A weather delay of nearly an hour couldn’t slow down the Ankeny Centennial track teams.
Both squads turned in some stellar performances on Thursday in a Class 4A state qualifying meet at Waukee Northwest. The meet was halted at about 5:15 p.m. due to rain and lightning, but was able to resume 50 minutes later.
“We had an amazing night of competition!” said Centennial girls’ coach Tyler Asbe. “We were in a competitive qualifying site, and that brought a lot of at-large qualifiers. Our coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of the efforts all of our girls gave. There were PRs and season bests all over the board. These girls have worked so hard this year, and it is so fun to see so many of them have the opportunity to compete at the state meet next week!”
Centennial placed second among eight teams in the boys’ division with 164 points. Waukee Northwest won the title with 171.
The two-time defending state champion Wolves easily captured the girls’ crown on their home track, racking up 196 points. Indianola was second with 134, while the Jaguars took third with 131.
The top two finishers in each event automatically qualified for state. Other qualifiers will be determined on a time and distance basis.
Centennial’s Connor Welsch and Elijah Porter swept the top two places in the boys’ 100. Welsch won the event and set a school record with a time of 10.66 seconds, while Porter was clocked in 10.86.
“I’ve been running better each time, and I’ve been practicing my starts. I finally put it all together and ran a really good time,” said Welsch, who was the fastest qualifier in Class 4A. “It was me and Elijah’s goal to go 1-2. We knew we could do it, and that’s what we did. I’m proud of both of us.”
Welsch ran the sixth-fastest time in the state this season. Porter, who was running in the lane next to his teammate, posted the No. 16 time.
“Eli’s really good at starts, and the starts have really become my emphasis,” Welsch said. “Having him right there, I got out pretty good. I knew my race is kind of later so I just held good form and ran well.”
Welsch and Porter also ran on two winning relays. They teamed up with Lawson Langford and Max Snyder to win the 4×100 in 42.41 seconds, and they combined with Robert McGhee and Braeden Jackson to capture the 4×200 in 1:27.70.
McGhee also won the 200 in 22.25 seconds. He teamed up with Porter, Welsch and Snyder to place second in the sprint medley relay in 1:32.96.
Kaleb Kruzich took the high jump with a leap of 6 feet. Teammate JJ Morgan won the long jump at 21-9.5.
Cael Woods and AJ Schermerhorn were the Jaguars’ other automatic qualifiers. Woods placed second in the 400 hurdles in 55.71, while Schermerhorn was the runner-up in the 3,200 in 9:33.57.
“I was pretty confident,” said Schermerhorn, who outsprinted Northwest’s Joel Bloomer to the finish line for second place, edging Bloomer by .07 seconds. “It was the same situation as last year where I was coming in (seeded) third, and I ended up getting second. So I knew I could do it.”
The 3,200 was about ready to start when meet officials called the runners off the track due to the approaching storm.
“We were all huddled up at the start line, and then they told us they were going to delay it 30 minutes,” Schermerhorn said. “So we were just sitting in the indoor track trying to figure out all the other times from the other meets–just me and my buddies. So we figured out what time we had to go (to qualify).”
The Centennial girls’ team won only one event, but relied on its depth to qualify in many others. Bella Hodges provided the lone victory in the 1,500, posting a time of 4:45.06–the 15th-fastest clocking in Iowa this season.
Hodges also rallied the Jaguars from fourth place to second in the distance medley relay. She teamed up with Olivia Larsen, Jaeden Pratt and Cora DenHartog to post a time of 4:15.65.
“I knew we were supposed to be around third, so I did my best to pass as many people as I could,” said Hodges. “Our goal was to go around 4:21, and we went a little faster. So I have no complaints.”
Kylin Smith broke her own school record in the 400 hurdles, placing second in a time of 1:04.54. She also combined with Samantha Johansen, Anna Woods and Ava Barten to set another school mark in the shuttle hurdle relay, where the Jaguars placed third in 1:04.81.
“The weather had me worried because of last year’s state qualifying meet when I fell during the 400 hurdles and didn’t make it to state,” said Smith. “But once the meet started again, it was perfect running conditions. The shuttle team knew we could drop time if we all ran clean. I PR’d by roughly a second, and it set up the night’s vibe. I’ve thought about last year’s mishap (in the 400 hurdles) for the past 365 days, and I knew if I wanted it I’d have to go for it and not look back.”
Woods also placed second in the high jump at 5-2 and took third in the 100 hurdles in 15.08. Teammate Kambria Leazer finished third in the high jump at 4-10.
Anika Mohrhauser was the runner-up in the 3,000 in 10:15.93 and finished third in the 1,500 in 4:47.11. Haley Hveem added a third-place finish in the 3,000 in 10:25.87.
