By Chad Cooper, Community contributor CEDAR RAPIDS — Strength, agility and fluidity are components of a great javelin thrower. The body of the athlete must be in precise movement from the run-up to the release. A great javelin thrower must successfully combine speed, precision and power. Jenna Higgins understands these tenets and embodies all of the [...]
continue »Editor’s note: Nathan Ford of Grinnell is freshman at Wartburg College, where he is sports editor for the Wartburg Trumpet, co-sports director at KWAR and a staff member for Wartburg Television. By Nathan Ford, community contributor WAVERLY — Wartburg assistant track and field coach Steve Johnson calls himself a “numbers guy.” Johnson knew the 2012 [...]
continue »DES MOINES — In one turn, North Linn’s Nicole Miller surged from fourth to third. Midway through the backstretch, she’d climbed to second and set her sights on Woodward-Granger anchor Haley Manning. “After my first lap I thought I could get her,” said Miller, who made up ground, but couldn’t catch Manning as her team [...]
continue »DES MOINES — Lisbon runners John Noll, Nathan Budde and Ben Knake served as the ultimate set-up men. Their job: Run hard and pass the baton to Conner Smock. And they did it well Friday, turning a time of 3:35.48 into Class 1A boys’ state track and field gold. “Last year we put him in [...]
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Matt Banse is feeling “poppy.” That’s a good thing, by the way. “I’m ready for a big throw in both events,” he said Thursday on the bus ride to Madison, Wis., for this weekend’s Big Ten track and field championships. A University of Iowa senior from Strawberry Point, Banse is hoping to help the Hawkeyes [...]
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DES MOINES — Ashley Miller beamed, one hand on hip, one long-sought flag clutched in the other. As the former Tipton star-turned-Nebraska standout embarked on her first Drake Relays victory lap as a collegian on Saturday, she stopped to sign autographs. Another first, which drew another smile. “It’s crazy,” Miller said after winning the women’s [...]
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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 [...]
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DES MOINES — Rain. Cold. Suspense. Radar maps and up-to-the-minute predictive models will help determine whether Des Moines Roosevelt star-turned-world champion and Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones will compete in Saturday’s 3:07 p.m. special invitational 100-meter hurdle event at the Drake Relays. The prospects aren’t promising — with forecasts calling for wet conditions and a high in [...]
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DES MOINES — Ashley Miller didn’t use the word “disappointed” once. Instead, the former Tipton and current Nebraska star latched onto a happy and hopeful term — again and again. “Drake’s always just a fun meet because it’s team-oriented,” said Miller, who anchored the Huskers to a third-place finish in the late 3,200-meter relay that [...]
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DES MOINES — A premonition percolated in Iowa distance runner Betsy Flood’s mind. Its gold-foretold basis? Personal history — and a teammate’s well-worn pair of socks. “I was actually just thinking that the first time I ever won Drake in high school was my senior year in the (3,200-meter relay),” said Flood, who ran the [...]
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