DES MOINES - The Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls were disappointed in themselves when they finished second in the 4x200 relay at the Drake Relays last month.

They got mad, and Friday they returned to Drake Stadium and got the gold.

Abbie Ranschau, Jasmine Blue, Morgan Meese and Lucy Schneekloth sped to victory in their favorite event in 1 minute, 41.12 seconds for a convincing victory over Dowling Catholic.

Blue and Schneekloth helped the J-Hawks set the all-time state mark in 4x200 relay at the Class 4A state meet last year in 1:40.94. Meese and Schneekloth joined the quartet this year and they produced the third-fastest time ever, just 18-hundredths of a second behind last year's group.

Ranschau, Blue, Meese and Schneekloth are all underclassmen. They plan to be back in 2015 and take another shot at the all-time mark.

"We all want it," said Blue. "We'll get it next year."

Jefferson placed second behind Davenport Assumption in the 4x200 relay at the Drake Relays this year. Assumption is a Class 3A school, so the 4A J-Hawks did not have a chance to get revenge against them at the state meet.

Nonetheless, they were happy and relieved to successfully defend their state title.

"There's a lot of pressure, but we really prepared for the season," said Schneekloth. "I knew we had a target on our backs coming into the season."

"We wanted it," added Blue. "And we got it."

"A lot of teamwork, a lot of technique," said Schneekloth. "It all comes down to hard work."

"We really wanted it at Drake, and not getting it at Drake made us want it at state even more," said Meese.

Lannie Nietert of Linn-Mar placed fourth in the shot put Friday at 39 feet, 1 inch. The Lions finished fifth in the distance medley with Sarah Renner, Brooke Lorenz, Rachel Perry and Amber Decker clocked in 4:07.77.

Amara Taylor of Washington placed fifth in the 400 hurdles in 1:05.36. Natalie Rumer of Prairie finished seventh in the shot put at 37 feet, 7 inches. Kelsie Coates of Kennedy took eighth in the 400 hurdles in 1:06.80.

Pleasant Valley leads the Class 4A girls standings with 42.5 points. Linn-Mar is in sixth place with 19 points. Jefferson is 13th, Kennedy 20th, Washington 22nd and Prairie 25th.