3 running events, 3 titles for Linn-Mar

DES MOINES - Payton Wensel described herself as 'tall, scrawny and awkward” Thursday afternoon at Drake Stadium.

Tall? Check.

Scrawny? Try 'sleek.”

Awkward? Anything but.

Wensel ran a key leg on Linn-Mar's winning Class 4A 3,200-meter relay unit at the state track and field meet, then returned less than 2 hours later to capture the 400-meter dash.

'It's incredible,” she said. 'As a freshman, I'm not supposed to be able to do this. The fact that I can, it's so fantastic.”

Linn-Mar won all three of the events decided on the track Thursday and took the early lead in the 4A girls' race. With five events in the books, Linn-Mar has 30 points in the bank, Pleasant Valley 24.

Stephanie Jenks got the ball rolling with her third straight title in the 3,000 meters (9:34.55), then Maddie Saville, Wensel, Hanna Saville and Amber Decker flirted with the state-meet record in the 3,200 relay before settling for a merely outstanding effort of 9:14.75.

Wensel posted a 2:14 split in that race to put the Lions ahead for good. And when the younger Saville was motoring toward home, Decker looked to her teammates in the infield and flashed a bright, broad smile full of confidence.

'I knew,” she said. 'As soon as Maddie finished the first leg, I knew we were going to be great.”

Maddie Saville led off in 2:18, then Wensel's 2:14 and Hanna Saville ran 2:22. Decker closed it out in 2:19.

'I've never been so happy,” Maddie Saville said. 'Before the race, I thought about how awesome it would be if we won, and this was 10,000 times better.”

Wensel retreated to the Drake Fieldhouse between her two events.

'I got some Gatorade, listened to some music and thought about my next race,” she said. 'I told myself, ‘I've got to be faster. There are going to be good girls in my heat.' Then I just decided to run my race.”

As is usually the case, Jenks built an early lead and ran the majority of the race alone in her thoughts. She won by more than 24 seconds.

'I pay attention to the clock and my splits,” she said. 'My mom tells me to sing, but I prefer not to sing. When words come out of my mouth, it's not pretty.”

But Jenks' running symphony is pure brilliance. The junior has won six state titles, and is favored in the 800 and 1,500 on Saturday. She'll run the 400 hurdles Friday.

Iowa City High's Sarah Plock was fourth in the 400. Iowa City West was fifth in the 3,200 relay.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com