Two marquee events took place in Iowa high school softball this past Friday and Saturday in Fort Dodge and Waukee.

The Fort Dodge Invitational featured over a dozen ranked teams from Class 5A down to Class 1A, as Ankeny Centennial came out on top. The invite was held on the grounds of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Tournament, which will take place this July in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

In the finals, the Jaguars, who are ranked second in the High School On SI Iowa State Top 25 Rankings and No. 2 in the Class 5A rankings by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, topped Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 9-3.

Ankeny Centennial’s lineup, which features numerous NCAA Division I commits, got a home run from Mady Ott and two hits from Jordyn Kennedy. Ott is headed to Drake and Kennedy, who is chasing the state’s career home run record, will play at Minnesota.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second before the Jaguars answered with two in the bottom half. Ankeny Centennial scored three in the fourth, two in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

Dodgers Place Third At Loaded Fort Dodge Invitational

Fort Dodge, the host for the event under head coach Andi Adams, bested defending Class 3A state champion Williamsburg for third. Grace Nichols homered, as five others each drove in a run. Aubrey Alstott had three hits for the Dodgers, who only suffered a semifinal round loss to Ankeny Centennial.

Dubuque Wahlert Catholic downed Winterset for fifth, North Polk topped Atlantic for seventh, Des Moines Roosevelt bested Clear Creek-Amana for ninth and Ames defeated Clarksville for 11th. Ankeny finished 13th, Martensdale-St. Mars was 14th, Mid-Prairie placed 15th and Newell-Fonda was 16th.

Waukee Northwest 4-0 At Jack North Tournament

The top-ranked team in the High School On SI Iowa State Softball Rankings, Waukee Northwest, won all four games at its home Jack North Tournament. The event is named in honor of Jack North, a legendary Iowa sports writer, official and key person in the growth of girls basketball and softball.

Led by Sophia Schlader, the Wolves downed Bettendorf, Muscatine, Ottumwa and North Scott. Schlader and Waukee Northwest won the Class 5A state title last year.

Schlader tossed a one-hitter in a 9-1 win over Muscatine, striking out 12, tossed five innings of no-hit softball with nine strikeouts vs. Ottumwa and had a four-hitter in a 2-0 victory vs. North Scott with 11 strikeouts. She also pitched a scoreless inning vs. Bettendorf in relief.

Dallas Center-Grimes picked up a pair of big wins, downing Bettendorf, 8-2, and Pleasant Valley, 9-5. Addie Abens blasted two home runs and drove in five vs. Bettendorf and did the exact same vs. Pleasant Valley.

St. Edmond, a state contender in Class 1A, earned a 4-1 victory over ranked Class 5A program Pleasant Valley. Faith Shirbroun, Ella Vandi and Myrah Lemon each had two hits for the Gaels.