Specials pretty special

DES MOINES - Hometown hero Lolo Jones quietly scratched.

Renewed record-holder Chaunte Lowe proudly danced, and Wallace Spearmon Jr. finally eclipsed a venerable standard.

Soaring highs and a pair of notable absences marked the elite portion of Saturday's Drake Relays, which played out under a slate gray sky and somewhat chilly conditions at Drake Stadium.

Jones and shot-putter Christian Cantwell - both 2008 Olympians - pulled out. Lowe and Spearmon went all in, drawing boisterous cheers fueled by record-setting performances.

“It was cold, but you can't complain about it because at least I'm moving around,” said Lowe, the 2012 world indoor champion who beat her own Relays high jump record with a top leap of 6 feet, 6 inches. “The people in the crowd, they're cold and they're still here. They're not complaining so you just go from the heat of the atmosphere.”

Spearmon nipped Michael Johnson's 15-year-old record in the special invitational 200 meters in 20.02 seconds.

“He was one of the guys I idolized when I was growing up so to even be mentioned in the same sentence with him is a great honor,” Spearmon said. “I have been trying and trying and finally reached my goal.”

The former Arkansas star and U.S. indoor record holder nearly beat Johnson's erstwhile top mark of 20.05 two years ago while winning the Relays, but fell .015 seconds short.

Saturday, he was unchallenged by the rest of the field or the dreary weather, but didn't exult in his performance.

“I would give myself a C-minus,” Spearmon said. “I still have some work to do if I'm going to make (the) London (Olympics).”

Jones sat out partly because of her hopes for London. Cantwell, a Relays hall of famer, didn't throw due to an injury.

Jones, who's nursed a sore hamstring recently, indicated Friday that iffy weather conditions could prevent her from running. The former Des Moines Roosevelt star and 2008 Olympian said it would be a day-of event decision made by her coach, Dennis Shaver of LSU.

“The goal is always to come back and run,” Jones said Friday. “It's a great atmosphere to run in. It's a really good track to get a first race in.”

Elite pole vaulter Jenn Suhr agrees. The 2011 world indoor champion had so much fun winning the Vault in the Mall event Wednesday at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, she decided to compete in the stadium event as well.

Not without some mild debate, though.

“We stuck around and crossed our fingers with the weather and decided to come out and jump today,” said Suhr, who topped out at 15-3. “My husband/coach and I work on percentages and he was 80 percent ‘you are jumping' and I gave him 30 percent so I said, ‘We have a little problem here.' As we talked it out, we went through it and really wanted to have our first (outdoor) jump (of the season) here.”

Jennifer Simpson, a four-time U.S. indoor champion who spent her early years in Iowa, took the 1,500-meter women's title. She enjoys the track-crazy crowd that fills Drake Stadium each season.

“It's fun for me to watch them match my enthusiasm for the sport,” Simpson said. “It reminds me I'm not crazy for loving track as much as I do.”

Lowe shows her love by performing a crowd-pleasing dance after wins. It's filled with moves honed after 5 a.m. wake-up calls from her young kids.

“Iowans, they just absolutely love the high jump,” she said. “It just takes your breath away. You want to perform for them.”