Check off another box for Ankeny runner Ethan Zuber.
The senior easily defended his boys’ title in the CIML Conference cross country meet on Wednesday, covering the 5K course at Southeast Polk in a time of 15 minutes 30.6 seconds. He finished about 11 seconds ahead of the Dowling Catholic duo of Owen Wolfe and Jack Flori.
“That was the focus for me,” said Zuber. “Go in and feel good and treat it like a hard workout. Focus on hitting the hills hard and then the last 2K taking care of business. I really wanted to focus on the hills for me.”
No. 1 Dowling, which lost to Ankeny by two points at last year’s meet before going on to win a third consecutive state championship, easily won the crown with 33 points. The Maroons placed six runners in the top 15 and finished far ahead of No. 6 Waukee Northwest, which took second with 83 points.
Zuber, the defending Class 4A state champion, led ninth-ranked Ankeny to a third-place finish in the nine-team field. The Hawks finished with 90 points.
“We really wanted to come together as a team,” Zuber said. “Last year at conference we came together well, and the guys showed up great. Regardless of the score today, the way the guys came through the line and how they looked, you could really tell that the fitness was there. I think we’re in a great place.”
No. 8 Ankeny Centennial, meanwhile, placed sixth with 138 points. The Jaguars competed without Davis Johnson, their No. 3 runner.
“We had another competitive night. We had many PRs on a tough course,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “It was a little different feeling not having Davis, who has been a solid No. 3 all year, and I think the team responded well. I think the consistency was still there as I know it is hard to focus when one of the guys is out.”
Zuber earned his third consecutive win and his fourth of the season. He has won 11 of his 15 races over the last two years.
Zuber pulled away from Wolfe and Flori early in the race.
“There are so many hills that it does kind of turn into a race,” Zuber said. “The first K there’s that big hill on the back, so I treated that one like a hill sprint. It kind of created a small gap there and from there it just widened.”
Ankeny also got a fifth-place finish from Isaiah Smith. Smith was passed by Johnston’s Jack Crossland in the final strides.
Both runners were clocked in 15:53.8, but Crossland was awarded fourth place.
“I went out with the chase pack and then surged down the hills and felt like I passed a lot of people,” Smith said. “I finished strong, but I’ll want to beat (Crossland) next week (at the state qualifying meet). I wasn’t aware that he was coming behind me. The same thing happened to Zuber at (the Marshalltown Invitational). It’s a learning experience.”
The Jaguars matched Ankeny with two all-conference performers. Cohen Moll placed 10th in a time of 16:06, and Brayden Vander Wilt finished 20th in 16:35.
“I felt pretty good,” said Vander Wilt. “Obviously, it’s a hard course. But it’s very nice weather. This is one my best races feel-wise, despite the time. We’re missing Davis so we just wanted to stick in there with guys, and that’s what we did. We ran well today.
“I’m just happy to be here and happy to get to districts next week,” he added.
Ankeny placed three other runners in the top 30. Justice Rathje took 27th in 16:57, Nicholas Robie was 28th in 17:01, and Tate Brownsberger finished 29th in 17:03.
Brett Augustine placed 38th for the Hawks in 17:12. Jackson Kaiser was 42nd in 17:19.
Centennial’s Sean Thomas took 32nd in 17:06. Corbin Vander Weerdt placed 39th in 17:12, Jack Behrens was 41st in 17:15, Mark Nelson placed 45th in 17:22, and Ian Smith finished 46th in 17:23.
“We are looking forward to getting healthy and competing our best next week in the state qualifying meet at Marshalltown,” Fickbohm said.
That meet will be held on Wednesday at 4 p.m., beginning with the girls’ race. No. 5 Norwalk and No. 15 Dallas Center-Grimes will be among the teams in the field.
“I feel good about it,” Vander Wilt said. “We looked at the teams that will be there, and I think we can stick with a lot of them. I think we can win if we run well. It’ll be us, Norwalk and DC-G. I think we can beat DC-G. It’ll basically be a battle between us and Norwalk.”
Ankeny will return to Southeast Polk for its state qualifying meet. The Hawks will compete against a field that includes No. 11 Johnston and No. 14 Indianola.
“I think it’s great, being able to run this course twice,” Zuber said. “We already did a workout on this course once, and we ran it today obviously. We’ll have an advantage on other competitors knowing this course as well as we do, and our team is tough on the hills so this course is perfect for us.”
Isaiah Smith said he’s likewise looking forward to running the same course again.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the team,” he said. “I think it works well. It’s a positive. Some teams might think it’s a negative. It’s kind of a hilly course, but I think our team will come through and do well.”