Speed runs in the Schneekloth family

CEDAR RAPIDS - Julie Schneekloth competed at the Drake Relays in an era before victory laps and white flags.

'I got a tiny little medal when we won (the 400-meter relay in 1986),” she said.

She was Julie Davis then. A multiple state champion at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, she was Bill Calloway's first study into weight training for girls.

'I was one of the only girls in the weight room,” she said. 'The guys had to be nice to me.”

A new generation of Jefferson sprinters has arrived, and they're faster than ever. They're led by Schneekloth's daughter, Lucy, and they're determined to leave Drake Stadium this week with a harvest of championship flags.

'We know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we're not going to let it slip away,” said Lucy, a senior.

Jefferson is ranked No. 1 in the state in the 400-meter relay. The J-Hawks are a close second in the 800 relay (to Waukee) and in the sprint medley (to Boone).

The J-Hawks' cast of characters will be the same in all three relays - seniors Schneekloth and Morgan Meese, and juniors Jasmine Blue and Abilene Ranschau.

They're talented, yes. But that's not what makes them elite.

'All the workouts we put in ... if most people did what we do, they'd quit during the preseason,” Lucy said. 'Mentally and physically, we're a tough team.”

Take Schneekloth, for example. She's 5-foot-3 and 118 pounds. Her box-squat lift is 300 pounds.

Julie was Calloway's first guinea pig in weights, and the system has gradually been modified and perfected.

'Julie ran (the 100 in) 12.54 seconds as a sophomore, and she really wanted to run in college,” Calloway said. 'She needed to increase her power, and she really bought into the training. The next year, she ran the 100 in 12.1, and she went from a 17-foot long-jumper to 18-7.”

She was a state champion in the long jump as a junior, and the 200 dash and two relays as a senior.

Her husband, Terry Schneekloth, was speedy in 90-foot intervals; he still holds the NAIA record for stolen bases in a season, with 100 in 1991. So Lucy has fast-twitch muscles in her genes from both sides.

Lucy started attending Calloway's track camps at age 6.

'She looked like she had some speed, but she wasn't always the fastest one there,” Calloway said. 'The strength training got her to where she is.”

At the 2013 state track meet, Schneekloth and Blue joined veterans Maliya Rattliffe and Rachel Broghammer to win the 800 relay in an all-time Iowa best of 1:40.94.

Of course, that was a school record, too. A record that Julie had previously held.

As Lucy celebrated with her teammates, Julie wept.

'What are records meant for? They're meant to be broken,” Julie said last week, wiping away a tear. 'What better compliment than to have your daughter be one of them that breaks it.”

Now, it's Lucy that's the veteran. Her teammates call her 'Mama Lucy” in reference to her leadership.

'She's not afraid to speak up,” Calloway said. 'If somebody isn't doing their core workout right, she'll get on them.”

Lucy said, simply: 'I'm pretty self-driven, kind of a perfectionist.”

Julie's track career extended into college, first at Wisconsin, then at UNI. Lucy will close the book on her running in May.

The owner of a 4.39 grade point average and a 29 ACT score, she'll study psychology and pre-medicine at Iowa State, then plans to study medicine at the University of Missouri.

'I'll miss track; it's been part of my life since I was born,” she said. 'But nothing in college could compare to running for Coach Calloway and with these girls here.”

And thus, the heightened urgency for the next few weeks. The J-Hawks repeated as 800-meter relay champions at last year's state meet, in 1:41.12. But a Drake title has eluded them.

As Lucy said, the J-Hawks don't intend to let this opportunity slip away.

'We're ready,” she said. 'All of our pieces fit together.”

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