'3 months of work, 3 days in May'

CEDAR FALLS -- There may be teams out there with more raw talent.But, according to Lucy Schneekloth, nobody works harder that the Jefferson J-Hawks."We're going to outwork every team in Iowa," said Schneekloth, a junior on the Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls' track and field team, a squad that is developing into a powerhouse."The possibilities are endless."Jefferson finished fifth in the Class 4A race at last year's state meet, the best finish by a Metro team in a decade. The J-Hawks broke a 38-year-old all-time Iowa best in the 800-meter relay, sprinting through it (high handoffs and all) in 1:40.94.Schneekloth and Jasmine Blue return from that foursome."We didn't know it was an all-time Iowa best until it was over," Blue recalled. "We were just like, 'Oh, yeah, we won.' "The heart and soul of the 2013 team -- Rachel Broghammer and Taylor Jacobson -- has moved on, but there's still a wealth of speed. That was apparent at the Mississippi Valley Conference indoor meet Tuesday at the UNI-Dome.Jefferson won six events: Schneekloth and Blue were 1-2 in the 60-meter dash, and Madi Ranschau captured the 60-meter hurdles. The J-Hawks won the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays, plus the shuttle hurdle relay.Sprinting has always been Jefferson's forte. It was back in the 1980s behind Robin Threatt and Julie Davis (Schneekloth's mother). It was in 2011, when the J-Hawks won the state 800 relay.And it is now."The biggest thing with this group of sprinters ... they're very hard workers," said Bill Calloway, who has coached track 39 years and has served the last 28 as the J-Hawks' head coach. "Our sprint practices are tough."When it was cold outside, the J-Hawks were out on the track anyway. Before that, some of the J-Hawks went through as many as 47 offseason workouts."We put in the most work of anybody," said junior Morgan Meese. "We have to."Three times a week, most every week, the J-Hawks lift in their Performance PE class."Kids won't get faster if they don't get stronger," Calloway said.It's demanding work. But the results are there."Calloway says we might not like it now, but we're going to thank him for it someday," said sophomore Abilene Ranschau, who ran the 200 in 28.4 seconds five weeks into last season, 26.4 three weeks into this season.Meese said, "He might make us angry, but you've got to love him."Blue and Schneekloth are sprinters. Last fall, they were distance runners, as members of the Jefferson cross country squad."It was difficult," Blue said. "We stepped outside our comfort zone, that's for sure."In short, the J-Hawks have busted it through a long winter. The outdoor season is about to begin.The rewards await."We have a saying," Calloway said. "Three months of work for three days in May."