Jacobus sails to 2nd in Drake long jump

DES MOINES -- Derek Jacobus still has trouble differentiating a good jump from a great one.

"I really have no clue," said the sophomore from Cedar Rapids Kennedy. "When I land, I don't know if I've gone 21 feet or 22 feet."

His last jump Thursday was the best of his young career.

Jacobus vaulted five spots with a leap of 22 feet, 9 inches to earn runner-up honors in the Drake Relays boys' long jump.

After his distance was announced, he pumped his fist and flashed a broad smile that didn't dissipate as the other jumpers finished up.

"This was a big self-accomplishment for me," Jacobus said. "I never thought Drake would call for me like this already as a sophomore."

Darius Pearson of Sioux City West won the event with a leap of 22-11 1/2, his final jump of the preliminary round. Jacobus entered the finals at fifth at 22-0 1/4, then slid to seventh even though his first jump of the finals was an improvement at 22-2 3/4.

Jacobus tweaked his left thigh on his fifth jump, then regrouped enough to nail his final try.

He left Drake Stadium with an accomplishment. And an appetite.

"My coaches said that if I went over 22 feet, they would buy me dinner," Jacobus said. "I want to go to Hickory Park and get some ribs."

Cole Decker of West Des Moines Dowling and Matt Butler of Bettendorf ran through the fifth-fastest boys' 3,200 in Drake history. Decker held off Butler's late surge to win it in 9:08.96.

Butler was clocked in 9:09.03.

"To be honest, I don't remember the last 100 meters," Decker said. "I kicked it into a gear that I've never tapped into before."

Linn-Mar sophomore Josh Evans was third in 9:17.00, a personal record.

Evans ran a controlled pace early, then moved up to fourth place after an opening 1,600 of 4:37. He surged to third in the race's fifth lap, then moved up to challenge Butler with about 200 meters to go.

"I never quite got in a position that I was really in contact with them, but I thought I was still in range with 200 left," Evans said.

Butler turned on the jets heading into the final curve and briefly moved ahead of Decker. But Decker had the final surge in the final stretch.

The top two runners are seniors.

"It's kind of a good feeling that next year, they'll be gone," Evans said.

Derek Seddon of Knoxville was the boys' discus champion, winning it with a final throw of 172-2.

Brady Grunder of Durant was second at 171-9; Devonte Merrill of Monticello was fourth.

Iowa City West's Charles Rogers was fourth in the long jump.

Griswold freshman Rebekah Topham took control of the girls' 3,000 midway through the race and won it in 9:58.39. Iowa City West's Ashlynn Yokom was fifth in 10:10.68.

"I knew everybody would go out fast," Yokom said. "After the fourth lap, I started working my way up. I would catch one person, then go after the next one."

Alexis Conaway of MOC-Floyd Valley was the high jump champion, clearing 5-10. Alexa Hunt of Des Moines Roosevelt won the shot put with a heave of 42-3 3/4.