The Ankeny Christian Academy boys’ cross country team earned a third-place trophy in the Class 1A state meet for the second consecutive year.
This time, the Eagles nearly captured their first state championship.
Third-ranked ACA led the team race through the first and second miles before coming up just short in the end on Friday morning at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The Eagles scored 129 points, finishing just two points behind No. 1 Riverside Oakland and No. 2 Earlham.
Riverside Oakland defended its title on a tiebreaker. The Bulldogs’ No. 6 runner finished ahead of Earlham’s.
ACA had scored 124 points at last year’s meet, but finished 70 points behind Riverside Oakland.
Zachary Gardner was the Eagles’ top finisher, earning a spot on the awards podium as an individual. The senior placed eighth in the 5k race with a time of 16 minutes 37.3 seconds.
Gardner, who was ranked 13th going into the race, was in 15th place after the opening mile. He then ran the second mile in 5:18.3 to move up to ninth place.
Gardner eventually moved up another spot and crossed the finish line 1 second ahead of Cruz Jacquez, Riverside Oakland’s top finisher.
Sophomore Ethan Benton took 19th for ACA in a time of 16:52.1. Junior Matthew Heisterkamp took 35th in 17:21.9, senior Charlie McLaughlin was 37th in 17:24.8, and senior Drew Blakeslee finished 85th in 18:14.2.
Blakeslee was the Eagles’ fifth scoring runner. He was in 97th place after the second mile, then moved up 12 spots the rest of the way.
ACA junior Elijah Crawford placed 144th in 20:47.9. Junior Caleb Johnson finished 146th in 20:59.7.
Top-ranked Haven Weers of Tri-Center Neola pulled away from the field in the second mile to win the race in a time of 15:57.4. No. 3 Hugh Conway of South Winneshiek, the defending champion, was the runner-up in 16:13.2.
ACA held the lead with 125 points after the opening mile. The Eagles still led with 130 points after the second mile, but Riverside Oakland (133) and Earlham (134) closed the gap considerably, turning it into a three-team sprint to the finish.
The Bulldogs’ top three runners went on to score a total of 36 points, allowing them to offset a 94th-place finish by their No. 5 runner, Nolan Burbridge. Burbridge, who scored 61 points, finished about 10 seconds behind Blakeslee, ACA’s No. 5 runner.
The Eagles had two runners finish ahead of Earlham’s top finisher, Dawson Braet, who placed 21st. But the Cardinals’ depth paid off–their top five runners all scored between 16 and 38 points.