Even without one of its top runners, the Ankeny Centennial girls’ cross country team placed fourth for the second straight year in the prestigious Rim Rock Farm Classic on Saturday at Lawrence, Kan.
Competing in the Gold Division against 24 other squads, the fourth-ranked Jaguars scored a total of 201 points. They finished with 210 a year ago.
“Our team had another wonderful experience down at Rim Rock,” said Centennial coach Eric Cogdill. “We are very grateful to our administration and our school board for allowing us the opportunity to travel out of state to test our bodies and minds against some of the best teams in the Midwest on one of the most historic and challenging courses in America. With the recent changes to college athletics, the days are numbered for these big events.
“For example, the University of Minnesota is selling the Les Bolstad Golf Course and that effectively ends the Roy Griak Invitational, whereas the University of Kansas chose to not host Rim Rock this year. On the girls’ side, Griak had 141 scoring teams and Rim Rock had entries from 144 teams. Local high school coaches at Lawrence High and Free State High stepped up to save Rim Rock this year. With an uncertain future, our message to the girls was to cherish the opportunity and to make memories,” he added.
Manhattan (Kan.) won the team title with 78 points. The Indians placed three runners among the top 10 finishers.
Denver East was the runner-up for the second straight season, finishing with 125 points. Bishop Carroll (Kan.) took third with 171.
Centennial was without standout freshman Rebecca Flick, who is ranked 15th in Class 4A. She raced to a victory in the Indianola Invitational on Thursday before heading to Wisconsin to play soccer over the weekend.
“Obviously, our team was missing Rebecca today, but that didn’t put a damper on anyone’s efforts,” said Centennial junior Ellie Blevins. “Placing fourth as a team at a large meet such as this sets us up for success at the end of season. Rebecca ran extremely well on Thursday, and we were super proud of her for picking up her second win of the season. She is a dual-sport athlete, and sometimes she has to make hard decisions. The important thing is that we are here to support her as a team!”
Kaylie Shultz of Salina (Kan.) Central easily won the 5K race. She posted a time of 17:53 to finish 31 seconds ahead of the field.
Blevins was Centennial’s top finisher. She placed 12th in 19:25 after finishing 101st at last year’s meet.
“I was very happy with the result!” Blevins said. “Though it for sure wasn’t quite the time I had envisioned, I was extremely excited with the placement I achieved. It unfolded quite well for me, sticking myself in the top 30 from the gun. I slowly worked my way around the mid teens as the race progressed, and I finished super strong. Rim Rock is a tough course with steep hills and competition, so I was ready to go out there and learn something today!”
Sammy Maile took 39th for the Jaguars in 20:10. Natalie Cogdill placed 44th in 20:20, Trinity Klingensmith was 57th in 20:31, Ella Campbell finished 69th in 20:49, Kylee Patterson was 77th in 20:58, and Piper Klingner placed 104th in 21:37.
“Every returning girl vastly improved in their placement,” Cogdill said. “Our freshmen performed very well, too. Unfortunately, early crowding through the half-mile and aggressive moves over the next half-mile broke apart our pack that we have enjoyed in earlier meets this year, so we didn’t have that group mentally to help us through rough patches. Yet, when our girls looked like they might wilt from the heat and the hills, they rose up and defiantly shouted ‘Not Today!’ in their heads, calling back on a coach VanderWilt inspirational talk to them two days prior.”
Going into the season, Cogdill said he wasn’t sure whether the Jaguars would enter the Crimson (big school division) or the Gold (championship division) race at Rim Rock.
“Ultimately, the girls recognized we were leaving the state to take on a big challenge and a dress rehearsal for the state meet rather than shying away from the opportunity to test ourselves,” he said. “And they delivered an impressive performance. Our veteran team a year ago placed fourth at Rim Rock and fourth at state while graduating four of our top five runners; this year’s team matched the fourth-place finish while scoring fewer points and defeating last year’s Rim Rock champion and defending big school Nebraska state champion Millard West. They even exceeded our pre-race estimate of a top-seven finish.
“The conditions this year were far more challenging with temperatures clearing 80 degrees before noon and sunburns handed out like parade candy,” he added.