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Sunday, April 28, 2002

Little Hawk girls claim 4x800 relay

By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Their time was 10 seconds slower than a year ago, but it was one place better. That's why a cold, rainy Saturday at the Drake Relays turned out to be quite a beautiful day for Monica Mims, Nelle Trefz, Jennie Funk and Meggan Reed.

The same group of Little Hawks who ran the third-fastest time in state history in Drake's 4x800 last year only to finish second to West High didn't challenge any state records Saturday. But no other team challenged City, either.

Said Mims after the Little Hawks won in 9 minutes, 25.35 seconds, nearly 14 seconds ahead of the second-place Women of Troy: "It's been a year coming."

It actually took a little bit longer than the Little Hawks anticipated. A thunderstorm delayed the meet for 55 minutes Saturday morning.

Good thing for City the meet went on, because the Little Hawk girls also won the shuttle hurdle relay, took second in the 4x400, third in the sprint medley relay and fifth in the 4x100.

Trefz said running at the Little Hawk Invitational earlier this month with temperatures in the low 30s helped City in the 4x800 Saturday.

"It's another opportunity to show that you're the team and prove it to yourself that you're not going to let anything stop you," Trefz said. "Whatever it takes: warming up five times, running in this downpour, it doesn't matter, it's a race."

It wasn't just a race to Mims, Trefz, Funk and Reed, though. The quartet finished in 9:15.56 last year, only to have West break the meet record with a 9:12.74.

"It was the lowest low for us, even though it shouldn't have been because we ran an amazing time," said Funk, who won the 3,000 on Thursday. "At City High School, we don't accept second-best as (the best) we can do because we always feel we can push ourselves to the next level."

Without Michigan recruit Jeni Frudden, who missed the meet with a hip flexor muscle injury, West's team of Julia Frudden, Robdu Adam, Janet Dobyns and Lynn Dobyns finished second in 9:39.28, marking the top finish of the meet for the Women of Troy.

City doubled its winnings by taking the first-ever running of the high school girls shuttle hurdle relay. Emily Triplett, Tara Whiting, Katy Fraga and Maya Monitto-Webber cruised to victory in 1:03.53 and joked about setting a new meet record.

"It's the greatest feeling, I don't even know how to describe it," Monitto-Webber said. "You never know coming into it how everything is going to turn out. I'm really happy with how we performed."

The Little Hawks came into the meet with the state's fastest time and finished more than a second ahead of second-place Cedar Falls.

"They've been looking forward to that race all year," City coach Terry Coleman said. "They were concerned a little bit with the pressure. They came in with the fastest time by a second and a half, and (they were) trying to live up to those expectations. I feel so great for those guys because they've worked so hard and done more than anyone could've asked for them in the off-season."

Saturday belonged to the Little Hawk girls after the City boys stole the show Friday by winning the 4x200 and getting a first from Calvin Davis in the 100. The City boys, however, couldn't get back to the victory stand Saturday.

Ankeny's Josh Leonard edged Davis on the anchor leg of the 4x400 to prevent the Little Hawk squad of Adam Smith, Connor Jostes, Ryan Grenko and Davis from victory.

"(Davis) expected he was going to win and I think that kind of hurt him a little bit," Leonard said. "I'm kind of glad he has all that fame and stuff because it makes him look worse when he gets beat."

Davis credited Leonard for "finishing it out a little better" and said he's looking forward to a possible rematch against the Ankeny senior in the open 400 next month at the state meet. The Iowa football recruit said losing stokes his fire.

"Especially here in front of all these people," Davis said. "But it happens. We got second place and I'm definitely not happy about that. I'll get another shot at state."

Nonetheless, City's 4x400 squad shaved nearly six seconds off its previous season best, finishing in 3:19.84. Tipton's team of Nick Miller, Andy Kruse, Chad Arndt and Billy Hoffman finished third in 3:24.68.

Greg Deal, Tyler Gerard, Rob Duwa and Tony Sturgell placed fifth in the 4x100 for the Little Hawks.

City's girls 4x400 squad of Kelsie Full, Katie Krei, Reed and Mims finished second, while West's team of Nicole Novak, Amanda Judisch, Lindsey Windauer and Lynn Dobyns placed fourth.

Mims and Krei teamed up with Camille Jordan and Elizabeth Matzen to place third in the sprint medley relay, while Jordan and Matzen, along with Heaven Tutson and Monitto-Webber, finished fifth in the 4x100.

Williamsburg's girls 4x800 team of Abby Jones, Terran Wertz, Annie Jones and Amanda Stecker placed ninth.

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