Linn-Mar High School - Marion, Iowa

Evans, Jenks strike gold at Drake Relays

DES MOINES - Josh Evans and Stephanie Jenks turned the 104th Drake Relays into a golden showcase for Linn-Mar High School Saturday afternoon in Des Moines.

Evans, a junior who had to rest his ailing back for more than two months this winter, captured the 1600 meter run by a wide margin and shattered a meet record that had stood for 34 years.

Jenks, a freshman who has quickly established herself as the distance running queen of Iowa, collected a gold medal in the 1500 run Saturday after taking the 3000 on Thursday.

Read more...

Lions top pair of ranked foes in shootouts

IOWA CITY - The No.12 Linn-Mar boys soccer team beat a pair of ranked foes in penalty kick shootouts Saturday at the Iowa City West Invitational.

Linn-Mar downed No.8 Bettendorf, 1-0, winning the shootout by a 4-3 count.

The Lions then bested No.11 Muscatine, 2-1. Ben Johnson had a goal in regulation off an assist by Alexy Boehm.

Linn-Mar outscored the Muskies 4-1 in the shootout.

Evans gets his gold; Lions win twice at Drake

DES MOINES - Josh Evans had trouble sleeping Thursday night after he was nipped in the 3200 run at the 104th Drake Relays and had to settle for second place.

He can sleep like a baby now with a gold medal draped around his neck.

Evans made a strong finishing kick Friday to help Linn-Mar claim the 1600 sprint medley, chasing down three runners after getting the baton for his 800-meter leg in fourth place.

Evans lost to Thomas Pollard of Gilbert by a stride in the 3200 Thursday when his final kick wasn't quite good enough. This time Evans flew down the backstretch and punched the air in celebration with a sizzling finish to the medley.

Read more...

Jenks claims 3000 at 104th Drake Relays

DES MOINES - Linn-Mar freshman Stephanie Jenks chatted amiably with some of her friends after topping them in the 3000 meter run Thursday at the 104th Annual Drake Relays, casually holding her championship banner after running the third-fastest time in meet history.

She didn't act like her performance was anything special, but it was.

Jenks captured the 3000 in 9 minutes, 46.02 seconds with a strong kick on the final lap to win her personal battle with Pleasant Valley freshman McKenzie Yanek by more than four seconds.

Read more...