(EDITOR’S NOTE: Some photos will be added to this story later.)
The Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial boys’ cross country teams finally got a chance to compete again on Thursday after being idle for nearly three weeks.
Fifteenth-ranked Centennial placed fifth among 26 squads in the Fort Dodge Invitational at Lakeside Golf Course, which will also host the state meet on Oct. 31. The Jaguars finished with 183 points.
“It’s been a challenge all season with the weather, altered practices and missed meets to stay focused on this part of the season,” said Centennial coach Chad Fickbohm. “I think with the change in the weather, some sun and nice temperatures, the guys were excited to race again.”
No. 14 Ankeny, meanwhile, placed ninth. The Hawks finished with 299 points.
“It was great to have some beautiful weather and a really nice course to run on,” said Ankeny coach Jon Lindaman. “The guys definitely came in hungry to compete. We saw a huge number of PRs throughout the team, which was really exciting, but many of the other teams racing also saw PRs as well so at the end of the day we have to continue to focus on being competitive and getting to the finish line before runners from other teams.”
No. 3 Dowling Catholic easily captured the team title with 53 points. No. 5 Johnston was the runner-up with 124.
No. 1 Kuma Gutema of Sioux City North pulled away from No. 3 Jack Crossland of Johnston to win the 5k race in a time of 15 minutes 4 seconds. Crossland was the runner-up in 15:14.
No. 5 Jax Alvarez of Centennial placed fifth in a time of 15:41. Although his teammates had not competed since the Heartland Classic on Sept. 19 at Central College, Alvarez was coming off a sixth-place finish in the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 25 at Columbia, Mo.
Gus Brown of Ankeny also earned a top-10 finish. He placed 10th in 15:47.
“It is a really big deal for Gus to have a top-10 finish at a race with this kind of competition,” Lindaman said. “He ran really well, but knows there are guys ahead of him he can compete with. His performance also earned him a top-10 spot on the all-time Ankeny cross country record board.”
Brecken Allen placed 30th for the Jaguars in 16:24. He was followed closely by teammates Roman Fye and Levi Odson, who took 35th in 16:27 and 40th in 16:29, respectively.
“That was a big confidence booster for Roman,” Fickbohm said.
Noah Schneden was Centennial’s fifth scoring runner, placing 75th in 16:57. Benjamin Nelson took 86th in 17:09, Bennett Welcher was 90th in 17:13, Ryder Nicoletto placed 95th in 17:15, Brock Fiala was 122nd in 17:38, and Maxwell Curnyn finished 133rd in 17:44.
“It was nice to have the full team competing in the same race and have solid performances across the board,” Fickbohm said. “And I feel like we’ve got more in us.”
Ankeny got a 51st-place finish from Cody Banks. He was clocked in 16:38.
“Cody made a big-time midrace surge en route to a massive PR for him,” Lindaman said.
Elijah Thompson placed 72nd for the Hawks in 16:56. Benton Schuchart took 82nd in 17:07, Isaiah Swanson placed 92nd in 17:14, Jackson Schulz was 101st in 17:19, Tryce Riesberg placed 102nd in 17:19, Lu Ray took 119th in 17:33, Jackson Walsh was 131st in 17:44, and Hunter Reis finished 139th in 17:53.
“Elijah and Tryce really stood out to me as being guys that are coming on and running with a ton of confidence,” Lindaman said. “I’m really proud of the way those guys raced.”
Both Ankeny and Centennial will compete in the CIML Conference meet on Wednesday at Southeast Polk. Johnston is the defending champion.