The final race in the Jim Duncan Invitational on Saturday turned into a battle between the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial boys’ track teams at Drake Stadium.
The Jaguars got a strong anchor leg from Cael Woods to win the 4×400 relay in a time of 3:25.89. Jackson Reed, Caleb Reed and Braeden Jackson ran the first three legs for Centennial.
The Ankeny foursome of Nicholas Robie, Tate Brownsberger, Ike Smith and Ethan Zuber placed second in the event in 3:27.38. The meet was held under sunny skies with mild temperatures.
“It’s pretty nice today,” said Jackson Reed. “I think we showed that all of our relay teams are really solid and can compete at state.”
Woods enjoyed a big meet for the Jaguars. He earlier won the 400 hurdles in a time of 53.44 seconds and placed fourth in the 110 hurdles in 15.44.
“I was pretty happy with my times,” said Woods. “There was a pretty heavy head wind on the home stretch, but even with it I am still happy with how I ran. The 4×4 was a good race to run mostly due to my teammates having great legs and putting me into a great position to win.”
Max Dickinson provided Centennial’s other victory. He won the shot put in dramatic fashion.
Dickinson uncorked a throw of 53 feet 10.25 inches on his final attempt. He matched the distance that had already been recorded by Lathan McDaniel of Indianola, but Dickinson earned the victory based on a better second throw.
“In the most humble and confident way, I go into every meet hoping to come out on top,” Dickinson said. “It felt good winning this meet and also getting the practice throwing in the oval for Drake Relays and state which is coming up!”
Ankeny’s Ryan Tomlinson also had a good day in the throwing events. He placed third in the shot put with a toss of 50-8.25 and finished fifth in the discus at 151-3.
Zuber had the Hawks’ only victory. He held off a furious rally from Pella standout Canaan Dunham to win the 1,600 in a time of 4:15.74.
Zuber took the lead from the start and built a 5-second advantage heading into the final lap. Dunham then ran the final 400 meters in 58.30 seconds and nearly caught Zuber at the wire, crossing the line in 4:15.76.
Smith placed fourth in that race. He was clocked in 4:22.70.
Robie earlier placed second in the 800. He set a personal record of 1:55.19, nearly matching the Blue Oval standard of 1:55.00.
“I was feeling good today, and I knew I was going to put out a PR,” said Robie. “I ended up putting up a really good time, and I’m just excited to be back for Drake and state so I can show everybody what I’m capable of. I’m not too worried (about meeting the Drake Relays standard). I should still qualify. It would have been nice to have some reassurance, but I’m not upset with the race by any means.”
Ankeny also got a runner-up finish from Landon Pote in the 110 hurdles. He overcame a head wind to post a time of 15.36 seconds.
“Once I felt the wind hit, I was just trying to get to the next hurdle,” said Pote. “I didn’t really care how. So yeah, I am happy with that time.”
Earlier, Pote scratched up his back when he took a tumble in the shuttle hurdle relay, causing his team to be disqualified. Ankeny entered the meet with the state’s fastest time in that event.
“I was going pretty fast,” Pote said. “I don’t know what my time would have been, but my trail leg caught the hurdle and took me down with it. I rolled all the way to the next hurdle and I rolled under it, so we got DQ’d. It’s not like I could help that.”
Centennial placed sixth in the shuttle hurdle relay. The Jaguars posted a time of 1:01.86.
Centennial also showed off its strength in the sprint events. Jackson placed second in the 100 in 11.27, while Noah Ross took fourth in that event in 11.35.
Ross added a second-place finish in the 200. He was clocked in 22.67.
Ross also joined Robert McGhee, Joel Neith and Jackson on the runner-up 4×200 relay. The Jaguars posted a time of 42.21, losing to Johnston by just .03 seconds.
Jackson Reed took fourth in the 400 in 49.83.
“I wasn’t expecting a (PR),” Reed said. “I’m definitely excited. I’m hoping to run some good times at Drake.”
Centennial placed third in the sprint medley relay in 1:36.63 and also took third in the 4×800 relay in 8:02.09. Sean Thomas added an eighth-place finish in the 3,200, posting a time of 9:47.08.
Ankeny placed seventh in the distance medley relay. The Hawks posted a time of 3:41.03.
