The second-ranked Ankeny Christian Academy boys’ cross country team easily won a Class 1A state qualifying meet on Wednesday at South Hamilton.
The Eagles placed four runners in the top 10 and finished with 35 points. No. 19 Ogden was a distant second with 75 points.
Ninth-ranked Ethan Benton led the way for ACA. He won the 5k race with a time of 16 minutes 45 seconds, finishing 4 seconds ahead of No. 21 Myles Tromblay of Ogden.
No. 13 Zachary Gardner placed third for the Eagles in 17:02. No. 23 Matt Heisterkamp took sixth in 17:20, Charl McLaughlin placed eighth in 17:37, Drew Blakeslee was 20th in 18:48, Elijah Crawford placed 52nd in 20:58, and Caleb Johnson finished 55th in 21:07.
The ACA girls’ squad finished its season with an eighth-place finish, scoring 186 points. Aubrey Wadi was the top finisher for the Eagles, placing 37th in 24:57.
The state meet will be held on Oct. 30 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The Class 1A boys’ race is slated for an 11:15 a.m. start.