For the second year in a row, the Ankeny Christian Academy boys’ cross country team captured a trophy at the Class 1A state meet.
The third-ranked Eagles scored 124 points on Saturday to earn a third-place finish at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. It followed the team’s runner-up finish a year ago.
“It was a bittersweet day for sure,” said ACA coach Nate Davis. “It’s always fun to get to end the season in Fort Dodge, but with having three seniors, it was the last go-round for them and they will each be missed!”
The top four teams in the last Class 1A rankings finished at the top of the standings in that order. No. 1 Riverside Oakland claimed the crown with 54 points, while No. 2 Lake Mills was second with 69.
The Eagles finished 26 points ahead of No. 4 Earlham for the third-place trophy.
“The goals are the same for us for every meet,” Davis said. “We want to give God-pleasing efforts with God-pleasing attitudes. I was very proud of each of our men as I thought they did just that. We were grateful those efforts landed us on the deck again with a third-place team finish and the first individual medal winner in school history in Alex Davis. I’m incredibly thankful to have been a part of it!”
Alex Davis earned a spot on the awards podium as an individual with a top-15 finish. The senior placed 12th in the 5K race with a time of 16 minutes 41 seconds.
Two other Eagles also placed in the top 25. Zachary Gardner took 17th in 16:55, and Cayden Fry was 25th in 17:04.
Charlie McLaughlin placed 48th in 17:33, Ethan Benton took 66th in 17:49, Luke Reitsma was 80th in 18:04, and Matthew Heisterkamp finished 99th in 18:22.
Hugh Conway of South Winneshiek won the race in a time of 15:51. He finished 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Hayden Thompson of Lake Mills, who entered the meet as the No. 1 runner in Class 1A.
