Junior Alli Macke placed in four events to help the Ankeny girls’ track team to an eighth-place finish in the Class 4A state meet on Thursday through Saturday at Drake Stadium.
Macke placed fifth in the 800 for the second straight year, posting a time of 2:14.37. She also anchored the Hawkettes to a third-place finish in the 4×800 relay, a fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay and a sixth-place finish in the 4×400 relay.
Macke has also led the third-ranked Ankeny girls’ soccer squad to an 11-4 record. She has racked up a team-high 13 goals while also contributing three assists.
Here is some inside info on Macke:
Congratulations on another outstanding track season. Overall, were you happy with your races at the state meet?
I was happy with how my races went the past few days. I knew going into state that the competition was high and girls have been putting up great times this year, but I was happy with how the meet went as a whole.
Your highest finish of the weekend came in the 4×800 relay on Thursday, when you ran the anchor leg in 2:14 to help your team to a time of 9:16.24, which broke the school record. Are you surprised that your team ran a faster time than a year ago, when you won the event in 9:17.69?
I was really confident that our 4×8 team would put up a good time just like last year. (Ma)Kenna (Madetzke), Lauren (Jackson) and Sophia (Graber) all played a key role this season and really stepped up in this race.
Pleasant Valley easily won the event in 8:59.53, becoming the first Iowa team to break the 9-minute barrier. Can you believe that the Spartans did that?
Pleasant Valley has a lot of talent, and it showed in the 4×8 for sure. Those four girls ran incredible times and breaking the 9-minute barrier just goes to show how the standard for times is increasing year after year.
You ended up being the lone returning runner from the state championship squad. Does that show the depth of your squad that some different runners were able to earn those other spots this year?
Definitely.
One of those runners, Makenna, also ran with you in the 800 on Saturday, placing just one spot behind you. Was it fun to have a teammate in the race?
Oh yes. Kenna is a great competitor, and she pushed me to be my best in that race. She also works super hard, and I can’t wait to see all she accomplishes!
You can now focus on the soccer postseason. Your team will host Ames in a Class 3A regional semifinal on Tuesday. Are you confident that your squad can beat Ames again, since you posted a 4-0 win over the Little Cyclones on March 30?
We are carrying a lot of confidence into the postseason. We’ve been training for Ames and plan to just take it one game at a time.
With a victory, your team could face another rematch against Dowling Catholic in the regional final on Thursday. Your team defeated the Maroons, 5-0, on April 19, but they have gotten a lot better, haven’t they?
Yeah, I think they have definitely improved throughout the season. We faced them pretty early in the season and got a great result. As it is a game with a lot on the line and with them being in the CIML, we will have to still perform and bring our best.
Your team lost to Dowling, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of last year’s Class 3A state tournament. Do you feel like you still owe them some payback?
The loss to them in state last year will definitely be an extra motivator for our team. The returners especially remember how that game felt afterwards and are excited to potentially get to play them again.
Your team ended the regular season on May 10 with a loss at Valley in a shootout. What has been the primary focus in practice over the last week?
This week we’ve been mainly focusing on breaking down back lines in order to give us the best opportunities to score.
Three of your team’s four losses have come in penalty kicks. Are you confident that if your team gets into another shootout that you can prevail?
Obviously, penalty kicks have not gone in our favor this year. We have talked a lot about taking advantage of our opportunities in regular time to limit the chances of going to a shootout.
You have committed to play soccer at Iowa, so will you be focusing mostly on soccer over the summer? What are your plans?
Soccer is my primary focus and what I would like to put most of my time toward in the summer. I plan to play on a summer club team with my sister (Kennedy) and some other college players.
