Ankeny’s Ethan Zuber raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line on Friday.
The senior pulled away in the final half mile to defend his boys’ Class 4A state cross country title at Fort Dodge. He posted a time of 15:01.2 in the 5K race.
“It’s the greatest feeling ever to come across with that win,” said Zuber. “I’m very excited to see how the guys did today. It’s a great team to be a part of. I really just got to say–glory to God for all the blessings he has given me and my teammates and my coaches to have this opportunity to be here. I’m just very grateful for that.”
Zuber became Ankeny’s second two-time champion under coach Jon Lindaman. Tim Sindt also won back-to-back crowns in 2017-18.
“Clearly, anytime you crown an individual state champion, that makes for a pretty special day,” said Lindaman. “There are thousands of kids that run this sport in 4A each season, and only one that is crowned champion. I am pretty proud to say four of the past eight state champions have been Ankeny Hawk runners. This is a testament to all the dedicated kids that we have had come through the program to support these guys. I’m just really proud of Ethan. I know this one meant a lot.”
Zuber was part of the lead pack for the first two miles before he moved to the front along with Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls and Keegan Decker of Iowa City Liberty. That trio then ran side-by-side for more than a half mile.
“Oftentimes, races don’t unfold the way you think they will,” Zuber said. “Something changes–the weather changes or another competitor shows up. I mean, I didn’t expect Decker to be there, but he was there the whole way. Him and Merrick are really a blessing to have in a race because guys like that make you push yourself, and I hope they can say the same about me. That’s what makes this sport so exciting. You get to the end and everyone is hurting.”
With about 800 meters left, Lindaman yelled at Zuber to rely on his track speed to bring home the victory.
“I’ve ran a 1:55 (in the 800), and I’ve split a 1:51,” Zuber said. “It was really just a lot of emphasis on, ‘This is in your hands Zuber. If you want to win this, you’re going to have to sprint it out. You’ve shown that you can. So if anything less comes out of you, that was a decision you made to fold.’ That was his point–that you have the speed and you’re capable, so don’t be a (wimp).”
Zuber surged to the lead and finished about 7 seconds ahead of Merrick for the second straight year. Merrick was the runner-up in 15:08, while Decker took third in 15:10.
Merrick, a junior, had won seven races this season, including a narrow win over Zuber in the Bobcat Invitational on Sept. 12 at Marshalltown.
“I know the Cedar Falls kid has posted some crazy fast times, and a lot of people were doubting that Ethan could repeat,” Lindaman said. “This proved to be the motivation he needed.”
Merrick put himself in a position to win the race. But Zuber then shifted into another gear.
“I had this date marked on my calendar for a year,” Zuber said. “You know what it comes down to, and that’s the discipline to execute. It’s always going to be just as hard (to win). I knew it was going to come down to the last 350 meters and how much you’re willing to hurt. The mental prep(aration) going into a sport like this, you’ve just got to know that you’re either going to have the balls that day, or you’re going to fold. That was the goal.”
Zuber led fifth-ranked Ankeny to an eighth-place finish in the team standings. The Hawks scored 218 points.
No. 2 Cedar Falls claimed the title with 73 points. No. 1 Dowling Catholic took second with 91, but was denied a fourth straight crown.
Ankeny had placed third in each of the previous two seasons.
“It was a bittersweet day for us,” Lindaman said. “Unfortunately, our team fell short of what we were hoping to accomplish. The guys got out at the pace we wanted, but it ended up being a pretty quick field and being so deep ended up being problematic. That is on me, and I should have had them more prepared to deal with the traffic and faster pace. But regardless of our team place in this one race, I am really proud of this team, the great things they accomplished, and the memories they made. I told these guys each season is a journey, and their season has been full of great moments.”
Ankeny junior Isaiah Smith placed 37th in a time of 16:15. He was looking to improve on last year’s 15th-place finish.
“That was not what my race plan was like,” said Smith, who was ranked seventh going into the meet. “Usually how I race is that I get out slower and then pick people off. Going into this race I was thinking I’d do the same thing and get out a little quicker, but you just can’t do that at the state meet. There are too many people to pick off. You have to get out front with that big group. You’ve just got to hang with those guys.”
Seniors Tate Brownsberger, Justice Rathje and Nicholas Robie were the Hawks’ other scoring runners. Brownsberger placed 78th in 16:42, Rathje was 86th in 16:47, and Robie finished 91st in 16:51.
“Our seniors that ran today gave so much to the program over the past four years and left it in a better place than they found it,” Lindaman said. “Ethan, Tate, Nick and Justice gave it everything they had each time they raced, and this meet was no different. Isaiah’s season didn’t finish the way he planned, but he knows he has been given the keys to the team from Zuber. He is a kid that does everything right, and will lead next year’s team to do great things. Brett (Augustine) and Jackson (Kaiser) had great seasons as well, and will play a big part in what we do next year, too.”
Augustine placed 97th in a time of 16:56. Kaiser finished 115th in 17:28.
“We were hoping we could surprise some people like we did two years ago,” Smith said. “It didn’t really happen, but I don’t think it will take away from the season that we had. We grew as a team, and I think that’s a better picture of our success this season.”
