Thursday’s performance by the Ankeny Centennial boys’ track team may have been one of the most dominant in the history of the Jaguars’ program.
Centennial won 10 events, including five relays, and easily captured the team title in the Kenny Dean Relays at Marshalltown. The Jaguars racked up 411.5 points, more than twice as many as runner-up Southeast Polk–which finished with 200 in the eight-team meet.
But Centennial coach Nate Smith knows that the competition will only get tougher as the season goes along.
“The CIML is always competitive,” Smith said.
Centennial’s Cael Woods won a pair of individual events. He took the 200 in 22.12 seconds and the 110 hurdles in 14.94.
Woods also ran on the winning shuttle hurdle relay, teaming up with Owen George, Gavin Matheny and Mark Nelson to post a time of 1:01.53. He ran the opening leg in 14.30.
Braeden Jackson won the 100 in 11.07. Cohen Moll captured the 400 in 52.40.
Max Dickinson won the shot put with a throw of 53 feet 1.5 inches. Teammate Gavin Humphrey placed fourth in that event with a toss of 51-5, while Caleb Larson took second in the discus with a throw of 154-5–where he lost to Darius Davenport of Des Moines Lincoln by one inch.
The Jaguars also scored some points in the jumping events. Jaxon Volk placed second in the high jump at 5-6, while Jeremiah Bassett was third in the long jump at 20-0.
On the track, Caleb Reed placed second behind Woods in the 200 in 22.48. Kyler Jones was the runner-up behind Moll in the 400 in 53.53.
Brecken Allen added a third-place finish in the 1,600. He was clocked in 4:49.58.
Centennial closed out the meet by winning the 4×400 relay in a time of 3:36.14, finishing nearly 6 seconds ahead of Southeast Polk. Jones, Sam Heither and Noah Ross ran the first three legs before Reed Anderson anchored the team with a split of 52.89.
The Jaguars were even more impressive in the sprint medley relay, where they won by a similar margin in 1:36.12. That team consisted of Ross, Heither, Jones and Corbin Vander Weerdt.
Jackson and Reed both ran on the winning 4×100 relay. They teamed up with Robert McGhee and Joel Neith to post a time of 42.31 seconds.
Centennial captured the 4×200 relay in 1:32.27. That team was comprised of Jackson Reed, Treyce Young, Anderson and Neith.