The race for the individual girls’ title in the Kirk Schmaltz Invitational on Thursday came down to a trio of cross country runners from Ankeny.
Ankeny’s Makenna Madetzke outdueled the Ankeny Centennial duo of Rebecca Flick and Ellie Blevins to win the 5K race at the Iowa State cross country course in Ames. Madetzke posted a time of 17 minutes 57 seconds.
“I’ve been training hard through the summer and early season, so I just tried to trust that work and stay relaxed,” said Madetzke. “I didn’t really have big expectations since it’s still early, but I was just excited to compete again. In those last moments, I knew not to count myself out.”
Madetzke was 14th in the Class 4A preseason rankings from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. She fell out of the Week 2 rankings since she did not compete in the Jaguar Invitational on Aug. 26 in order to focus on her training.
“Makenna took a step forward tonight in competition tactics,” said Ankeny coach TJ Jumper. “She is such a hard worker and is so driven, it was great to see her get her first varsity cross country invite win. She has some big goals that she is chasing, and today was a step in that direction. She is only the second cross country runner from Ankeny High School since the state moved to a 5K race to break 18 minutes. It was a special night for her, but there is more to come.”
The third-ranked Flick placed second in a time of 17:59. The No. 5 Blevins was third in 18:02.
“Our pack running was phenomenal,” said Centennial coach Eric Cogdill. “Rebecca and Ellie each ran solo last week in separate races, but at this meet they raced together as though they were twins–never more than a second or two apart. They found themselves in the lead pack almost from the start and attrition slowly whittled it down from a dozen to five girls at the end. Having two aces racing with confidence and teamwork is a special luxury.”
Flick and Blevins led fourth-ranked Centennial to a runner-up finish in the 12-team field. The Jaguars scored 66 points, finishing nine points behind No. 3 Waukee Northwest.
Centennial also placed second at its home meet nine days ago, when it finished 19 points behind the Wolves.
“Top to bottom, this was a great set of races from all our squads with 44 lifetime bests on a blustery, but otherwise, perfect day for racing,” Cogdill said. “The scoring five and the varsity seven both eclipsed records for fastest team performance as all seven varsity runners set lifetime bests. Every one of those girls set big, scary stretch goals to start the season, and now they need to write new ones.”
Ankeny, meanwhile, finished in seventh place. The Hawkettes scored 177 points.
“The team executed our focus for each of the races,” Jumper said.
The Jaguars got a 16th-place finish from Sammi Maile. She was clocked in 18:51.
Centennial’s other four runners also placed in the top 30. Trinity Klingensmith took 22nd in 19:11, Natalie Cogdill was 23rd in 19:12, No. 27 Ella Campbell placed 24th in 19:13, and Kylee Patterson finished 28th in 19:26.
“Our other five varsity girls were together for the majority of the race; all five were within 2 seconds at the first mile,” Cogdill said. “Each time one slipped behind, a teammate was quick to urge them back forward. When you have someone putting in a small sacrifice to their own race to show you that they refuse to let your presence beside them slip, it’s easy to find a little more to give. Late in the race, a little separation occurred except Trinity and Natalie ran step-by-step the entire 5K with each one finding multiple moments to lift the other through a rough patch.
“Also, Kylee ran a lifetime best that has been eluding her since her freshman year. She’s a tremendous senior leader for us that has had some highs and lows in her four-year cross country career. I rarely get to see our girls cross the finish line as I position myself in places to urge them along to it. But, my eyes followed Kylee all the way through the finish to enjoy that moment,” he added.
Ainsley Kiene placed 32nd for the Hawkettes in 19:37. Ivy Wiegand, Ella Schulz and Reagan Prendergast crossed the finish line together in 20:25, placing 47th, 48th and 49th, respectively.
Ankeny’s Vanessa Wise took 60th in 20:56. Isabella Sullivan was 73rd in 22:17.
“It was a great evening of racing,” Jumper said. “It is so early in the season our focus is on development and making progress toward our individual and team goals. The girls showed tonight that their hard work is paying off, and we are taking steps forward. Eighty percent of our runners set a PR tonight, and we know more is there as we build with our training.”