The depth of its roster paid off on Thursday for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ track team.
The Jaguars won eight events and easily captured the team title in its own Jaguar Invitational at Northview Stadium. They racked up 178 points, 58 more than runner-up Dowling Catholic.
Centennial won two field events, both hurdles races and two distance races. The Jaguars also won a pair of relays.
“We were very excited with how our JV and varsity teams competed!” said Centennial coach Tyler Asbe. “I’ve been saying it all year, but we are very deep and these girls bring out the best in each other. We are getting strong efforts and results from sprints, distance, hurdles, throws and jumps. It is great to see such balance in our team. It was really fun to see JV and varsity both win team titles at the home meet.”
Defending champion Ankeny, meanwhile, placed fifth in the eight-team field. The Hawkettes scored 72 points.
“This week with the Tuesday meet (at Ames), practice (Wednesday) and tonight’s meet we wanted to simulate the state track meet so we could work on our recovery plans,” said Ankeny coach TJ Jumper. “We also wanted to be able to execute and have mental toughness at the end of three days. So we were very intentional with where we placed some of our varsity athletes. We are very focused on the process and what it takes to be highly successful.”
Centennial freshman Rebecca Flick won the 800 in a time of 2:14.10, which broke the school record and was the second-fastest time in Iowa this season. She met the Blue Oval standard on the final night of qualifying for the Drake Relays.
“Becci has had such a great freshman season already and impacts our team in a lot of ways,” Asbe said. “She has come in and just immediately shown high-level ability and does it all while balancing being a strong soccer player as well. We are excited to see what she can do as we approach the championship part of the season.”
Teammate Ellie Blevins took the 1,500 in 4:39.87. She also met the Blue Oval standard while posting the state’s fourth-fastest time.
“Ellie has been improving every week and is trending in a great direction heading into Drake Relays and the last month of the season,” Asbe said.
Anna Woods won the 100 hurdles in 15.09 seconds. Ava Barten captured the 400 hurdles in 1:05.10.
Woods nearly won the high jump as well. Both Ayak Akol of Ames and Woods cleared the bar at 5 feet 3.75 inches, but Akol earned the victory based on fewer misses.
The Jaguars got a win in the long jump from Teagan Jackson. She recorded a leap of 17 feet 1.5 inches.
Bella Anderson took the discus with a throw of 120-7. Ankeny’s Maliya Cobb was second in that event with a toss of 117-7.
Woods anchored Centennial to a victory in the 4×100 relay. She teamed up with Taylor Gilbreaith, Aly Balashaitis and Bella Buesch to post a time of 49.57 seconds, which ranks No. 8 in Iowa this year.
The Jaguars also won the distance medley relay in 4:25.05. The team of Morgan Erwin, Jaeden Jackson, Sophia Royster and Sammi Maile posted the ninth-fastest time in the state.
Ankeny’s Makenna Madetzke easily won the 3,000 in 10:14.13. She posted the No. 8 time in Iowa.
“I was happy to come out and PR today,” said Madetzke. “I was hoping for a little faster time, but with the heat and the solo effort, I’m proud of it. We’ve been going through the wind and the cold, and then today and Tuesday we got some heat.”
The Hawkettes also got a victory in the 100 from Morgan Fisher, who was clocked in 12.66 seconds. Teammate Lena Bruening was the runner-up in 12.70.
Bruening also placed third in the high jump at 5-0.
“We were happy with how our girls competed, and we were also happy with how the team supported each other,” Jumper said. “It was a great night of track and field after having such bad weather and so many meets cancelled.”
The meet ended with a fantastic race in the 4×400 relay. The top four teams all broke the 4-minute mark, posting four of the state’s five fastest times this season.
While Cedar Rapids Prairie won the race in a time of 3:56.86, the Jaguars outdueled Ankeny for second place. The Centennial foursome of Barten, Buesch, Teagan Jackson and Flick was clocked in 3:58.10.
The Ankeny team of Bruening, Gillian Schramm, Isabel Squires and Fisher took third in 3:58.19. Schramm earlier placed fourth in both the 200 (27.74) and 400 (1:00.56).
“Gillian was just off her all-time PR in the 400,” Jumper said.
Gwyn Christensen placed second for the Hawkettes in the shot put. She recorded a toss of 35-10.75.
Freshman Emmy Hutchins threw 38-11 in the event, which puts her No. 4 on the school’s all-time list.
Balashaitis took second for the Jaguars in the 400 in 57.94, which set a school record. Gilbreaith placed third in the 100 hurdles in 17.07.
“Aly has had this record in her sights for awhile now,” Asbe said. “She is a very selfless team-focused athlete so usually does a lot of relays or is working out through other meets, but we gave her a chance to run a fresh open 400 and she absolutely crushed it. She is so deserving of this accolade with all she has done for our program.”
Both teams will compete in the Larry Weier Invitational on Monday at Dowling Catholic.
