Linn-Mar already talking state girls' track title

MARION — Might as well warn you now. The Linn-Mar Lions are going for it.

'We definitely have our eyes on a state championship,' sophomore Payton Wensel said. 'Pleasant Valley definitely earned it last year. Hopefully, we can earn it this year.'

The Lions made a strong bid last year for the Metro's first team championship in the 54-year history of the girls' state track and field meet, but Pleasant Valley edged them for the title, 99-90.

Both teams are stacked again.

Of those 99 points, Pleasant Valley returns 80.75. Led by triple-champions Stephanie Jenks and Wensel, Linn-Mar brings back 77.5 of 90.

'We're really excited,' senior Amber Decker said. 'A state championship, it's all we've been talking about. We've got everything we need.'

Linn-Mar's runner-up finish last year matched the best performance by a Metro team in state-meet competition. Cedar Rapids Kennedy was second in 1978 and 1980; Cedar Rapids Jefferson was second in 1981.

'Our key goal is to be healthy in May,' Lions Coach Nathan Hopp said. 'I think we have a shot. I wouldn't say there's a definite favorite. It just depends how things play out.'

In Jenks, Linn-Mar possesses the state's best distance runner of all time. A University of California signee, Jenks has eight state titles in hand already — she won the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 last year, and finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles.

She owns the all-time Iowa best in the 1,500 (4:27.76) and the 3,000 (9:24.67).

'Hopefully, she can end her career on a high note and win three more state titles, and maybe four,' Hopp said. 'She's very good at devoting herself to perfecting her craft. She's willing to sacrifice and do what it takes to achieve her goals.'

2016 Girls' Track and Field: Area teams to watch | Individuals to watch

Wensel won the 400 last year and ran on the winning 3,200-meter relay and distance medley relay. She has her eyes on the 4A 400-meter record (55.41) this year, and the all-time Iowa best (53.96) down the road.

'Definitely, definitely, definitely, I'd love to break that record (set by Dike-New Hartford's Hannah Willms in 2010),' Wensel said. 'I just don't want to jinx anything.'

Hopp called Wensel 'a great competitor. She's probably the most hard-nosed kid I've had. She's willing to do whatever it takes to win.'

Decker is a three-time top-five finisher in the 800 and joined Wensel in the two winning relays, as well as the second-place 1,600-meter relay, last year. She has signed with the University of Iowa.

'Amber is such a team-oriented person,' Hopp said. 'With Steph and Payton, sometimes she gets overlooked a little. But she's a big, big piece to us.'

Hanna Saville, Ariana Rolle and Brooke Lorenz also ran on a winning relay last year. Rolle was the third-place long-jumper as a freshman. Plus, Hopp said, 'We've got a couple kids that are going to surprise some people,' including freshman Megan Renner, who high-jumped 5 feet, 3 inches, at the MVC indoor meet last week.

The Drake Relays has a new twist to it this season, something called the Hy-Vee High School Cup, in which four relays will determine a 'team winner.' The Lions are pursuing that.

Then it's on to May. Divisionals. Regionals. State.

'It's now or never,' Hopp said. 'This is the team to do it. I'd love nothing more than for this senior class to leave with a state title.'

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