Brian Ray Click for Caption

Keating, Thornhill win 5,000 titles    Janvrin wins again    Balster comes from behind to win

DES MOINES -- Last year's championship flag was homemade.

This one is authentic.

"I'm going to carry this one and hold it close to me for a long, long time," Nelle Trefz said after winning the girls' 3,000 meters at the Drake Relays Thursday afternoon at Drake Stadium.

Trefz, a junior at Iowa City High, controlled the second half of the race and won going away in 10 minutes 4.87 seconds. That was more than 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Sara Fassbinder of Dubuque Wahlert.

A member of City High's winning 3,200-meter relay team last year, Trefz was disappointed to hear Drake wasn't handing out flags to high school winners -- a decision Drake has reversed this year. So she improvised.

"I made mock flags for the 4-by-8 and shuttle hurdle teams. I drew them and stuffed a dowel on the end," Trefz said.

That was far from the lone disappointment Trefz suffered as a sophomore. A hamstring injury kept her far from 100 percent all season. Now she's healthy and the best female prep distance runner in the state.

"Last year was last year. It's done and over with," she said. "My time is now."

Trefz took the lead with four laps to go. The last mile, she gradually increased her advantage.

The victory marks the fifth straight year an Iowa City runner has won the girls' 3,000. City High runners own four of those titles.

City's Michelle Lilienthal won in 1999 and 2000, West's Jeni Frudden prevailed in 2001. City's Jennie Funk, a junior who is recovering from a leg injury of her own, took the gold last year.

Thursday's race was run with a 50-degree temperature and a steady drizzle.

"It probably wasn't the best for spectators, but it was perfect for a distance runner," Trefz said. "We didn't have to worry about overheating, and the mist kept us awake.

"(A youth band) had the drums and the cowbells playing. It got me pumped up."

Cedar Rapids Washington's Shannon Oster finished third in 10:21.31, a career best.

After Trefz broke from the pack, Oster ran in a clump with Fassbinder and Marshalltown's Kate Greer, the fourth-place finisher.

"I think I ran a good, smart race," said Oster, a Marquette signee whose future college teammates cheered her loudly throughout the race. "When Nelle made a surge, I knew I didn't have it in me to go with her. I hoped she'd come back to the pack, but she didn't."

Angie Hensel of Clinton repeated as the long jump champion, leaping 17 feet 11 inches. Washington's LaNeisha Waller was fifth at 17-5. That was her first jump of the afternoon. Waller was third last year.

Rachel Jansen of MOC-Floyd Valley won the discus with a fling of 138-4. City High's Jessica Elliott was sixth.

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