Iowa City High’s Eva Reynolds earns silver in the 4A girls’ 400-meter hurdles

DES MOINES — Eva Reynolds wore a sleeve on her leg, a scar on her upper chest.

The sleeve is the result of a strained quad. The scar?

“The day before the first day of (track and field) practice, I broke my collarbone, skiing,” she said. “I tried a jump, and I shouldn’t have.”

That mishap kept her out of track practice for a while. But in the end, it couldn’t stop her from track performance.

A senior from Iowa City High, Reynolds ran second in the Class 4A girls’ 400-meter hurdles Friday morning at the state meet. She finished in 1 minute, 3.36 seconds.

That put her behind only Ames star Ali Frandsen, and just ahead of Avery Winter of Waukee Northwest.

“I thought, ‘Oh, no,’ when I saw (Winter out of the corner of my eye),” Reynolds said. “Sometimes I can hear people, but I didn’t hear her. I was really aiming for second (place).”

Reynolds edged Winter by 7-hundredths of a second, for second.

Reigning champion Waukee Northwest takes the 4A girls’ team lead into the final day. Through 10 events, the Wolves have 43 points. Ankeny is second with 42, followed by Pleasant Valley (38) and Ames (25).

The final nine events are Saturday.

Iowa City Liberty got a 3-4 finish from Alexi Thigpen and Jasmine Barney in the long jump.

Thigpen, a freshman, passed her senior mentor late in the competition, leaping 17 feet, 5 3/4 inches. Barney jumped 17-4 1/2.

“I moved back on my approach so I could get my speed up,” Thigpen said. “That’s what my coach told me to do, that’s what I did, and here we are.”

Thigpen began her long-jumping journey this year.

“I said, ‘Let’s try this,’ she said. ”Jasmine taught me a lot of things.“

City High was fourth in the distance medley relay.

Friday results: Class 4A girls

Top 10 teams (through 10 events) — 1. Waukee Northwest 43, 2. Ankeny 42, 3. Pleasant Valley 38, 4. Ames 25, 5. West Des Moines Dowling 23, 6. Johnston 18, 7. (tie) Ankeny Centennial, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Dubuque Hempstead 14, 10. (tie) Iowa City High and West Des Moines Valley 13.

RESULTS (Top 3 and area placewinners)

Shot put — 1. Mackenzie Fah (Pleasant Valley), 41-3 3/4; 2. Kendall McDaniel (Indianola), 40-0; 3. Greta Brus (Davenport North), 39-4 3/4; 7. Kennedy Evans (Linn-Mar), 37-10 3/4.

Long jump — 1. Jaeden Pratt (Ankeny Centennial), 18-1; 2. Ruby Leman (West Des Moines Dowling), 17-11 3/4; 3. Alexi Thigpen (Iowa City Liberty), 17-5 3/4; 4. Jasmine Barney (Iowa City Liberty), 17-4 1/2.

Distance medley relay — 1. Dubuque Hempstead (Osterkamp, Tomkins, O'Brien, Leitzen), 4:05.27; 2. Ankeny, 4:05.63; 3. Pleasant Valley, 4:05.69; 4. Iowa City High, 4:06.46.

800 relay — 1. Waukee Northwest (Madison, Carnes, Van Zetten, Winter), 1:41.28; 2. Ames, 1:42.47; 3. Sioux City East, 1:43.91; 5. Cedar Rapids Prairie, 1:44.04.

400 hurdles — 1. Ali Frandsen (Ames), 1:01.98; 2. Eva Reynolds (Iowa City High), 1:03.36; 3. Avery Winter (Waukee Northwest), 1:03.43.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com