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Linn-Mar Boys Track

Linn-Mar - Boys Track

Linn-Mar senior Curtis McCrary soars to victory in the Class 4A high jump competition held Friday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

McCrary soars away from trouble to state crown

Fri - 23 May Written by Jim Ecker

DES MOINES - Curtis McCrary grew up on the mean streets of Detroit, where trouble was a constant and evil companion.

Compared to what he knew, Iowa is paradise for the Linn-Mar senior and new state champion.

McCrary sailed 23 feet, 1 inch to claim the state title in the Class 4A long jump Friday in his first and only year of competition in high school track.

"It feels great," he said. "First time here, last time here for high school. So it feels pretty good."

McCrary, 19, moved to Marion several years ago to live with an uncle and his uncle's wife. He left his mother and problems behind in Detroit for a better life in Iowa.

"I love it," he said. "I love it.

"Good school systems. And it pretty much keeps me out of trouble."

McCrary helped Linn-Mar climb into a tie for first place in the Class 4A team standings after Day 2 of the three-day meet with 42 points. Waukee also has 42, with eight events left Saturday.

Kennedy is sitting in third place with 35.5 points. Prairie is sixth with 22 points. Washington is 20th and Jefferson 23rd.

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Last Updated on Friday, 23 May 2014 16:01

Linn-Mar - Boys Track

Linn-Mar senior Josh Evans wins the Class 4A 3200-meter championship Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Evans, Hawks, Cougars shine at state meet

Thu - 22 May Written by Jim Ecker

DES MOINES - Josh Evans made a mad dash for immortality Thursday, but he fell just a tad short of cracking 9 minutes in the 3200 meter run at the Class 4A state track meet.

Unhappy? Sad?

Neither.

Evans clocked the second-fastest time in state history in the 3200 in 9:00.97, successfully defending his state title and breaking the meet record of 9:05.25 set by Kevin Lewis of Ottumwa in 2011.

Evans ran a 9:01.55 at the Drake Relays last month in his first bid for a sub-9 minute performance, but he had to play second fiddle that day when Albert Meier of Boone won in 8:58.46 to become the first Iowa prep under the magic mark.

Meier is competing at the Class 3A state meet, leaving Evans to dominate the 4A competition from wire to wire Thursday. He led a 1-2-3 showing by Metro runners with Mitch Pritts of Prairie second in 9:12:07 and Daniel Murphy of Linn-Mar third in 9:12.46.

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Linn-Mar - Boys Track

Lions, J-Hawks shine in Marshalltown

Thu - 15 May Written by Metro Sports Report

MARSHALLTOWN - The Linn-Mar and Jefferson track teams combined for 18 gold medals at the Class 4A state qualifier coed meet in Marshalltown Thursday.

The Linn-Mar girls, led by triple-champ Stephanie Jenks, captured eight events and claimed the team championship with 179.5 points.

The Jefferson girls, always strong in the relays, won five events and finished third in the standings with 116 points.

The Linn-Mar boys, led by triple-champ Josh Evans, won five events and placed third in their team standings.

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Linn-Mar - Boys Track

Linn-Mar's Josh Evans runs ahead of Prairie's Mitch Pritts and Dowling Catholic's Ryan Schweizer en route to winning the Class 4A 1600-meter run Saturday at the state meet in Des Moines. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Evans called 'The Greatest' with 4 golds

Sat - 24 May Written by Jim Ecker

DES MOINES - Josh Evans sat in the stands at the state track meet as a scrawny freshman in 2011 and loved seeing the crowd rise to its feet as Shelby Houlihan of Sioux City East set a batch of records in the girls distance races.

He remembers the Public Address announcer kept everyone informed that day as one record after another fell by the wayside.

"I remember thinking, that would be so cool if I could get that some day," Evans said Saturday afternoon. "It's really a dream come true that this happened."

Evans got his share of standing ovations Saturday as he completed one of the most remarkable performances in state meet history with four gold medals, three meet records and an all-time Iowa best in the 1600.

Mike Jay, the Public Address announcer, told the sun-splashed crowd of 8,744 that it was "The best distance performance in Iowa state meet history."

Evans wasn't sure about that, praising some of the other record-setting performances at this year's state meet, but he was the Star of Stars in the distance races with four golds.

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Last Updated on Monday, 02 June 2014 18:42

Linn-Mar - Boys Track

Linn-Mar's Josh Evans comes across the line after winning the 1600-meter run at the MVC Valley Division meet Thursday at Prairie. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Evans casts eye to NYC; Prairie wins title

Thu - 08 May Written by Jim Ecker

Josh Evans is dreaming about New York City.

Specifically, the Linn-Mar senior is dreaming about running in the Dream Mile in New York City on June 14 in an event that will feature the top high school milers in the country.

Evans definitely belongs in the conversation, but he has not clinched a spot yet despite his winning time of 4:10.76 at the Drake Relays two weeks ago.

He was hoping to go even faster at the MVC Valley Division Meet at Prairie High School Thursday evening, but nobody pushed him and he had to settle for 4:12.69.

"I want to go to that Dream Mile thing in New York. You need about a 4:07 1600 time to get in, so I was trying to get down in that range," he said after breaking the meet record.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 08 May 2014 20:45