With a field of 134 runners, Thursday’s Bobcat Invitational at Marshalltown provided somewhat of a state meet preview for the Ankeny girls’ cross country team.
“There were so many good runners, and it felt so cool to run here,” said Ankeny junior Makenna Madetzke.
The fifth-ranked Hawkettes placed fifth in the 20-team field. They finished with 174 points.
No. 2 Johnston scored 51 points to easily defend its crown. No. 11 Cedar Falls was the runner-up with 113 points.
“This was a great meet with some of the top teams in the state,” said Ankeny coach TJ Jumper. “In our first two meets we have competed against nine of the top 10 teams in the state. Although we would have liked to have a higher team place, we are very happy with our progress individually. Almost all of our runners either ran an all-time personal best or ran a course personal best. We are building toward the championship part of our season, and we are in a great spot. Today we took a step forward in that process.”
Freshman Charlee Gall of Cedar Falls won the 5K race with a time of 17 minutes 36 seconds. Piper Messerly of Dallas Center-Grimes was the runner-up in 17:59.
Drew Beason led Ankeny with a seventh-place finish. She was clocked in 18:33.
Madetzke also broke the 19-minute barrier. She was 18th in 18:59.
“I trained really hard this summer, and I’m excited to see where this season takes me,” Madetzke said. “Of course I would like better times and better placements, but it’s not the right time of year for me and I’m just going to keep training.”
Ankeny’s Sophia Graber placed 42nd in 19:45. Lauren Jackson took 46th in 19:52, Reagan Prendergast was 61st in 20:28, Ivy Wiegand placed 65th in 20:36, and Vanessa Wise finished 78th in 20:59.
“What I am most happy about is how our team at every level is preparing to race mentally and emotionally,” Jumper said. “Our team culture is amazing. The effort and the way we are competing speaks to the quality of character of this team.”
Wise, a sophomore, was making her varsity debut.
“I feel like we did really well,” Madetzke said. “I was excited to see Vanessa running her first varsity race. That was super cool, and she ran a great time. Everyone felt really good about the race.”
Ankeny will compete in the Tom Karpan Invitational on Tuesday at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School.