Jenks makes it 3 straight in the 3,000

DES MOINES — Stephanie Jenks is not complacent. And — here's the scary part — she's not yet near her prime form for the season.

'I'm not going to be tapering until July,' Jenks said Thursday after winning her third consecutive girls' 3,000-meter run at the Drake Relays.

'It's a long, long season for me. You can't really taper twice. So I've trained through this, and I'll train through state.'

The end game is the national championships, in July.

A junior at Linn-Mar, Jenks owns the all-time Iowa best (9:24.67) and the Drake record (9:26.87), setting both last year. She was off that pace Thursday, finishing in 9:33.81. But it was never a race; she won by nearly 31 seconds after breaking away from the pack immediately.

'I just focused on setting a pace and getting comfortable — well, not too comfortable,' she said. 'I pay attention to what people are saying in the crowd. I'm easily entertained.'

Jenks was told Wednesday that she had earned a late spot in Saturday's 400-meter hurdles (Mount Pleasant's Kelsi Phipps withdrew due to a minor knee injury). That gives her four Drake events; she'll be a slight favorite in the 800 (Friday) and a heavy favorite to grab her third straight 1,500 title (Saturday).

'I must have had my phone volume up too loud, because when the voice mail came up that I would be running the 400 hurdles, my mom (Deb) gave me a big smile,' Jenks said.

Despite her big win Thursday, she hasn't been hurting for competition lately. She won the girls' 1,600 at the Kansas Relays last weekend in 4:40, then ran sixth in the women's Grand Blue Mile downtown here on Tuesday in 4:45.

'My mom asked me a million times if I really wanted to do that,' she said. 'Yeah, I really wanted to do it. I didn't put any pressure on myself. I just wanted to see how long I could (run with) the leaders.'

Kiana Phelps of Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central broke her own Drake record in the discus, at 159-4. She previously set the meet mark in 2013, at 153-4. Shelby Gunnells of Solon was fourth.

Urbandale's Lexus Lovan captured the long jump crown with a leap of 18-5 1/4. She went over 18 feet on four occasions.

Ariana Rolle of Linn-Mar was fifth.

DRAKE RELAYS: GIRLS RESULTS

Discus — 1. Kiana Phelps (Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central), 159-4 (Drake record); 2. Maddie Nilles (Dubuque Wahlert), 149-10; 3. Sydney Laufenberg (Clinton), 136-3; 4. Shelby Gunnells (Solon), 134-3; 5. Katelynn Rheingans (North Scott), 129-11; 6. Sarah Kalkhoff (Newton), 129-6; 7. Erika Hammond (Clinton), 129-5; 8. Lou Krieger-Coen (Winfield-Mount Union), 128-5.

Long jump — 1. Lexus Lovan (Urbandale), 18-5 1/4; 2. Bailey Schminke (Boone), 17-9 1/4; 3. Mallory Vawter (Conrad BCLUW), 17-8 3/4; 4. Madie Pike (Sergeant Bluff-Luton), 17-6 1/2; 5. Ariana Rolle (Linn-Mar), 17-6 1/2; 6. Grace Gudenkauf (Dubuque Senior), 17-5; 7. Jamaica Lovan (Urbandale), 17-4; 8. Aleenah Marcucci (Northeast), 17-3.

3,000 — 1. Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar), 9:33.81; 2. Kate Smith (Ankeny Centennial), 10:04.67; 3. McKenzie Yanek (Pleasant Valley), 10:09.24; 4. Ellie Friesen (Osage), 10:11.41; 5. Megan Schott (Des Moines Roosevelt), 10:14.90; 6. Payton Boylston (Ames), 10:14.90; 7. Gwynne Wright (Pekin), 10:15.09; 8. Haley Humphrey (Bettendorf), 10:15.16.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com