The Ankeny Centennial girls’ cross country team easily defended its title on Thursday in the Cedar Rapids Invitational at Seminole Valley Park.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars placed all seven runners among the top 22 finishers and posted a score of 40 points. Mount Vernon-Lisbon, the No. 2 team in Class 3A, was the runner-up in the 18-team field with 97 points.
“Overall, it was another nice night for the Jaguars,” said Centennial coach Eric Cogdill. “The Cedar Rapids meet has a unique layout with a full 1,000-meter straightaway before the first turn. That can often lead to an overly aggressive start to the race, and a few of our girls had to tough it on a hot day afterwards. But, I really like the toughness of all our girls where the highlight of the night was the refusal to settle and instead fighting all the way to the finish line.”
Izzy Hardin of Maquoketa, the No. 6 runner in Class 3A, won the 5K race in a time of 18 minutes 8 seconds. Joley Sullivan of Davenport Central, the No. 7 runner in Class 4A, was second in 18:26.
Centennial was again led by No. 4 Rebecca Flick and No. 6 Ellie Blevins. Blevins took fourth in 19:04, and Flick was fifth in 19:15.
“Ellie led the way despite an up-and-down week where she wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but came out and led our group,” Cogdill said. “Rebecca also found herself off the front pack today, but found another gear to make three passes near the end to bring her back from eighth to fifth.”
Trinity Klingensmith placed 10th for the Jaguars in 19:38. Sammi Maile took 12th in 19:45, Natalie Cogdill was 14th in 19:49, Ella Campbell placed 15th in 19:49, and Kylee Patterson finished 22nd in 20:15.
“Sammi separated early from our main pack, and she had to work alone throughout the race. Eventually, she returned to our pack,” Cogdill said. “Trinity, Natalie and Ella were running 15-16-17 with a quarter mile to go, and a very impressive finish by Trinity saw her make five passes on her way to a top-10 finish while Natalie and Ella put a 7-second gap between themselves and the girls who were just ahead of them. Kylee also picked up two places at the end.
“Altogether, the Jaguar varsity saw five girls combine for 14 passes in the homestretch while only one teammate gave up a couple spots,” he added.
Centennial got individual wins from Piper Klingner in the 9/10 race and Taylor Porter in the JV division. Klingner set a personal record of 20:41.
“Piper won by over a full minute, and she was one of just four Jaguar runners who set a PR on the day,” Cogdill said.
Centennial will compete in the Tom Karpan Invitational on Tuesday at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School, where the Jaguars have won the last three crowns.