Stephanie Jenks era ends with 11 state championships

DES MOINES — Stephanie Jenks' final three wins at Drake Stadium looked a lot alike.

As she had done in the 3,000-meter race on Thursday, Jenks exhibited a closing kick to claim titles in the Class 4A girls' 800- and 1,500-meter competition Saturday.

'The races were pretty tough,' said Jenks, a senior at Linn-Mar who closed her career with 11 individual state titles. 'I realized pretty early that somebody was there to push.'

Jenks ran past Iowa City West's Tia Saunders in the final 100 meters to capture the 800 in 2:10.56. A few hours later, she outdueled Urbandale's Julia Noah and put a bow on a magnificent high school career with a final effort of 4:29.21.

A University of California recruit, Jenks leaves with four titles in the 3,000 and 1,500, three in the 800.

'It kind of hit me when I walked into the stadium,' she said. 'It was quite possibly the last time I'll run here. I could have cried right then and there.'

If she doesn't run here as a Cal Bear, Jenks' next appearance at Drake Stadium could be in 2021, when she'll surely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Jenks was asked about her legacy.

'I don't know what people think of me. I think I'm an inspiration to a lot of people,' she said. 'When I was a freshman, I wanted to make a mark.'

Waukee wrested the 4A girls' title from 2015 champion Pleasant Valley by an 83-77 margin. Urbandale was third with 60 points, followed by Iowa City West (57) and Linn-Mar (52). Cedar Rapids Jefferson was seventh with 43.

Jasmine Blue anchored Jefferson to the sprint medley relay title with a 54.2-second anchor. The J-Hawks' foursome of MiAsia Bergmann, Autumn Anderson, Abilene Ranschau and Blue finished in 1:45.89.

'I didn't know I could do that,' Blue said. 'I felt (Pleasant Valley anchor) Addie (Swanson) come up on my side, and I wasn't going to let her take it away from me again.'

The rest of Jefferson's day consisted of a runner-up finish by Ranschau in the 100-meter hurdles (by 2-hundredths of a second to Pleasant Valley's Carly Donahue), second place in the 400 relay (by 1-hundredth of a second to Waterloo East), and third in the 1,600 relay.

'I was close, really close,' said Ranschau, last year's hurdles champion. 'We were shoulder-to-shoulder. Technically, I might not have been as sharp as I could have been.

Ranschau and Blue will remain teammates next year, at the University of Northern Iowa.

'It's a little sad that it's over here, but honestly, I'm so blessed to have four years with Coach (Bill) Calloway,' Blue said.

'To think this is it ... I know I can't stay here forever. If I could, I would. But I've got to move on.'

Saunders got out fast in the 800 and led the whole way until Jenks took over at the end. Her runner-up finish of 2:12.40 highlighted West's final day.

Valerie Welch was third in the 100 hurdles and anchored the Women of Troy to fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay.

STATE TRACK & FIELD: CLASS 4A GIRLS

Teams (top 10) — 1. Waukee 83, 2. Pleasant Valley 77, 3. Urbandale 60, 4. Iowa City West 57, 5. Linn-Mar 52, 6. Ames 47.5, 7. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 43, 8. (tie) Muscatine and Waterloo East 30, 10. Southeast Polk 28.

Results (top 3, plus area)

Sprint medley relay — 1. Cedar Rapids Jefferson (Bergmann, Anderson, Ranschau, Blue), 1:45.89; 2. Southeast Polk, 1:46.20; 3. Pleasant Valley, 1:46.21.

800 — 1. Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar), 2:10.56; 2. Tia Saunders (Iowa City West), 2:12.40; 3. Larkin Chapman (Muscatine), 2:13.03; 5. Bailey Nock (Iowa City West), 2:15.45.

Shuttle hurdle relay — 1. Pleasant Valley (Spelhaug, DeGeorge, Park, Donahue), 1:01.26*#; 2. Waukee, 1:01.96; 3. Ames, 1:03.56; 4. Iowa City West, 1:04.09; 8. Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 1:07.27.

100 — 1. Briana Carter (Des Moines Roosevelt), 12.00; 2. Kerris Roberts (Waterloo East), 12.06; 3. Khenadi Jones (Sioux City West), 12.13.

100 hurdles — 1. Carly Donahue (Pleasant Valley), 14.47; 2. Abilene Ranschau (Cedar Rapids Jefferson), 14.49; 3. Valerie Welch (Iowa City West), 14.78.

200 — 1. Kerris Roberts (Waterloo East), 24.74; 2. Khenadi Jones (Sioux City West), 24.81; 3. Sydney Milani (Southeast Polk), 25.18.

1,500 — 1. Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar), 4:29.21; 2. Julia Noah (Urbandale), 4:31.41; 3. Elyse Prescott (Urbandale), 4:33.42; 8. Bailey Nock (Iowa City West), 4:48.03.

400 relay — 1. Waterloo East (Jenkins, Roberts, Dunn, Muhammad), 48.16; 2. Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 48.17; 3. Waukee, 48.35; 7. Linn-Mar, 49.63.

1,600 relay — 1. Pleasant Valley (Donahue, Spelhaug, Tebbe, Swanson), 3:53.22; 2. Johnston, 3:55.24; 3. Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 3:55.65.

*4A state-meet record

#all-time Iowa best

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