Cascade buddies grab a 4x2 title together

Cascade's Abbey Meyer (left) gets a hug from Allison Gibbs during class 2A girls 4 x 200 meter relay during the 2011 Iowa High School State Track Meet at Drake Stadium on Friday, May 20, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

BY ROB GRAY

DES MOINES - Sprint. Scream. Hug.

Cascade's quartet of fast, best friends -- Tessa Helmle, Allison Gibbs, Abby Green and Abbey Meyer -- churned up a Class 2A 800-meter relay title Friday, then massed for a group embrace and victory cry.

 “We've been, like, best friends since track started,” said a breathless Meyer, whose anchor leg performance helped the Cougars vanquish the rest of the field with a time of 1:44.57. “I get really nervous and they really help me with everything.”

 “They” are not freshman like Meyer.

 Helmle and Gibbs are sophomores. Green is the eldest of the bunch -- a junior.

 She finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles earlier Friday before swiftly shifting into relay mode.

 “Right when I was done, I was like, ‘4 X 2,'” Green said, smiling. “I had to breathe for a little bit, then come and run.”

 North Fayette's Lauren Smith heaved another sigh of relief after notching her second title in as many days.

 Smith repeated as 2A discus champion, notching a best throw of 151 feet -- nearly 16 feet better than runner-up Carly Pagel of Sumner-Fredericksburg.

 Jenna Lansing of Dyersville Beckman placed third and Madison Koch of North Cedar took fifth.

 “It feels awesome,” said Smith, who also won Thursday's shot put final. “I was really nervous. Winning state last year just barely makes you want to work that much harder so you can put one out there and let them chase and leave them in the dust."

 Smith fell three inches short of tying the 2A record in the event -- 151-3 by Marin Thorson of Saint Ansgar in 2007.

 “I'm a little bummed,” Smith said. “But coming from the beginning of the season, my goal was 148. To be 3 inches from a state record, I mean, I'll take it."