One race, and Jenks makes it count

MARION -- Neither the conditions nor the competition lent themselves to an extraordinary performance.   Stephanie Jenks acted alone.   Jenks blazed to the second-fastest 3,000-meter effort by an Iowa high school girl, lapping the entire field and finishing in 9 minutes, 35.69 seconds Tuesday at the Lion Relays at Linn-Mar Stadium.   "I like running against people, but when I go out and run by myself, sometimes I'm more composed," said the Linn-Mar sophomore. "You don't have to worry about anything.   "Today, I wanted to go out and hold my pace the entire time. I wanted to run my first 400 in 72 seconds. I went out at 75, and I thought, 'Uh, oh. I'm a little slow.'"   There was nothing slow about it. Tuesday's time broke her career best (set last year in 9:46.02) and moved her from No. 3 to No. 2 on Iowa's all-time 3,000 chart.   The next frontier is 9:27.25, set by Katie Flood of West Des Moines Dowling in 2010.   Jenks ran only one race on a 39-degree day, but it was a beauty. She won by more than 2 minutes, never letting up.   Now, the competition improves dramatically. Jenks will compete in the Kansas Relays this weekend. Then, next week, she'll be the favorite in the 1,500 and the 3,000 at the Drake Relays, and also will be a threat in the 800.   "I'm looking forward to it," she said. "I'm looking forward to racing Kaley (Ciluffo of Pleasant Valley in the 800). When she ran 2:10 (last week), I texted her and said 'Come on!' I'm excited to race her."   Linn-Mar won the eight-team meet with 155 points. Cedar Rapids Kennedy was second with 105.   The Lions captured nine events. Jenks had the race of the day, and classmate Amber Decker had the standout performance.Decker won the open 400 (59.62), then followed that with a mid-58 split to anchor a winning sprint medley relay. She coasted to a 62.2 anchor in the 1,600-meter relay to cap the Lions' triumph.   Before her final race, she flashed a silly grin and a double thumbs-up to her mother and a coach.   "I just wanted to relax and have fun," Decker said. "I wish I would have gone a little faster in the open 400, but on a cold day, there's only so much you can do. I really didn't want to pull anything today."   Other individual winners for Linn-Mar were Rachel Perry (200), Hanna Saville (800) and Morgan Garcia (1,500). The Lions also claimed the distance medley and 3,200-meter relays.   Kennedy was led by champions Amarri Waller (100) and Morgan Martin (discus). Cedar Rapids Xavier had the top 800 relay.   

GIRLS TRACK: LION RELAYS

At Linn-Mar Stadium

Teams -- 1. Linn-Mar 155, 2. C.R. Kennedy 105, 3. Davenport Central 89.5, 4. Dubuque Senior 88, 5. (tie) C.R. Washington and C.R. Xavier 42, 7. Davenport West 38, 8. Marion 29.5.

Shot put -- 1. Anna Hedges (DW), 37-6; 2. Tanasha Atwater (DC), 36-8; 3. Allyson Ballinger (CRK), 34-8;

Discus -- 1. Morgan Martin (CRK), 112-11; 2. Anna Hedges (DW), 104-11; 3. Meghan Joens (CRX), 103-2 1/2;

High jump -- 1. Grace Gudenkauf (DS), 5-0; 2. Raegan Menke (DC), 5-0; 3. Marissa Moore (CRK), 4-8;

Long jump -- 1. Dajanique Jackson (DC), 17-0; 2. Amara Taylor (CRW), 16-6 1/2; 3. Grace Gudenkauf (DS), 16-0 1/2.

3,000 -- 1. Stephanie Jenks (LM), 9:35.69; 2. Kristin Mackenburg (CRW), 11:45.88; 3. Megan Donovan (DS), 11:45.93;

3,200 relay -- 1. Linn-Mar (Hicks, H.Saville, Almasi, Johnston), 10:10.83; 2. C.R. Kennedy, 10:12.74; 3. Dubuque Senior, 10:36.92;

S

huttle hurdle relay -- 1. Dubuque Senior (Lightfoot, Kramer, Davis, Bradley), 1:12.18; 2. Marion, 1:12.76; 3. Davenport Central, 1:15.31;

100 -- 1. Amarri Waller (CRK), 12.88; 2. Molly Breitbach (CRX), 13.18; 3. Shelby Ham (LM), 13.39;

Distance medley relay -- 1. Linn-Mar (Renner, Lorenz, Japenga, M.Saville), 4:29.99; 2. C.R. Washington, 4:34.09; 3. Dubuque Senior, 4:38.49;

400 -- 1. Amber Decker (LM), 59.62; 2. Kali Nickel (LM), 1:03.85; 3. Ashley Schmit (DS), 1:06.04;

800 relay -- 1. C.R. Xavier (Schwach, Jurgens, Torson, Breitbach), 1:50.25; 2. Davenport West, 1:50.86; 3. C.R. Kennedy, 1:51.96;

100 hurdles -- 1. Tadaisha Thornton (DC), 16.48; 2. Sydney Brase (Mar), 17.48; 3. Kortney Lightfoot (DS), 17.77;

800 -- 1. Hanna Saville (LM), 2:28.23; 2. Ally Hicks (LM), 2:30.65; 3. Sarah Kersten (DC), 2:35.26;

200 -- 1. Rachel Perry (LM), 27.12; 2. Amarri Waller (CRK), 27.15; 3. Halley Morgan (LM), 27.94;

400 hurdles -- 1. Bella Solis (DC), 1:09.77; 2. Kelsie Coates (CRK), 1:11.12; 3. Peyton Gries (LM), 1:18.65;

Sprint medley relay -- 1. Linn-Mar (Morgan, Ka.Sommer, Renner, Decker), 1:53.44; 2. C.R. Xavier, 1:55.85; 3. Davenport West, 1:57.40;

1,500 -- 1. Morgan Garcia (LM), 5:09.65; 2. Sydney Johnston (LM), 5:11.89; 3. Allison Culver (CRK), 5:12.00;

400 relay -- 1. Davenport Central (Gibbs, Jackson, George, Hegetschweiler), 51.87; 2. Linn-Mar, 52.81; 3. C.R. Kennedy, 53.55;

1,600 relay -- 1. Linn-Mar (Saville, Japenga, Perry, Decker), 4:10.32; 2. Dubuque Senior, 4:22.98; 3. C.R. Washington, 4:24.54.