The return of Isaiah Smith to the lineup provided a huge boost for the Ankeny boys’ cross country team on Saturday.
Smith placed 24th in the Steve Johnson Invitational at Waverly to lead the Hawks to a sixth-place finish in the 35-team field. He posted a time of 16 minutes 36 seconds in the 5K race.
Smith had been sidelined due to an injury since he placed third in the 11/12 race in the season-opening Jaguar Invitational on Aug. 26 at DMACC. The Hawks dropped out of the Class 4A rankings from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches during his absence.
Top-ranked Indianola won the team title with 70 points. Pella, the No. 2 team in Class 3A, placed second with 119.
Pella standout Canaan Dunham outclassed a field of 315 runners to post a winning time of 14:54. Keegan Decker of Iowa City Liberty was the runner-up in 15:04.
Smith was followed closely by teammate Brett Augustine, who took 29th in 16:44. Jackson Kaiser was 50th in 17:08.
Benton Schuchart placed 57th for the Hawks in 17:11. Logan Rolling took 58th in 17:12, Brayden Nixt was 74th in 17:27, and Isaiah Swanson finished 215th in 19:29.
Ankeny will compete in the Fort Dodge Invitational on Thursday at Lakeside Golf Course.