It wasn’t planned, but the Ankeny Centennial duo of Brayden Vander Wilt and Cohen Moll nearly crossed the finish line together during the boys’ Class 4A state cross country meet on Friday at Fort Dodge.
Vander Wilt, a senior, closed out his career with a 73rd-place finish. He posted a time of 16:39.6 on the 5K course.
“I don’t knew where I finished, but I didn’t feel good right off the start,” said Vander Wilt. “I just had to keep my head up and keep pushing. The wind on that last stretch, I could definitely feel it. But I couldn’t let that get to my head–I had to keep going. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to end, but I’m happy that I at least made it here.”
Moll, a junior, finished right behind Vander Wilt. He placed 75th in 16:40.4.
“My legs just didn’t feel as fresh as they normally do unfortunately,” said Moll. “About a mile in was when I realized it wasn’t my day.”
Moll was ranked 21st going into the race.
“It certainly wasn’t the day we had hoped for, but that doesn’t take anything away from the season that these two young men had,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “Cohen will learn from this and is ready for track and looking forward to being back at state next season.
“It was great for Brayden to finish his cross country career at state. It’s been a real joy to see his growth from freshman year,” he added.