The Ankeny boys’ track team stole most of the headlines on Saturday in the Class 4A state meet.
But Braeden Jackson and the Ankeny Centennial sprinters made plenty of noise, too.
Jackson won a state title in the 200, anchored his team to another victory in the 4×100 relay, and led Centennial to a fourth-place finish in the team standings. The Jaguars scored 61 points to earn their highest finish since placing third in 2021, when they also scored 61.
“It feels great,” Jackson said after winning the 200 in 21.64 seconds. “This is what you work for all year. Ever since I started track, becoming an individual state champion has been a goal of mine. I couldn’t be happier that I came out and did it.”
The 200 final was dominated by the city of Ankeny, which swept the top four places in the event. Jackson’s teammate, Robert McGhee, placed third in 21.70–sandwiched between the Ankeny duo of Logan Fairchild (21.68) and Tyler Sickerson (21.91).
“That’s not too bad, but I wish I could’ve done better,” said McGhee. “I would definitely say if we had one school still, I think we’d have a super team. That’s for certain.”
Jackson became Centennial’s first individual champion since 2018, when current NFL player Riley Moss won the 110 hurdles. The Iowa football recruit got some advice before the race from his father Fred, who also played in the NFL.
“I didn’t feel like I ran my best race in the 100,” Jackson said. “I was talking to my dad, and he said to just use it as fuel. That’s exactly what I did–just come out and give a product that I’m proud of out on the track.”
Jackson had earlier placed sixth in the 100 in 11.13 seconds. Ben Frazier of Waterloo West won the race in 10.83.
Jackson and Frazier later collided again in the 4×100, where Centennial raced to the victory in 41.29 seconds. Cedar Rapids Kennedy was second in 41.36, while Frazier anchored the Wahawks to a third-place finish in 41.41.
Noah Ross, McGhee and Caleb Reed ran the first three legs before handing the baton to Jackson. The same foursome won the 4×200 on Friday.
“It feels just as good,” said Reed. “Because in the 4×200, we knew we had a really good chance to win. In this one, we had to push the baton around really well and have good exchanges. It feels good that we got this one.”
There is no margin for error in the 4×100, which created a lot of stress for the Jaguars’ leadoff runner.
“If you can win the 4×200, you’ve got the team to win the 4×100 too,” said Ross. “But I stressed about the 4×100 so much. It’s such a chaotic race. In the prelims we set the all-time record (of 41.18), but that means nothing because handoffs are such a big deal. If you mess up one handoff, you’re going to be in fifth place. To get it all done when it matters, it’s awesome.”
The win put Centennial into position to battle for a top-three finish heading into the final event. The Jaguars needed to place first or second in the 4×400 relay to move ahead of third-place Dowling Catholic, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The foursome of Jackson Reed, Corbin Vander Weerdt, Caleb Reed and Cael Woods placed eighth in a time of 3:19.92. Cedar Falls won the event in 3:14.35 and placed second overall with 78 points, finishing 22 points behind Ankeny.
It was the third race of the day for Woods, who had previously never ran on the Saturday of the state meet.
“I love this place,” said Woods. “Lot of memories here. Lot of firsts and a lot of lasts. I enjoyed every second of it with this team.”
The Jaguars opened the day with a third-place finish in the sprint medley relay. The quartet of Ross, Caleb Reed, McGhee and Woods posted a time of 1:30.34.
Centennial entered the meet as the top seed in the event. The Jaguars led for much of the race before Cedar Falls rallied to win in 1:30.19.
Johnston placed second in 1:30.29 behind anchor runner Jashua Anglo, the 400 champion.
“Those 400 runners out there these days are crazy,” Reed said. “We gave it our all. That’s a really good time for us–I’m pretty sure it’s a school record–so you can’t be mad about it.”
Woods was proud of the effort by his teammates, who would later go on to join Jackson on the winning 4×100 unit.
“All those guys, they’ve worked so hard,” Woods said. “They’ve done so much, and I’m just so proud of every single one of them for all the hard work they’ve put in. To see them perform on a big stage, I can’t be more proud.”
Woods later placed sixth in the 110 hurdles in 14.39 seconds. Quinton Alexander of Cedar Rapids Prairie set a meet record of 13.65 to defend his title.
“I PR’d, which is great,” Woods said. “My first couple hurdles weren’t great, but obviously I can’t be upset with PR’ing. Track is just getting real fast.
“How does 14.3 get sixth place at state?” he asked.
Centennial competed in two other events on Saturday. Cohen Moll placed 17th in the 1,600 with a time of 4:18.25, while Brayden Vander Wilt finished 22nd in the 800 in 1:57.56.
