Jacobus is well, willing and able

(RESULTS)DES MOINES -- Derek Jacobus spent a good chunk of the school year in a sling, on the proverbial disabled list.Injuries to his labrum, and then his ankle, forced Jacobus missed the entire junior football season and most of the basketball season."It's been a year of ups and downs," he acknowledged.Friday was an up. A big up.Jacobus won the Class 4A long jump and helped vault Cedar Rapids Kennedy into the lead at the state track and field meet Friday at Drake Stadium.The junior leapt 22 feet, 10 1/4 inches to lead a 1-3 attack (teammate Famiek Cook was third), and anchored the Cougars to second place in the 800-meter relay.Through 10 events, Kennedy leads the team race with 37 points, followed by Mississippi Valley Conference brethren Linn-Mar (31), Iowa City West (28) and Iowa City High (24).The final eight events will be contested Saturday.A four-sport athlete, Jacobus suffered the shoulder injury late last summer; he had figured to be a key member of the Cougars' football team. After surgery and rehabilitation, he seemed poised to return before the end of the basketball season. Then came the ankle injury."I'd have a peak, then a valley," he said. "Today is the peak of peaks."Linn-Mar enhanced its 4A title hopes, winning the 800-meter relay and the 1,600-meter distance medley.Austin Flieder, Tristan Freese, Tim Wolfe and Perrion Scott ran 1:27.52 in the 800 relay. Kennedy was next in 1:28.01."It's a blessing, man," Scott said. "We know this (meet) is going to be a roller coaster the rest of the way. We were racing against time, and we had to take it home."Freese said, "I was thinking about the guy before me, the guy after me. It's about the points you've got to score for your teammates and the guys in the stands depending on you."Flieder, Wolfe, Chase Grabau and Josh Evans finished the medley in 3:29.94. City High was second in 3:30.24."I'm a senior, and I've been pretty emotional before every event," Grabau said. "I put all my energy into the race."Grabau ran the 400-meter led in 49.8 seconds; Evans anchored in 1:54.1 to prevail in a closely contested pack."I knew Brook (Price, of City High) was ahead of me and Bailey (Wetherell, of Iowa City West) was right behind me," Evans said. "I was a little worried when (Wetherell) went by me for a little bit."Then I just dug in."