Jax Alvarez of Ankeny Centennial and Gus Brown of Ankeny didn’t put much pressure on themselves heading into Tuesday’s season-opening cross country meet.
The duo responded with a pair of boys’ victories in the Jaguar Early Bird Invitational at DMACC.
Alvarez, a senior, pulled away from the field to win the 11/12 race in a time of 15 minutes 53 seconds. He was also the overall winner, leading 11th-ranked Centennial to a runner-up finish in the six-team field.
“I wasn’t really too worried about it,” Alvarez said. “It’s the first meet of the year so I wasn’t too concerned about the time. We can see more.”
Brown, meanwhile, raced to a victory in the 9/10 race in 16:36. The sophomore placed fifth when the results of the two races were merged, leading the Hawks to a third-place finish overall.
“Throughout the school day, I think I felt a lot less nervous so it helped me to focus on the race a little bit more without school work on me or anything,” Brown said. “I really didn’t feel the nerves in my legs, which was good. I felt fresh going into the race, and I just had a good mindset.”
No. 4 Dallas Center-Grimes captured the overall crown with 35 points. Centennial finished with 57 points, while Ankeny and No. 17 Valley each scored 74.
The Hawks won a tiebreaker for third place because their No. 6 runner finished ahead of Valley’s. The meet was held under sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s.
“I was sweating pretty bad on this course,” Brown said. “The course itself was pretty good surface-wise. I thought they could have mowed it a little better, but it’s still a pretty good course.”
Centennial also placed second in the 11/12 division with 55 points. Alvarez and teammate Brecken Allen ran with a trio of Dallas Center-Grimes runners during the early part of the race before Alvarez surged to the lead.
“It was just a matter of when to do it,” Alvarez said. “Staying calm and just knowing when to turn a gear.”
Alvarez eventually finished about 12 seconds ahead of the Mustangs’ Noah Kerndt. Allen took fourth in the race and overall in 16:31.
“I felt pretty good, especially coming back since I’m only eight weeks into my training after nationals taking it slow,” Alvarez said. “I’m very happy with the results. I’ve got to give all the glory to God. Only by his power am I able to do this stuff.”
Centennial’s Levi Odson placed 11th in the 11/12 race in 17:04. Noah Schneden took 19th in 17:50, Shawn Harris was 20th in 17:51, and Maxwell Curnyn finished 22nd in 18:04.
Isaiah Swanson led Ankeny with an eighth-place finish in 16:59. He took ninth overall.
Benton Schuchart placed 15th for the Hawks in the 11/12 race in 17:26. Cody Banks took 16th in 17:27, Jackson Schulz was 18th in 17:49, and Elijah Thompson finished 24th in 18:14.
In the 9/10 division, Brown quickly took control of the race. He finished more than 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Rylan Heeren of Dallas Center-Grimes.
“I realistically didn’t think I’d get as many miles in this summer as I did,” Brown said. “I ran about 50, and I thought that was a big jump. But I didn’t really feel it, and I think that’s what prepared me as well as it did for the season.”
Jack Vonnahme added a fifth-place finish for the Hawks. He was clocked in 17:25.
Roman Fye placed third for the Jaguars. He posted a time of 17:13.
Both Ankeny and Centennial will compete in the Kirk Schmaltz Invitational on Sept. 3 at Ames.
