School history in Lions’ sights

Never.

That's the answer to the following trivia question: 'Name the last time Linn-Mar has won a Mississippi Valley Conference divisional girls' track and field championship.”

Hard to believe? Nathan Hopp agrees.

'When I was hired here, the first thing I was asked are what my goals were for this program,” said Hopp, the Lions' coach. 'I told them I wanted to compete, I wanted to win the conference.”

'They told me Linn-Mar had never won the conference, and my jaw kind of dropped.”

The Lions chase the MVC Valley Division championship Thursday at Dubuque. It won't be an easy task; the Valley Division is the stronger division of the MVC, with the field including Iowa City West, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Dubuque Wahlert and Cedar Falls.

'You see the alignment, and it's a murderer's row of girls' track,” Hopp said. 'You've got the sprinters from Jefferson. You've got the tradition of Iowa City West. You've got Wahlert, who beat us last year in our divisional. Cedar Falls is always strong.

'I think we go in as the favorite, but you can't count out any of those teams. And you sure can't dismiss West. Mike Parker is a well-respected coach, and he's got another great team.”

Linn-Mar counters with its best team ever. It's a team that could potentially break another drought in two weeks - the Metro has never won a state title in girls' track and field.

The Lions have three aces in juniors Stephanie Jenks (who won the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 at the Drake Relays) and Amber Decker, plus freshman Payton Wensel. And they've got depth.

'We realize we'll have to bring our ‘A' game,” Hopp said. 'Our stars will need to do their job, and the others will need to step up and squeak out as many points as possible.”

Conference and divisional meets will be held throughout the area Thursday. Like the girls, the strength in the MVC boys lies in the Valley Division. Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Linn-Mar are projected to battle for the divisional title at Kingston Stadium.

The Mississippi Division meets are at Iowa City High (girls) and Waterloo (boys). City High's girls and Cedar Rapids Prairie's boys are the favorites.

The other meets are co-ed affairs. The Wamac meet is at Maquoketa, River Valley at Monticello, Tri-Rivers at Delhi, Northeast Iowa at Oelwein and Upper Iowa at West Union.

Defending Wamac champion Center Point-Urbana is the boys' frontrunner at Maquoketa, with Mount Vernon and Vinton-Shellsburg the primary challengers. Solon is the girls' favorite; Mount Vernon, Western Dubuque and West Delaware represent the chase pack.

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