The Ankeny girls’ cross country team will look very familiar this season.
Even the new head coach is a familiar face.
Ankeny girls’ track coach TJ Jumper took over the program in late spring after Quinn Groff departed to become the head girls’ cross country coach at North Polk. Groff guided the Hawkettes to a seventh-place finish in the Class 4A state meet in his only season as head coach.
“We are excited for the distance runners to have consistent training between fall and spring seasons,” said Jumper, whose team is fourth in Class 4A in the preseason rankings from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. “We are looking forward for them to build off of the huge growth many of them had last spring as we saw almost every distance runner set a personnel best. Many have been running this summer and are primed for a great year.”
There are 31 girls on the squad, including six of the seven varsity regulars from last year’s team. They are seniors Drew Beason, Sophia Graber and Lauren Jackson along with juniors Ainsley Kiene, Makenna Madetzke and Raegan Prendergast.
Beason and Graber are both three-time state qualifiers. They are second and 29th, respectively, in the individual preseason rankings.
Jackson and Prendergast are two-time qualifiers.
“It is a focused, hard-working group,” Jumper said. “The practices have been excellent. I am amazed at the focus and how detailed the team is. We have a very strong senior class who have been doing a great job of leading and setting an example. This group has a lot of positive energy and is ready to do whatever it takes to improve individually and as a team.”
Beason placed 11th in the state meet as a freshman, when she led Ankeny to a sixth-place finish–its highest finish since 1988. She took 15th as a sophomore, when she led the Hawkettes to a seventh-place finish.
Beason had eight top-five finishes in 2023, including a runner-up finish at both the CIML Conference and regional meets. She took fifth at the state meet with a time of 18 minutes 7 seconds.
Beason is also a five-time state medalist on the track. She joined Prendergast on the winning 4×800 relay in 2023.
“Drew can definitely be a state title contender,” Jumper said. “There are about four to five other athletes in the state who she will battle with. The great thing about Drew is her consistency, but the state cross country meet is one day and one competition. To win a state title you have to be a little lucky, and it has to be your day. Drew is really focused on the process and on improvement in order to give herself the best shot at winning a state title.”
Graber was the team’s No. 2 runner as a junior. After placing ninth at the regional meet, she finished 38th at the state meet in 19:13.
Last spring, Graber joined Jackson and Madetzke on the third-place 4×800 relay at the state track meet.
“Sophia set a personal best almost every meet in track season, and she is another senior to watch for as she has been building off of last year’s success,” Jumper said.Kiene placed 42nd at the state meet in 19:17. She also emerged as a standout on the basketball court last winter, but was slowed by an injury this summer.”Ainsley had a breakout year last cross country season and is coming back from her injury, but she has been cross training and will set an example of perseverance,” Jumper said. “She has a great shot to be in that varsity lineup once we get her healthy.”
Madetzke took 11th at the regional meet, then finished 49th at the state meet in 19:25. She carried that momentum into the spring, when she placed sixth in the 800 at the state track meet.
“Makenna made huge growth during track season going from 2:40 to 2:16 in the 800,” Jumper said. “She has been dialed in all summer and is ready for another huge leap in performance. Her work ethic is second to none.”
Jackson placed 43rd at the state meet as a freshman. She took 12th in the Kirk Schmaltz Invitational at Ames a year ago, helping Ankeny to the team title.
“Lauren had a tough sophomore year, showed some bright spots in cross country last year and had personal bests in track,” Jumper said. “She has also had an amazing summer and is primed to have a great senior campaign.”
Prendergast took 45th at the state meet in 2022. She struggled with an injury as a sophomore.
“We are looking for Raegan to have a bounce back season,” Jumper said. “She has showed so much determination and battled through adversity. Her focus is going to be on being healthy and maintaining the consistency she had as a freshman.”
Several other runners are also competing for varsity positions.
“We have a ton of depth this year, so the fifth through seventh varsity team spots are going to be wide open because of the work this team has put in,” Jumper said. “The other spots could be Ella Schulz, Ivy Wiegand or a slew of sophomores who have transitioned (from the middle school) and are coming on really strong. I could not be happier about the progress of Vanessa Wise, Gillian Schramm, Bella Sullivan, Paige Schmidt, Isabel Squires and Annabell Maceda. Our depth has become a tremendous team strength.”
Ankeny will open the season on Aug. 27 by competing in the Ankeny Centennial Invitational at DMACC. It will be the first step in a 10-week journey that Jumper is hoping will conclude with his team atop the awards podium at the state meet on Nov. 1.
“Drew has more of a focus on doing well for her team,” he said. “This is a tight group, and they have been building confidence. Finishing on the podium is within the capability of this team, but many things will have to fall into place to make that a reality. We will have to control what we can control and that is our training, race plans, recovery, and most of all our confidence in ourselves and our teammates.”