The Ankeny Centennial boys’ cross country team earned an eighth-place finish in the Heartland Classic on Saturday at Pella.
The 16th-ranked Jaguars finished with 202 points in the 18-team field.
“We are using these races as learning experiences,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “I felt we got out and put ourselves in a really good position. We really didn’t finish as strong as we should. We know the training is there, and we know we’ll be back to where we should be in the next few weeks.”
No. 9 Cedar Rapids Prairie won the meet with 103 points. Fremont (Neb.) was the runner-up with 124.
Fremont’s Juan Gonzalez easily won the 5K race in a time of 15:17. He finished 14 seconds ahead of Canaan Dunham of Pella.
Cohen Moll was Centennial’s top finisher, placing 10th in 16:15. Brayden Vander Wilt was 25th in 16:46.
“Cohen and Brayden had nice races, and so did Ian Smith in a good competitive meet,” Fickbohm said. “We need to get everybody else back to where they should be.”
Davis Johnson placed 51st for the Jaguars in 17:12, while Sean Thomas took 57th and Smith was 59th–both in a time of 17:23. Mark Nelson placed 90th in 18:00, Corbin Vander Weerdt was 97th in 18:07, Jack Behrens took 98th in 18:10, and Blake Bybee finished 108th in 18:31.
“It was a little hillier than what we are used to, and the sun peaked out during the boys’ varsity race and heated up really quickly,” Fickbohm said. “But it’s not an excuse.”
The Jaguars will compete in the Indianola Invitational on Thursday at Pickard Park.