Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

Fall

‘The campus felt like a great fit’: Clark verbally commits to play for Panthers

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It's been a good weekend for Ankeny senior defensive back La'Marious Clark. On Friday, he made three tackles while helping the fifth-ranked Hawks to a 34-26 victory over No. 3 Valley in a top-five showdown at Ankeny Stadium. Then, on Sunday, he announced his verbal commitment to play football for the University of Northern Iowa. "I checked out a few … [Read more...] about ‘The campus felt like a great fit’: Clark verbally commits to play for Panthers

‘We earned it’: Hawks overcome 2 costly mistakes to knock off No. 3 Valley, 34-26

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Entering Friday's showdown at Ankeny Stadium, the third-ranked Valley football team had allowed a total of just seven points in its previous three games. But the Tigers had not faced an opponent during that stretch with as many offensive weapons as No. 5 Ankeny. Kael Roush passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns while Daniel Larmie ran for 136 yards … [Read more...] about ‘We earned it’: Hawks overcome 2 costly mistakes to knock off No. 3 Valley, 34-26

‘It was a good night for us’: Jaguars place 4th, earn highest finish ever at CIML meet

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It's already been a successful fall for the Ankeny Centennial boys' cross country team. Wednesday's CIML Conference meet at Johnston was just another sign of the Jaguars' progress this season. Ninth-ranked Centennial placed fourth in the nine-team field with 105 points. The Jaguars had finished eighth, seventh and sixth in the previous CIML meets since … [Read more...] about ‘It was a good night for us’: Jaguars place 4th, earn highest finish ever at CIML meet

‘It was another great day for racing’: Jags place 3rd, Ankeny takes 7th at CIML meet

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The Ankeny Centennial girls' cross country team was hoping to win its first CIML Conference title since 2022, which was also the last time the meet was held at Johnston. After placing second behind Johnston in each of the last two years, the third-ranked Jaguars raced to a third-place finish on Wednesday. They finished with 67 points. No. 2 Waukee … [Read more...] about ‘It was another great day for racing’: Jags place 3rd, Ankeny takes 7th at CIML meet

‘It was just to have fun’: Seniors race their coaches following victory over S.E. Polk

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Madi Trosper anchored the final relay of the night on behalf of the Ankeny girls' swimming team, and it came down to a photo finish on Tuesday at Trail Point Aquatics Center. But by that point, seventh-ranked Ankeny had already defeated No. 17 Southeast Polk, 136-50, for its first CIML Conference victory of the … [Read more...] about ‘It was just to have fun’: Seniors race their coaches following victory over S.E. Polk

‘That sealed the deal’: Northern St. lands Ankeny’s Brandhorst after game day visit

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The Northern State University football program has landed a verbal commitment from Ankeny's leading receiver. Senior Andrew Brandhorst has committed to play for the Wolves, an NCAA Division II program located in Aberdeen, S.D. "I looked at a lot of schools, but it wasn’t necessarily a tough decision," said Brandhorst. "Coach (Kyle) Weisman, the … [Read more...] about ‘That sealed the deal’: Northern St. lands Ankeny’s Brandhorst after game day visit

‘It was a complete team effort’: Hawkettes cruise past Urbandale on Senior Night

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The Ankeny volleyball team celebrated its Senior Night on Tuesday with a convincing sweep. The sixth-ranked Hawkettes closed out the regular season by cruising to a 25-8, 25-16, 25-5 victory over visiting Urbandale. "It was a fantastic night to celebrate our seniors against an opponent we are familiar with," said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke, who coached … [Read more...] about ‘It was a complete team effort’: Hawkettes cruise past Urbandale on Senior Night

Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Maggie Blackmore, Ankeny girls’ swimming

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Ankeny sophomore Maggie Blackmore earned a pair of top-eight individual finishes in the Johnston Invitational girls' swimming meet on Saturday, helping her team to a fifth-place finish overall. She placed seventh in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:03.67 and finished sixth in the 100 freestyle in 57.69 seconds. Blackmore anchored Ankeny to a third-place … [Read more...] about Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Maggie Blackmore, Ankeny girls’ swimming

‘It was exactly what we needed’: Hawkette spikers finish 3-0 at Ankeny Quadrangular

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The Ankeny volleyball team defeated one ranked opponent and outlasted two other foes in three sets to finish a perfect 3-0 in the Ankeny Quadrangular on Saturday. The sixth-ranked Hawkettes posted a 25-14, 25-19 win over Norwalk, the No. 5 team in Class 4A. They defeated Omaha (Neb.) Westside by scores of 25-18, 23-25, 15-13 and rallied for a 21-25, … [Read more...] about ‘It was exactly what we needed’: Hawkette spikers finish 3-0 at Ankeny Quadrangular

Villhauer posts automatic state qualifying time in 100 butterfly at Johnston Invite

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Ankeny sophomore Charlie Villhauer punched her ticket to the girls' state swimming meet with a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly on Saturday in the Johnston Invitational at Summit Middle School. Villhauer posted an automatic state qualifying time of 59.48 seconds, dropping more than 2 seconds off her previous season-best of 1:01.54. She had been … [Read more...] about Villhauer posts automatic state qualifying time in 100 butterfly at Johnston Invite

‘We needed a game like this’: Hawks rout Little Cyclones in tune-up for No. 4 Valley

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Ankeny football coach Jeff Bauer just wanted to see his squad execute and handle business coming off the Hawks' loss to Johnston in a top-five showdown a week ago. And by the end of the first quarter on Friday in Ames, the Hawks were already pushing for a running clock. Seventh-ranked Ankeny got the bounce-back win and a … [Read more...] about ‘We needed a game like this’: Hawks rout Little Cyclones in tune-up for No. 4 Valley

Centennial girls place 2nd at Fort Dodge; Hawkettes finish 11th behind Madetzke

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Many of the girls' cross country teams competing in the Fort Dodge Invitational on Thursday will likely be back at Lakeside Golf Course on Nov. 1 for the Class 4A state meet. It provided a good test run for the fourth-ranked Ankeny Centennial squad, which placed second among 25 teams with 90 points. No. 3 Waukee Northwest captured the team title with 57 … [Read more...] about Centennial girls place 2nd at Fort Dodge; Hawkettes finish 11th behind Madetzke

Centennial boys place 4th, Hawks take 12th in state meet preview at Fort Dodge

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Thursday's Fort Dodge Invitational offered a little bit of a preview of next month's state cross country meet, which will also be held at Lakeside Golf Course. Both the Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny boys' teams are hoping to be back in Fort Dodge on Nov. 1. And Thursday's meet was another step forward in potentially meeting that goal. The eighth-ranked … [Read more...] about Centennial boys place 4th, Hawks take 12th in state meet preview at Fort Dodge

Ankeny swimmers top Newton, Roosevelt, Indianola to win Ankeny Quadrangular

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The Ankeny girls' swimming team cruised to a first-place finish in the Ankeny Quadrangular on Thursday at Trail Point Aquatics Center. The seventh-ranked Hawkettes racked up 648 points while raising their overall record to 7-6 on the season. No. 24 Newton was second with 496 points, followed by Des Moines Roosevelt with 424 and Indianola with 323. "It … [Read more...] about Ankeny swimmers top Newton, Roosevelt, Indianola to win Ankeny Quadrangular

Regional volleyball pairings announced: Jags, Hawkettes, Eagles to start at home

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The regional volleyball pairings were announced on Thursday by the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union. As expected, both Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny earned No. 1 seeds in Class 5A, meaning that the Jaguars and Hawkettes will only have to win two matches--both of them at home--to advance to the state tournament in Coralville. Second-ranked … [Read more...] about Regional volleyball pairings announced: Jags, Hawkettes, Eagles to start at home

No. 1 Wolves sweep Ankeny for their 15th straight win, clinch share of CIML crown

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The Ankeny volleyball team put together a few brief runs against top-ranked Waukee Northwest on Tuesday. It's difficult, though, to sustain any kind of momentum against the powerful Wolves--who boast four Division I recruits. Northwest eventually pulled away in each set to post a 25-19, 25-18, 25-16 victory at No. 4 Ankeny, allowing the Wolves to … [Read more...] about No. 1 Wolves sweep Ankeny for their 15th straight win, clinch share of CIML crown

‘We had fun with it’: Swimmers begin busy week with 132-54 loss to No. 1 Dowling

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There wasn't much pressure Tuesday on the Ankeny girls' swimming team. So coach Dustin Rhoads and his swimmers decided to have some fun in their home dual meet against top-ranked Dowling Catholic. "It was good to be back home competing. We enjoyed hosting Dowling," Rhoads said after his No. 7 squad dropped a 132-54 decision at Trail Point Aquatics … [Read more...] about ‘We had fun with it’: Swimmers begin busy week with 132-54 loss to No. 1 Dowling