Can the Ankeny Centennial boys’ cross country team keep the positive momentum going from last year’s state meet?
That’s the question facing the Jaguars heading into the 2026 season.
Last year, coach Chad Fickbohm’s squad peaked at the perfect time. After dropping to 12th in the final Class 4A rankings from the Iowa Association of Track Coaches following a third-place finish in a state qualifying meet, Centennial was not expected to contend for a podium finish–but somebody forgot to tell the Jaguars.
Centennial relied on its depth to place third with 157 points, by far the highest finish in school history. The previous best was a ninth-place finish in 2020.
The Jaguars edged Cedar Rapids Prairie by seven points for the third-place trophy and a coveted spot on the awards podium.
“The guys were excited after the state meet,” said Fickbohm, whose team didn’t even qualify for state in 2024. “I think we saw a continuation of the dedication to the program especially at the lower levels. I think seeing what the team did last year and what the guys accomplished during the track season has got the guys excited for their futures.”
Duplicating that success, however, won’t be easy.
Four of the team’s seven runners who competed at state graduated last spring, including Cohen Moll. Moll earned a spot on the awards podium as an individual by placing 14th in a time of 15 minutes 45.5 seconds.
Seniors Jax Alvarez, Brecken Allen and Levi Odson are back this season. That trio also helped Centennial to a fourth-place finish at last year’s CIML Conference meet, its highest finish ever.
Those three are among the 55 boys on the roster.
“The practices have been going well now that the weather has kind of settled down,” said Fickbohm, whose team is 11th in the Class 4A preseason rankings. “Our workout groups are handling everything–working together and staying in their packs.”
Alvarez and Allen both earned all-conference honors a year ago. Alvarez placed eighth on the course at Johnston High School in 16:00, while Allen finished 12th in 16:12.
Alvarez had four top-10 finishes as a junior, including a sixth-place finish in the state qualifying meet at Council Bluffs. He then placed 28th at the state meet in 16:02.4.
After teaming up with Moll to form a front-running duo last season, Alvarez will now be expected to lead the Jaguars’ pack. He is 12th in the preseason individual rankings.
“Jax gained a lot of confidence through his improvements not only in cross country but in track last year,” Fickbohm said. “He is ready to get racing.”
Allen was also one of Centennial’s scoring runners at the state meet. He finished 77th in 16:39.4.
Allen is coming off an outstanding spring as a dual-sport athlete. He helped Centennial to a 17th-place finish in Class 4A at the boys’ state track meet, where he ran on three different relays that earned top-eight finishes.
Allen ran on both the Jaguars’ fifth-place distance medley and seventh-place 4×400 relays. He joined Alvarez on the third-place 4×800 relay that set a school record with a time of 7:43.17.
Allen was also a key player for the Centennial boys’ soccer team, which earned a runner-up finish in Class 4A.
“We are ready for Brecken to take a big step forward,” Fickbohm said. “He is much more confident with the workouts, and we can’t wait to see what he does this year.”
Odson will also be counted upon heavily. He placed 124th at the state meet in 17:40.2.
“All of the varsity guys have set the goal of getting back to state and finishing in the top 10,” Fickbohm said. “We have guys that are ready to round out the varsity spots. Everyone’s excited to get racing and just get better throughout the season.”
Centennial will open the season on Tuesday by hosting the Jaguar Invitational at DMACC. The Jaguars will try to defend the title they won a year ago, when they scored 49 points.