Linn-Mar Girls Track

Jenks conquers Drake, eyes the world

DES MOINES - Stephanie Jenks left her mark on the Drake Relays again this year by defending her crowns in the 3000 and 1500 meter runs, spiked by an all-time state best in the 3000 Thursday.

Now she's set her sights on conquering an elite international field in Mexico and possibly China in the triathlon, one of the most grueling athletic events in the world.

The Linn-Mar sophomore did not break any records Saturday at Drake, but she did capture the 1500 with the third-fastest time in state history in 4 minutes, 28.72 seconds.

It's news now when Jenks does NOT break any records, and she missed the meet record in the 1500 by 42-hundredths of a second and missed the state mark by 2.33 seconds.

"Other than that," she said of the results, "I'm pretty happy with my race."

Read more...

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.

Read more...

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.

Read more...