It was a sweet repeat for the Ankeny track squads.
The Hawks and Hawkettes swept the team titles in a Class 4A state qualifying meet on Thursday at Marshalltown. They duplicated last year’s sweep at Council Bluffs.
“It was an absolute total team effort!” said Ankeny boys’ coach Jordan Mullen. “The boys are firing on all cylinders right now, and they are having fun!”
The Hawks racked up 163 points, 23 more than runner-up Cedar Rapids Kennedy. They won seven events and placed second in five more.
The Hawkettes, meanwhile, scored 159 points to finish 15 points ahead of Waukee. They won five events and had five runner-up finishes.
“This team has been so committed to giving their best for each other and trusting the process,” said Ankeny girls’ coach TJ Jumper. “We are excited to win back-to-back district titles.”
Nobody had a better night than Ankeny senior Ethan Zuber. He won all three of the distance races and also anchored the winning 4×800 relay.
Zuber posted times of 9:31.87 in the 3,200, 1:56.41 in the 800 and 4:18.97 in the 1,600. He was challenged in the 800 by teammate Nicholas Robie, who took second in 1:57.06.
Zuber and Robie were joined on the 4×800 relay by Justice Rathje and Isaiah Smith. The Hawks were clocked in 8:07.98.
Smith also qualified in the 1,600. He placed third in that event in 4:20.95.
Sprinters Logan Fairchild and Tyler Sickerson ran well for the Hawks, too. Fairchild won the 200 in 21.54 and placed second in the 400 in 49.56, while Sickerson took second in the 100 (10.56) and third in the 200 (21.74).
Fairchild also anchored the runner-up sprint medley relay, teaming up with Sam Sandvig, Caden Henkes and Treyton Grossman to post a time of 1:33.10.
“I can’t point out one specific event; I just want to talk about how proud I am of this team so far this season!” Mullen said. “These boys have come so far this year and have earned everything.”
The Hawks won a showdown against Kennedy in the shuttle hurdle relay. The quartet of Landon Pote, Sam Madsen, Hayden Carlson and Gavin Wise posted a time of 56.54 seconds, just off the school record of 56.47 that they set at last week’s CIML Conference meet.
Carlson was edged by Kennedy’s Ryan Bartels in the closest race of the night. Bartels crossed the finish line in 14.00 seconds to win the 110 hurdles, while Carlson was clocked in 14.01.
Pote placed third in that event in 14.41. He also qualified for state in the high jump after placing fourth with a leap of 6 feet.
Ankeny’s other victory came in the distance medley relay. The team of Sandvig, Alexander Zuber, Smith and Robie posted a time of 3:34.54.
Alexander Zuber and Grossman also ran on the third-place 4×200 and fifth-place 4×100 relays that qualified for state. Ryan Tomlinson advanced in the shot put by placing fourth in that event with a throw of 49 feet 4 inches.
“We talked a lot about loading our ship up to bring our best possible team to state, and they accomplished that tonight,” Mullen said. “We automatically qualified a lot of events and have just a couple we are waiting to hear for official results. They are locked in!
“The Hawks are going to be busy next week, and we are ready for the final chapter of the season. We are going to come in hungry, humble and healthy!” he added.
The Hawkettes swept the top two places in the high jump. Reagan Hanfelt won the event with a leap of 5 feet 4 inches, while teammate Mila Badillo jumped 5-2 and also qualified for state.
In the long jump, Maya Durbin-Wilson and Ava Leinen placed fourth and fifth, respectively, with jumps of 17-9 and 17-8. But both of them will advance to state after recording personal bests.
“The long jump had the deepest field of any district,” Jumper said. “This district was the deepest in the state with four teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. We hope to build on our success the last two meets.”
Drew Beason won the 3,000 with a time of 10:36.96. She placed third in the 1,500 in 4:47.40.
Teammate Makenna Madetzke placed second in the 1,500 in 4:44.10. She was also the runner-up in the 800 in 2:18.05.
Madetzke lost to Johnston’s Alyx Woodley by .05 seconds in the 1,500 after earlier outkicking Woodley on the anchor leg of the 4×800 relay. She teamed up with Reagan Prendergast, Sophia Graber and Gillian Schramm to win that race in 9:39.90, while the Dragons were clocked in 9:40.49.
“This group of athletes is so fun to coach,” Jumper said. “The team overcame some adversity and persevered and never wavered with our team goal. Some counted us out because we lost so much talent from last year, but this team consistently worked hard and worked to improve.”
The addition of freshman Morgan Fisher has also helped tremendously. Fisher placed second in both the 400 (58.35) and the 200 (25.63).
Fisher later capped off the meet by running the opening leg of the winning 4×400 relay. She teamed up with Schramm, Charlee Cibula and Lillian Buckley to post a time of 4:00.52.
The Hawkettes’ other win came in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Leinen, Cibula, Buckley and Graber was clocked in 4:16.30.
Another highlight came in the 100 hurdles, where Quinn Roush placed third in 15.22 and set a personal record.
“That was a big PR,” Jumper said. “She became No. 2 all-time in school history.”
Buckley placed fourth in the 200 in 26.19. Cibula was fifth in the 100 in 12.73, while Schramm took fifth in the 400 in 1:00.72.
Sam Poock placed fifth in the discus with a toss of 113-9. Maliya Cobb also qualified for state by placing sixth with a throw of 113-8.
The team of Alice Oleson, Brylee Bach, Gracie Lindaman and Riley Kayser advanced in the 4×200 relay by placing fifth in 1:48.66.
