For the first time since 2020, the Ankeny Centennial cross country teams traveled to Council Bluffs on Wednesday to compete in a state qualifying meet.
And just like five years ago, both squads qualified for next week’s state meet.
The third-ranked Centennial girls’ team placed second among nine squads with 50 points, finishing 13 points behind No. 6 Dallas Center-Grimes. The Jaguars advanced to state for the 12th time in the 13-year history of the program.
“It’s often easy to look at state qualifying–or state–as a single-day event, but the preparation that went into today’s successes started back in June for each girl,” said Centennial girls’ coach Eric Cogdill. “We remind our girls to pause and celebrate this day as it’s validation for all the work they have done. Celebrate first and reflect second.”
The No. 9 Centennial boys’ team, meanwhile, was part of a three-way battle for the district title. No. 10 Norwalk captured the crown with 50 points, No. 4 Dallas Center-Grimes was second with 53, and the Jaguars took third with 57.
“It would’ve been nice to win, but there are no disappointments,” said Centennial boys’ coach Chad Fickbohm, whose team advanced to state for the fourth time in six years. “We are all super excited to have another great race next weekend.”
Piper Messerly of Dallas Center-Grimes won the girls’ 5K race in a time of 18:31. She finished 19 seconds ahead of teammate Tenley Heidgerken.
Centennial placed three runners in the top 10. Rebecca Flick took third in 19:02, Ellie Blevins was fourth in 19:06, and Natalie Cogdill finished ninth in 19:41.
“This race unfolded close to my race plan, except for the slower times which should be expected on a hilly course,” said Blevins. “I was pretty happy with my race after a conversation with the team and my coach. It was definitely not the best out there for everyone, but we all supported each other and found the finish line.”
The field of 62 girls included 10 runners who have been ranked among the top 30 individuals in Class 4A this season.
“We were arguably in one of the hardest state qualifying sites,” Cogdill said. “On any given day, those 10 girls are contending for all-state spots at the state meet. We were again led by our dynamic duo of Rebecca and Ellie, who were an incredible asset for us in that talented field. And also finishing in the top 10 was Natalie, who exceeded her A+ goals for both pace and place in this race. She always has such a positive mindset when it comes to taking on hard tasks, and this certainly was a tall one.”
Trinity Klingensmith placed 16th for the Jaguars in 20:44. Sammi Maile took 18th in 20:57, Piper Klingner was 21st in 21:07, and Ella Campbell finished 25th in 21:21.
“Trinity ran very well after the week off at conference, making a couple of late passes,” Cogdill said. “Sammi was with her most of the race–she is nursing a rolled ankle from the CIML meet and pushing off was uncomfortable at times, but she was much improved over the past week. Those two played a big role in determining the third-place team. Finish 10-15 seconds faster and they bump Norwalk back, and finish 10-15 seconds slower and Des Moines Roosevelt moves up. Both scenarios would have led to Roosevelt taking the last team qualifying spot away from Norwalk, a margin that was decided by just two points.”
Centennial had won four consecutive regional titles since placing second at the 2020 meet, but Blevins said the Jaguars weren’t disappointed by the loss to Dallas Center-Grimes.
“We are happy that both our boys’ and girls’ teams made it into state!” she said. “We have our sights set on state, because that’s the finish line that matters the most. We grew as a team today. Our younger girls are learning that they have what it takes to be a great team, even on bad days!”
Kuma Gutema of Sioux City North won the boys’ race in 15:50. Teegan Kralik of Norwalk was the runner-up in 16:06.
Centennial was led by Cohen Moll, who placed fourth in a time of 16:18.
“I think I ran a decent race, but personally I would’ve liked to be farther up with DCG and Norwalk’s top guys,” said Moll. “But I did my job when it came to scoring good points for the team.”
Moll was followed closely by teammate Jax Alvarez, who placed sixth in 16:27.
“It’s great to have the consistency up front with Cohen and Jax,” Fickbohm said.
Ian Smith placed 11th for the Jaguars in 16:52, and Brecken Allen took 12th in 16:53. Davis Johnson returned to the team’s lineup after missing the conference meet and finished 24th in 17:39.
“Davis lost his shoe at the beginning of the race,” Fickbohm said. “He stopped to put it on and made up ground probably too quickly and then paid for it a little bit on the back end of the race, but he still had a good race. The other four guys had another solid race. It was really nice to see Ian step up, and Brecken keeps racing better.”
Levi Odson placed 27th for the Jaguars in 18:00. Jack Behrens finished 46th in 19:16.
“We definitely came into the meet aiming for a team title, but not everyone had their best race which cost us important points,” Moll said. “Despite this, I still think we have a shot at making a statement at the state meet if we sharpen up and all run fully healthy like we have before.”
The two-day state meet will be held at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The Class 4A girls’ race will be held on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 10:30 a.m., with the boys’ race to follow at 11:15.
Senior Kylee Patterson is expected to be back in the Centennial girls’ lineup.
“We strategically sat her on Wednesday as part of a plan she and I developed back in June to ensure she can be her best at the end,” Cogdill said.
The Jaguars are seeking their first podium finish since 2020, when they placed third for the highest finish in school history.
“We are reminding the girls that we were not fresh for this race as we did some very high quality work in the five days leading up to the race,” Cogdill said. “Fort Dodge awaits, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to race another week as we test our limits with the best of Iowa one more time!”
The Centennial boys’ team could also achieve its highest finish ever. The Jaguars placed ninth in 2020.