J-Hawks repeat in 800 relay

DES MOINES — Life has changed in the past year for Lucy Schneekloth and Jasmine Blue.

'There's a lot of pressure now,' Schneekloth said. 'We know we have a target on our back. We'd rather chase people down.'

Such is the life of an elite sprinting unit.

Veterans Schneekloth and Blue joined newcomers Abilene Ranschau and Morgan Meese, and created another symphony of speed at the state track meet Friday morning at Drake Stadium.

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson quartet repeated as the Class 4A girls' 800-meter relay champions in 1:41.12, just missing the all-time Iowa best Iowa best of 1:40.94, set last year by the J-Hawks.

'We still won,' Blue said. 'We'll work hard again in the offseason, and we'll get it next year.'

Why not? All four are back for 2015. Meese and Schneekloth are juniors; Blue and Ranschau are sophomores.

This event has become synonymous with Jefferson, which has won three of the last four 4A 800 relays.

'It's all about sprint stamina,' Blue said. 'You keep it up from the time you get the baton through the end.'

Meese said, 'Running on this relay is a big honor.'

Pleasant Valley continues to hold the lead in the 4A girls' team race. The Spartans have 42 1/2 events through 10 events. Urbandale is second with 35 1/2 points, followed by West Des Moines Dowling (34) and Waukee (29).

The final nine events are Saturday.

Friday's 400-meter hurdles race was a spitting image of the same event at the Drake Relays four weeks ago. Once again, Iowa City High's Sarah Plock outran Carly Donahue of Pleasant Valley down the stretch.

Plock was clocked in 1:01.97, Donahue in 1:02.23.

'You could tell we were both a lot stronger than we had been at Drake,' said Plock, a junior. 'That last 100 meters, we were neck and neck.

'It was amazing.'

Plock and Donahue cleared the eighth and ninth hurdles simultaneously. Plock landed a shade ahead of Donahue after the 10th barrier, and carried that margin to the finish line.

The victory was redemption for Plock, who fell at state last year after triumphing at Drake.

'I needed that,' she said. 'Now I don't have to think about it any more.'

City High's Kiera Washpun was the long jump runner-up, sailing 18 feet, 5 1/4 inches. Des Moines Roosevelt's Jalynn Roberts' leap of 19-2 was a quarter-inch short of the state record.

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