The 21st Heartland Classic cross country meet was contested Saturday on a course in Pella that provided some huge challenges for the hundreds of runners.
Heavy rains over the last week turned the Central College course into a muddy mess.
“These were some incredibly tough conditions,” said Ankeny girls’ coach Josh Einertson. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a muddier course! We pretty much threw times out the window and told the girls to just go out, race, and have fun. I told them before the race that they may never get the chance to race in conditions like that again, so embrace the experience and enjoy getting to compete in a true cross country race.”
The Hawkettes placed 14th in a field of 20 teams. They finished with 391 points.
“We had girls slipping and falling throughout the race, but they got right back up and kept competing,” Einertson said. “I was really proud of the effort and toughness they showed.”
Both Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial competed in the boys’ division. The 19th-ranked Hawks placed sixth in a field of 28 squads with 196 points.
“This is the kind of meet that these guys will remember forever,” said Ankeny boys’ coach Jon Lindaman. “It was a nasty, sloppy mess, but I think they had a blast. Between the heat and rain it has been hard to have fast times this year, and our guys have really embraced the idea of competing.”
The No. 12 Jaguars, meanwhile, took 10th with 271 points. The team’s top two runners, eighth-ranked Jax Alvarez and No. 22 Brecken Allen, both fell multiple times–and Alvarez did not finish the race.
“It was a huge race in conditions that the guys have never competed in,” said Centennial boys’ coach Chad Fickbohm. “It was a tough race, but it’s one for the memory books. We will learn from it and have better races going forward.”
No. 7 Dallas Center-Grimes captured the boys’ crown with 86 points. No. 6 Pleasant Valley was the runner-up with 116, followed by No. 3 Waukee with 140.
Tenth-ranked Cole Carrizales of Cedar Rapids Prairie won the 5k race with a time of 16 minutes 56 seconds. He finished 21 seconds ahead of No. 12 Noah Kerndt of Dallas Center-Grimes.
No. 16 Gus Brown of Ankeny earned a top-10 finish in a field of 587 runners. He placed eighth in 17:36.
“Gus continues to chip away at the competition, and this latest performance should rank him near the top 10 in the state, which is pretty remarkable for a sophomore,” Lindaman said. “He knows there is more work to be done.”
Levi Odson was the top finisher for Centennial. He placed 33rd in 18:29.
Benton Schuchart placed 40th for the Hawks. He was clocked in 18:34.
Ankeny’s Cody Banks and Jackson Schulz both posted times of 18:44, placing 46th and 47th, respectively. Isaiah Swanson took 60th in 19:01, Elijah Thompson was 65th in 19:05, and Tryce Riesberg finished 81st in 19:22.
“Our guys had a really nice meet, but I don’t think our team has put together a complete race yet,” Lindaman said. “Our regulars all did their part, and it was really cool to see a freshman (Riesberg) crack our top seven.”
Allen placed 42nd for the Jaguars in 18:36. Roman Fye took 49th in 18:47, Noah Schneden was 74th in 19:15, Brock Fiala placed 88th in 19:26, Ben Nelson was 110th in 19:48, and Maxwell Curnyn finished 118th in 19:55.
“We know we can put a good team together,” Fickbohm said. “We just haven’t had everyone race well on the same day, but we are confident we will.”
In the girls’ division, No. 2 Waukee Northwest posted a score of 66 points to defend its title. Pella, the No. 1 team in Class 3A, placed second with 74 points.
Two of the top three runners in Class 4A pulled away from the field and battled to the wire before No. 2 Emmy Stubbendeck of Northwest earned the victory, crossing the finish line in 19:06.4. No. 3 Tenley Heidgerken of Dallas Center-Grimes took second in 19:07.1.
Mia Heim placed 46th in a field of 374 runners to lead the Hawkettes. She was clocked in 21:42.
Vanessa Wise took 84th in 22:53. Maria Owen placed 90th in 23:00, Piper Conklin was 106th in 23:39, Isabella Sullivan was 145th in 24:39, Gillian Schramm took 156th in 24:47, and Clara Huber finished 177th in 25:37.
“Our young group continues to get valuable racing experience, and some of our upperclassmen have been getting some valuable varsity experience too,” Einertson said. “We were missing our No. 2 runner (Aubrey Young), which definitely hurt us a little bit, but overall I was really proud of the mindset our girls had going into the race and the way they competed in some really tough conditions. They embraced what the day gave them, had fun with it, and just went out and raced!”
The Centennial will boys’ team will compete in the Indianola Invitational on Thursday at Pickard Park. Both Ankeny squads will be off this week before heading to the Southeast Polk Invitational on Oct. 1.
