Linn-Mar Boys Track

Lions smack Drake record in medley

DES MOINES - The Linn-Mar Lions have fallen in love with the sprint medley at Drake.

The Lions captured the event for the second straight year Friday and broke the Drake Relays record in 3:26.89, snapping the old mark of 3:27.18 set by Iowa City High in 2004.

Linn-Mar had three different runners on the relay this year, but Josh Evans was the still the anchorman. And still the man.

Evans got the baton after a swift leg by freshman Dalton Gosch and ticked off a sizzling 1 minute, 51 second split in the 800 to win the race with a strong kick.

"That's awesome," Evans said of his 1:51 split. "This was way faster than I figured I'd go."

Tristan Freese and Daniel Gorsich ran the opening 200 legs for the Lions. Gorsich passed the baton to Gosch in fifth place, but the freshman blazed around the Blue Oval with an impressive 400.

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Evans breaks 3200 record, but gets 2nd

DES MOINES - Josh Evans succeeded in breaking the state record in the 3200 meter run at the Drake Relays Thursday, but somebody else was a little faster.

Albert Meier of Boone became the first high school runner in state history to break 9 minutes in the 3200 meter run when he crossed the finish line in 8:58.46.

Evans, who gave Meier a good battle, had to settle for second place in 9:01.55. They both eclipsed the old state record of 9:04.33 set by Jon Thomas of Des Moines Roosevelt and both broke the old Drake Relays mark of 9:05.58 set by Kevin Lewis of Ottumwa in 2005.

"I wanted to run a great race and that's exactly what I got," said Evans,a senior at Linn-Mar. "I can't ask for anything more than that. I ran what I wanted to run, so I'm very happy."

Evans was hoping to break 9 minutes as well, but he got jostled at the start of the race and had to wipe water off his face during the eight-lap event. It was not raining during the race, but the track was wet from rains earlier in the day.

He survived the jostling, but was a little distracted by the water.

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Jenks wins at Kansas Relays; Evans 2nd

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Linn-Mar sophomore Stephanie Jenks won the prep 1600 meter run at the 87th Kansas Relays Saturday in 4 minutes, 57.48 seconds.

Rebekah Topham of Griswold, Iowa, finished second in 5:02.87.

Linn-Mar senior Josh Evans placed second in the boys' 1600 run at the Kansas Relays in 4:16.00. Spencer Haik of Springfield, Mo., won the race in 4:15.30.

Jenks, Evans lead Metro parade to Drake

Linn-Mar distance stars Stephanie Jenks and Josh Evans are poised to leave their mark on the Drake Relays again next week.

Jenks, a sophomore, is seeded first in the 1500 meter run, first in the 3000 meter run and second in the 800. She won the 1500 and 3000 at Drake last year as a freshman.

Evans, a senior, is seeded first in the 3200, third in the 1600 and 10th in the 800. He and his teammates are seeded No.1 in the 4x800 relay and the sprint medley, with Evans the anchor on both relays when they ran their best times.

Evans set a meet record at the Drake Relays last year when he captured the 1600 in 4 minutes, 10.86 seconds. He also finished second in the 3200.

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