Yanek foils Jenks’ bid for 4th 3,000 title

DES MOINES — Her mind was willing. Her body couldn't follow.

Stephanie Jenks' bid for a fourth consecutive Drake Relays girls' 3,000-meter championship was thwarted by a tight hamstring — and Pleasant Valley's McKenzie Yanek — Thursday afternoon at Drake Stadium.

'I've been struggling with it for the last month and a half or so,' said Jenks, a senior at Linn-Mar and a signee of the University of California. 'I felt really good, then with a mile to go, it tightened up.'

Yanek kept Jenks in range for most of the race, never letting the margin grow beyond 30 meters, then pounced with 700 to go and took the lead. She won going away in 9:35.98, an effort that ranks No. 2 in the country this season and No. 3 in Iowa all-time. Jenks was clocked in 9:49.13.

'This was the most confidence I've ever had,' said Yanek, a University of Alabama signee who had toiled in Jenks' shadow through much of her high school career. 'I've been telling myself I can run with anybody in the nation.

'I love my coaches. They've been telling me I could do this. I wanted to do it for them.'

Jenks has been relatively injury-free throughout a brilliant career that has included eight Drake titles and eight state crowns. But the right hamstring has become an issue.

'I don't know what's going on,' she said. 'I've been getting it looked at all the time.

'Once (Yanek) went around, I didn't panic. It's not that I didn't know what to do. I tried to go with her.'

Jenks is scheduled to run the 800 on Friday and the 1,500 on Saturday. She said it's possible she might run in the 3,200-meter relay Saturday morning.

'It's up in the air,' she said.

Iowa City High's Rose Gamamou tied for second in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 4 inches. She narrowly missed at 5-6 on her final jump.

'I think I got it with my butt,' she said. 'Once I get back more with my back, I'll be fine.'

Megan Durbin of Greene County cleared 5-6 on her final attempt to win it, then made 5-7 and 5-8. Had she not converted her final attempt at 5-6, Gamamou and Sydney Durbin of Ida Grove OA-BCIG (Megan's third cousin) would have gone to a jump-off.

'It makes it a little easier, since she went on to clear 5-8,' Gamamou said. 'She made it fun to watch. I'm just happy I've been consistent this year.'

Erika Hammond of Clinton captured the shot put with a final-throw effort of 47-10 3/4, three-quarters of an inch farther than Kiana Phelps of KP-WC. Chandler Haight of Iowa City West and Jamie Kofron of Tipton were third and fourth.

DRAKE RELAYS: THURSDAY'S GIRLS RESULTS

High jump — 1. Megan Durbin (Greene County), 5-8; 2. (tie) Rose Gamamou (Iowa City High) and Sydney Durbin (Ida Grove OA-BCIG), 5-4; 4. Kaysha Dodson (Pekin), 5-4; 5. Ellie Roquet (Johnston), 5-4; 6. Chloe Havermann (Waukee), 5-4; 7. (tie) Katie Beer (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) and Kelli DeGeorge (Pleasant Valley), 5-2.

Shot put — 1. Erika Hammond (Clinton), 47-10 3/4; 2. Kiana Phelps (KP-WC), 47-10; 3. Chandler Haight (Iowa City West), 41-8 1/2; 4. Jamie Kofron (Tipton), 41-3 1/2; 5. Courtney Schnoor (Camanche), 40-9 1/4; 6. Brandi Botcher (Spencer), 40-8 1/4; 7. Mia Davis (Gilbert), 40-5 1/4; 8. Linnaea Konfrst (Glenwood), 40-2 1/2.

3,000 — 1. McKenzie Yanek (Pleasant Valley), 9:35.98; 2. Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar), 9:49.13; 3. Julia Noah (Urbandale), 9:51.33; 4. Elyse Prescott (Urbandale), 9:59.51; 5. Gwynne Wright (Pekin), 10:15.13; 6. Maddie Bach (Marion), 10:16.90; 7. Anna Hostetler (Mid-Prairie), 10:17.11; 8. Trina Moreno (Urbandale), 10:18.47.

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