The Ankeny Centennial boys’ track team is tied for 13th place in Class 4A with six points after the opening day of the coed state track meet at Drake Stadium.
The Jaguars earned a third-place finish in the 4×800 relay on Thursday. The foursome of Jax Alvarez, Jackson Lewis, Brecken Allen and Cohen Moll set a school record with a time of 7:43.17.
Alvarez, Allen and Moll also ran on the third-place 4×800 relay at last month’s Drake Relays, where Centennial was clocked in 7:47.56.
“We just wanted to break our time at Drake, and we did that,” said Allen.
Cedar Falls got a strong anchor leg from Brennen Hoyer to win the race in 7:39.37, the ninth-fastest time in the U.S. this season. It was the eighth relay championship for the Tigers.
Waukee Northwest was the runner-up in 7:41.63. The Wolves recovered after Allen ran a strong third leg to briefly move his team into second.
“I’m glad I passed some people, but I just wish I had a stronger finish,” Allen said. “I think I could have done a little better–been a little closer (to the lead) and not get passed at the end.”
Ankeny also competed in that event. The quartet of Gideon Miller, Jackson Kaiser, Cody Banks and Caden McDowell placed 18th in a time of 8:11.97.
Bettendorf leads the Class 4A field with 21 points, two more than Cedar Falls. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is third with 14.
Two-time defending champion Ankeny did not score any points on Thursday, but the Hawks did advance to Saturday’s final in the shuttle hurdle relay. The team of Jack Romig, Hayden Carlson, Sam Madsen and Norman Ha posted the eighth-fastest qualifying time of 58.03 seconds.
“Our goal was to make it to the fast heat and try to put some pressure on the top teams,” said Madsen, who ran on last year’s state champion shuttle hurdle unit along with Carlson. “I feel like we still ran a decent time due to the circumstances–we hit a few hurdles.”
Cedar Rapids Kennedy was the top qualifier in 56.35. Ankeny will run against Waterloo West (57.25), Waukee (57.60) and Dallas Center-Grimes (57.98) on Saturday, when the Hawks will attempt to defend their title from the slow heat.
“That’s what we’re hoping for now,” Madsen said. “Just do our best in our last shuttle of the year and see where it goes.”
The Jaguars also competed in the shuttle hurdle relay. The squad of Gavin Matheny, Devin Boyle, Anders Peck and Nic Ryan placed 13th overall in 1:01.21.
Centennial’s Noah Ross advanced to Saturday’s final in the 100. He posted the fourth-fastest qualifying time of 10.85 seconds.
“I was just trying to get somewhere in the middle for the finals,” said Ross. “I’m in the mix, and that’s all I wanted.”
Deztin McMurrin of Waterloo West was the top qualifier in 10.65. He was followed by Kaiden Kunze of Norwalk (10.75) and Quintin Pollard of Sioux City East (10.83).
Kunze was the top qualifier in the 200 and later captured the title in the 400.
“I probably could have ran a little better,” Ross said. “My form broke down at the end, but I still got what I came here to do today. I have another chance, and that’s all that matters.”
Centennial’s Davis Johnson placed 13th in the 3,200 with a time of 9:17.52. Teammate Ian Smith finished 23rd in 9:43.30.
Bettendorf’s AJ Willey won the race in 8:49.65, breaking the Class 4A mark of 8:59.66 that was set by Ankeny’s Ethan Zuber in 2024. The race was so fast that the first four finishers moved into the top five on the state’s all-time list.
The Jaguars competed in one other event on Thursday. Camden Sherwood tied for 14th place in the high jump at 6 feet 1 inch.
After clearing the opening height of 5-11 on his first attempt, Sherwood needed two jumps to clear 6-1. He then missed all three of his tries at 6-3.
Waukee sophomore Ajak Malual won the event with a jump of 6-7. He cleared 7 feet at the Drake Relays.
