Ankeny boys’ coach Jon Lindaman called it maybe the greatest cross country showdown the state of Iowa has ever seen.
Anybody who was there in Marshalltown on Thursday likely wouldn’t disagree.
In a matchup of the top two finishers at last year’s Class 4A state meet, defending champion Ethan Zuber of Ankeny led the entire way in the Bobcat Invitational before being passed in the final meter by Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls. Merrick won the 5k race in a time of 14 minutes 40 seconds, while Zuber was clocked in 14:40.1.
“Ethan led from the gun and looked really strong the entire race,” said Lindaman. “It appeared as if he thought he had the win, but a late charge from (Merrick) ended up landing him the silver by the narrowest of margins. Credit to both these competitors for putting on a show in one of the biggest meets of the year.”
The duo posted the two fastest times ever recorded in Iowa. The previous all-time record of 14:51 was set in 2018 by Ankeny’s Tim Sindt, who went on to become a two-time state champion.
“Merrick ran a great race,” said Zuber. “He executed a kick perfectly right at the last meter, and he was better today. He showed up and executed his race plan, and he beat me. He’s a great runner.”
It was just the third loss in the last two seasons for Zuber, who won seven of his nine races as a junior.
“I felt like I was going to do everything I could to walk away from today with a win,” Zuber said. “I did my race plan according to plan, but you’re going to have days where other people step it up and it’s about how you respond. Today, I didn’t respond and execute properly, and that cost me the win.”
Ankeny also got a fourth-place finish from Isaiah Smith, who set a personal record with a time of 15:11.
“This kid’s confidence continues to grow, and he just keeps picking guys off,” Lindaman said. “He ran a brilliant race, showed a lot of toughness, and is putting himself in great shape to be a major player at the state meet.”
Smith was not among the leaders early on, but continued to move up throughout the race.
“My race plan today was to beat as many people as I could, and I think that’s what I accomplished,” Smith said. “A lot of the guys that are here today will be at state. It’s a good feeling now that I got fourth, but it also lights a fire under me because I’ve got more. I’m not satisfied right now.”
The meet featured 23 teams and a field of 160 runners. Second-ranked Cedar Falls placed three runners in the top six and easily defended its title with 64 points, finishing 62 points ahead of No. 14 Indianola.
No. 7 Ankeny placed fifth with 158 points.
“This meet is a great early season assessment of where we are,” Lindaman said. “We have a great deal of positives going right now, but have a long way to go to get where we want. I am confident our kids will continue to get better each week.”
Justice Rathje placed 39th for the Hawks in a time of 16:13. Nick Robie took 47th in 16:19.
“Justice was our No. 3 runner for the second straight week,” Lindaman said. “Getting him this big race experience is crucial. We love his confidence, and this kid has worked so hard to get where he is. And I thought Nick looked much fresher, and he continues to improve.”
Brett Augustine placed 66th in 16:39, Jackson Kaiser was 67th in 16:40, and Zach Riley finished 87th in 16:56.
“As a team, we need something to humble ourselves,” Smith said. “I think we all need to just be more positive, and I think that’s a big thing. But I think the team did a great job of holding me accountable, and my coaches.”
The Hawks will compete in the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 20 at St. Paul, Minn.
“We travel to a hard course at Griak next week, and we will see a lot of different competition,” Lindaman said. “I like that we will be able to focus on just competing and beating people, and won’t need to worry about times. This is the tough stretch of the season where we need to stay sharp and stay hungry.”