Ankeny Centennial softball stars Jordyn Kennedy and Mady Ott were both named to the Class 5A all-tournament team after leading the Jaguars to a third-place finish at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge.
Both juniors were selected to the squad for the second time in three years. Kennedy was named the captain of the team in 2023 after Centennial won the state title.
“I’m just glad that we went out with a bang,” Ott said after the fourth-ranked Jaguars rolled to a 10-2 win over No. 7 Cedar Falls in six innings in the consolation final on Thursday. “Coach (Brett) Delaney kept saying how the seniors left a great impact on the team, and I’m just really grateful for everything the seniors have done for us this year.”
Both Kennedy and Ott went 4-for-8 in the tournament. They combined to score seven runs and drove in seven more.
Ott, an outfielder, went 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBIs in Centennial’s 9-0 win over No. 5 Valley in five innings in Monday’s quarterfinals. Kennedy, a third baseman, went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs in the Jaguars’ 11-3 loss to No. 1 Waukee Northwest in five innings in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Kennedy entered Thursday’s game with a chance to win the Class 5A Triple Crown, but she went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks. She scored the game-ending run on a walk-off hit by Kori Lincicum, who went 4-for-4 in the win.
“I was just trying to win basically,” Kennedy said. “I’m glad that we made it to state this year and made it as far as we did.”
Kennedy led Class 5A with 21 home runs and 61 RBIs. Her batting average fell from .557 to .547 on Thursday, allowing Leah Conlon of Sioux City East to claim the batting title at .552.
Waukee Northwest placed four players on the all-tournament team after winning its second championship in four years as a varsity program. Freshman pitcher Sophia Schlader was selected captain of the squad.
Schlader tossed a five-hitter and had 15 strikeouts to lead the Wolves past No. 2 Linn-Mar (Marion), 1-0, in eight innings in Thursday’s title game. She matched the Class 5A single-game strikeout record that she set on Monday against Dowling Catholic.
Schlader was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Alayna Schulte, Meredith Thomsen and Aunya Van Zetten. Emma Barnes, Annie Cassidy, Emily Koranda and Karsyn Michael of Linn-Mar were also named to the team along with Sydney Runyan of Cedar Falls.