said. “I didn’t expect anything less than that from that group of guys. Adversity is something this team has learned to deal with a lot this year, and no matter what I know my teammates can get the job done.”
The Hawks later placed fourth in the final in 41.92. The race was delayed by about three hours due to a thunderstorm.
ADM won the title in 41.38, eclipsing Ankeny’s record from earlier in the day.
“The prelims got us really excited, and we were really happy with it,” Belding said. “When it came to the finals, we were ready to go. We just didn’t execute.”
Fairchild is hoping to help Ankeny to the overall state title after the Hawks came up four points short a year ago.
“We’re definitely looking to win it this year,” he said. “We want to load some stuff and (score a lot of) points.”
Ankeny entered the weekend with the state’s fastest times in both the 4×100 and 4×200 relays. In the 4×200 on Friday, the foursome of Sandvig, Akers, Casen Carter and Henkes did not finish the race.
The Hawks dropped the baton on the second exchange between Akers and Carter. ADM went on to win the title in 1:27.34.
“We had a mishap,” Akers said. “I still really don’t know what happened. I’ll have to watch it again, but (the stick) ended up on the ground. We’ve just got to get the kinks out (before state).”
Ankeny also competed in the preliminaries of the 110 hurdles on Friday. Landon Pote placed 25th overall in a time of 15.45 seconds, while Hayden Carlson took 28th in 15.74.
