City High girls move into 4A contention

DES MOINES -- Every point matters.

"Every single point, every single step, every single second," said Jessica Yagla, who was willing to leave some flesh on the Drake Stadium track.

Yagla sacrificed her body at the state track meet Thursday, leaning -- and then falling -- to edge West Des Moines Valley's Kate Maxcy for second place in the Class 4A girls' 3,200-meter relay.

She suffered a small scrape on her knee, a larger one on her shoulder. Her hip and head made contact with the track as well.

All well worth it for a couple extra points.

"I just tried so hard to beat her," Yagla said. "I was so tempted to push her, it's my soccer instinct."

Anchored by ace Katie Flood, West Des Moines Dowling won the race in 9:15.65. City finished in 9:19.99; Valley in 9:20.01.

"That (finish) was incredible," said City leadoff runner Emily Fagan. "We all gave every single inch that we could."

Every single inch for every single point.

"All those little points will make a big difference at the end," Fagan said.

City High got an unexpected boost in the high jump, where Stephanie Brooks (5-4) and Virginia Johnson (5-2) finished second and fifth.

The Little Hawks trail West Des Moines Dowling, 28-25, at the front of the 4A race.  Ankeny is third with 20 points, followed by Iowa City West (16).

Flood smashed her own all-time Iowa best in the 3,000 meters, motoring through it in 9:27.25.

That's nearly 15 seconds faster than the standard she had set three years ago.

"I'm just really happy," said Flood, who claimed her fourth straight 4A 3,000 title. "I had no idea I was going to run that fast."

Flood was pushed for a while by Des Moines Roosevelt's Madie Hubbell before pulling away with 800 meters to go. The final portion of the race was run with the majority of fans on their feet.

"With 200 meters to go, I looked up and the scoreboard said something like 9:07," Flood said. "I had never gone through there that fast."

West's Micaela Haight and Courtney Fritz finished third and fourth in the discus. Chelsea Colpitts won it on her final throw of 148-8.