Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

Andrew Kruzich

‘We had a fun time’: Ankeny, Centennial girls shine at first Jaguar Invite

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The championship season begins next week for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial girls' track teams. Both squads appear to be on target to peak at the end of the season. The Hawkettes placed second in the Jaguar Invitational on Thursday at Ankeny. They finished with 142 points. "We feel we are going to be very competitive in a wide range of events as … [Read more...] about ‘We had a fun time’: Ankeny, Centennial girls shine at first Jaguar Invite

‘It was great to be back at the Relays’: Centennial girls medal in 3 events

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With the high school portion of the Drake Relays condensed into one day, the Ankeny Centennial girls' track team was forced to make some tough choices on Thursday. Two of the Jaguars' top individual qualifiers--Kathryn Vortherms in the 400 and Rondi Quass in the 3,000--decided to skip those races in order to focus on other events. And the strategy paid … [Read more...] about ‘It was great to be back at the Relays’: Centennial girls medal in 3 events

‘We basically ignored team scores’: Jags, Hawkettes focus on Drake qualifying

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Thursday's Chuck Silvey Invitational at Urbandale provided one last opportunity for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial girls' track teams to qualify some events for the Drake Relays. It produced some mixed results. In the end, though, both Ankeny coach Thomas Cotter and Centennial coach Andrew Kruzich were mostly happy with the outcomes. "Our focus … [Read more...] about ‘We basically ignored team scores’: Jags, Hawkettes focus on Drake qualifying

Blimpie Sub of the Week: Morgan Severseike, Centennial girls’ track

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Senior Morgan Severseike is a sprinter on the Ankeny Centennial girls' track squad. She is also on the Jaguars' leadership team. On the track, Severseike has played a valuable role in various relay events. "At Johnston, we had a last-minute quarantine of a girl in the 4x200," said Centennial coach Andrew Kruzich. "We had to shuffle our lineup, and … [Read more...] about Blimpie Sub of the Week: Morgan Severseike, Centennial girls’ track

Ankeny, Centennial teams combine for 8 victories at Jim Duncan Invitational

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All four of the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial track teams came away with victories in the Jim Duncan Invitational on Saturday at Drake Stadium. The Ankeny girls' and Centennial boys' squads each won three events. The Ankeny boys' and Centennial girls' teams each had one first-place finish. Many of the athletes will be back at Drake Stadium on April 22 … [Read more...] about Ankeny, Centennial teams combine for 8 victories at Jim Duncan Invitational

Centennial girls stress ‘positivity’, earn runner-up finish at Oldham Invite

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The theme this week for the Ankeny Centennial girls' track team is positivity. Tuesday's windy conditions provided a huge test for the Jaguars' mental toughness, but they were up to the challenge. Centennial placed second among seven teams in the Oldham Invitational at Johnston with 119 points. Waukee easily won the meet with 171 points. "It was a … [Read more...] about Centennial girls stress ‘positivity’, earn runner-up finish at Oldham Invite

McMahon sets school record in 1,500, leads Ankeny girls to Hawkette crown

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It's been a few years since the Ankeny girls' track team won its own Hawkette Invitational. The Hawkettes put an end to that drought with a dominating performance on Thursday. Ankeny captured eight events and easily won the team title with 178.75 points. The Hawkettes last won their home meet in 2017, when Dennis Adamson was the team's coach. "It … [Read more...] about McMahon sets school record in 1,500, leads Ankeny girls to Hawkette crown

Vortherms enjoys ‘huge day’, leads Jaguars to runner-up finish at Iowa City

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Kathryn Vortherms will continue her track career at the University of Iowa next year. On Saturday, Vortherms traveled to the city of her future home and showed why the Hawkeyes offered her a scholarship. Competing in the Sherwood Relays at Iowa City High, Vortherms anchored Centennial's 4x800 relay to a victory in school-record time. She later placed … [Read more...] about Vortherms enjoys ‘huge day’, leads Jaguars to runner-up finish at Iowa City

Jaguars move outdoors for first time, win 7 events at Johnston Quadrangular

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Andrew Kruzich knows a lot more about his Ankeny Centennial girls' track team than he did 24 hours ago. The Jaguars opened their outdoor season on Thursday by competing in the Johnston Quadrangular. They dominated some events and also performed very well in many others. "We had a good night," Kruzich said. "It was great to get outdoors and have a meet … [Read more...] about Jaguars move outdoors for first time, win 7 events at Johnston Quadrangular

Quass places 2nd in 800 at Central Indoor Meet, ties school record

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Ankeny Centennial's Rondi Quass has picked up right where she left off during the cross country season. Quass, a sophomore and one of the state's top distance runners, led the Jaguars to a third-place finish in the Class 4A state meet last fall. She placed 14th in a time of 18:54.4. On Saturday, Quass showed that she's ready for the outdoor track … [Read more...] about Quass places 2nd in 800 at Central Indoor Meet, ties school record

‘It’s been a long year without track”: Jags return 7 state qualifiers from 2019

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Like many of the coaches in the spring sports, Andrew Kruzich has yet to set any goals for his Ankeny Centennial girls' track team. He's just happy to be back at practice with the Jaguars. "We haven't set particular goals yet--we just don't know enough about our team, or the rest of the state for that matter," said Kruzich. "We're just happy to be … [Read more...] about ‘It’s been a long year without track”: Jags return 7 state qualifiers from 2019

‘His passing is a tragic loss’: Osborn motivated young people to be their best

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The loss of former Ankeny High School teacher, coach and administrator Scott Osborn has resonated throughout the entire community. Osborn passed away on Saturday after a three-year battle with ALS. He was 72 years old. "His passing is a tragic loss to all who knew him," said former Ankeny athletic director Fred Smith. During a 39-year career in the … [Read more...] about ‘His passing is a tragic loss’: Osborn motivated young people to be their best

‘Some things we can’t control’: Athletes, coaches react to cancellation of sports

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Katie Petersen got together with some of her Ankeny Centennial teammates on Thursday night to continue preparing for what she thought would be her final high school track season. "I was just at the track with a few friends, and we were talking about our new meet schedules and who was going to be on our shuttle (hurdle relay)," said Petersen, one of the … [Read more...] about ‘Some things we can’t control’: Athletes, coaches react to cancellation of sports

Updated schedule provides glimmer of hope for spring sport athletes, coaches

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A glimmer of hope arrived earlier this week for Will Blevins, Jaci Webb and the rest of the spring sport athletes throughout the state of Iowa. On Monday, an updated schedule for spring sports was released in a joint statement from the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association. All spring activities had … [Read more...] about Updated schedule provides glimmer of hope for spring sport athletes, coaches

‘The great ones adapt’: Spring sports athletes, coaches dealing with COVID-19

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Ashley Harrington found out during her spring break trip to the Dominican Republic that her final soccer season at Ankeny High School could be in jeopardy. "I didn't truly realize this pandemic could affect the season until I got an email from (coach) Simon (Brown) regarding the IGHSAU restrictions," Harrington said. "I'm not currently in the U.S. so I … [Read more...] about ‘The great ones adapt’: Spring sports athletes, coaches dealing with COVID-19

Four-time medalist Petersen leads Centennial girls to highest finish ever

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The final day of the coed state track meet could not have gone much better for the Ankeny Centennial girls' squad. The Jaguars scored points in three more events and finished in a tie for 12th place in Class 4A with Ankeny and Johnston. All three squads finished with 22 points. It was Centennial's highest finish in school history, eclipsing a tie for … [Read more...] about Four-time medalist Petersen leads Centennial girls to highest finish ever

Centennial girls capture regional crown; Ankeny edges Ames for 2nd place

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Ankeny Centennial girls' track coach Andrew Kruzich was proud of his team's victory in Friday's Class 4A regional meet at Fort Dodge. But he was also delighted about Ankeny's performance. "I couldn't be prouder of our town," said Kruzich. "Ankeny was neck-and-neck with us the whole way. They really had a great meet." Centennial captured the team … [Read more...] about Centennial girls capture regional crown; Ankeny edges Ames for 2nd place

Scoring error gets corrected; Hawkettes, Jaguars finish in 3rd-place tie

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There isn't much separation between the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial girls' track teams. The two rivals have taken turns defeating each other this season, and on Thursday the Hawkettes and Jaguars battled down to the wire for third place in the CIML Central Conference meet at Ankeny. In the final event of the night, Ankeny placed fourth in the 4x400 … [Read more...] about Scoring error gets corrected; Hawkettes, Jaguars finish in 3rd-place tie

Jaguars lose Drake Relays medals after being DQ’d in shuttle hurdle relay

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After posting a clocking of 1:05.52 in the preliminaries of the shuttle hurdle relay at the Drake Relays on Saturday morning, the Ankeny Centennial girls' squad advanced to the final with the fastest qualifying time. "We were really happy with how prelims went and were kind of excited to see what would happen in the finals," said leadoff runner Katie … [Read more...] about Jaguars lose Drake Relays medals after being DQ’d in shuttle hurdle relay