Piche gets lower to reach the top

DES MOINES -- Amanda Piche changed her technique.

"I've been trying to get lower in my throw," she said.

Getting lower got Piche higher. All the way to the top.

A sophomore at Linn-Mar High School, Piche won the girls' discus competition at the Drake Relays Friday morning.

Piche's winning toss of 136 feet, 9 inches, came on her first throw of the day.

"That was probably the best grip I had all day," she said. "I made sure I had a lot of chalk."

The event was contested in a steady rain. Piche's best throw came "before it got really bad."

She didn't come close to that distance again. She didn't have to. Kristen Gaffey of Iowa City Regina was second at 128-7.

"I was nervous somebody would really pop one," Piche said.

Piche was one of two area girls to win field events Friday. Jessica Gehrke of Iowa City West won the long jump for the second straight year.

Like Piche, Gehrke led throughout the competition. She jumped 17-11 1/2 on her first jump, then improved it to 18-0 1/4 on her fourth attempt.

"It was tough out there," said Gehrke, who topped the field by 8 inches. "The wind was blowing in our face. It was hard to keep my body warm.

"I just tried not to focus on it. I just prepared for it like it was any other day. Nothing was going to stop me from accomplishing my goal."

Hannah Willms of Dike-New Hartford had another big day. Her 54.6-second anchor leg brought DNH from behind in the sprint medley relay. The Wolverines were clocked in 1:47.53.

Then, Willms came from behind to run down Gehrke in the 100-meter dash. Willms was clocked in 12.37 seconds, Gehrke in 12.63.

Wills has three titles this weekend -- she set an all-time Iowa best in the high jump Thursday, clearing 6-1.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson was third in the sprint medley relay.

Sioux City East's Shelby Houlihan and Ellen Dougherty went 1-2 in the 800, with Houlihan running a Drake-record 2:09.22.

Alex Gochenour of Logan-Magnolia easily won the 100-meter hurdles, in 14.46 seconds.

West set a Drake record in the 400-meter relay in the evening prelims -- 48.29 seconds.