CEDAR FALLS – The girls on the state champion Jefferson relay team were ecstatic after their finish at the Mississippi Valley Conference indoor track meet Tuesday night at the UNI-Dome.  And it wasn’t because they won their race.  In fact, they ended up a distant seventh.

“It was the worst 400 in my life,” said junior Rachel Broghammer, who anchored the J-Hawk 4x400 relay team.  “But I’ve never felt better.”

And junior Taylor Jacobson, who ran the opening leg, said she couldn’t have been happier.

“It was brutal. But it feels good. I’m feeling a lot better than I thought I would. I think we’re right where we should be this early.”

Both girls are just thankful to be running at all.

Star Jefferson basketball players besides being linchpins of the 4x200 relay team that captured last spring’s state title, they were competing again after their cage seasons were cut short by leg injuries.  The two have been starters since their freshman year.  Leading scorer Jacobson suffered a high ankle sprain in the first game of the year.  And while she tried to come back, she missed the last 18 games.

Broghammer, meanwhile, was out for the final nine contests after a stress fracture to her lower leg.

In addition to wiping out the basketball season, the injuries left their running ability in doubt.

“Tonight was a wake-up call,” Jacobson said Tuesday.

“We proved we could run with no ill effects,” added Broghammer.

Along with fellow junior Maliya Rattliffe and senior Summer Carber, each of the girls covered their 400-meter legs in just over a minute for a combined time of 4:22.76.  Iowa City High ran away from the field with a time of 4:11.56.

But veteran J-Hawk Coach Bill Calloway  was more than pleased with his championship quartet's first race of the season together.

“Rachel and Taylor have only had two weeks of running,” he said. “So they’re where I expected they’d be.

“But they’ll get better. We’ll close the gap in the next couple of weeks.”

Neither Broghammer nor Jacobson were medically cleared for any strenuous activity through January.  They then eased into training by swimming and biking before actually hitting the track.

While the 4x200 is the four girls’ best event, they run all relays together.

Broghammer said Calloway felt there would be less physical stress by opening their season with the longer distance as opposed to a sprint.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without Coach Calloway,” she said. “We’re incredibly lucky to have him for our coach.”

Team scores were not kept for the 14-school MVC field, and coaches kept the times for their own athletes.

Of the girls from the Metro teams, only Shannon Gorman of Washington claimed a victory.  She won the 3000 meter run with a time of 11:06.64, just over a second faster than runner-up Allison Culver of Kennedy.

MVC GIRLS INDOOR TRACK MEET
At Cedar Falls

(No Team Scores Kept)

Shot Put

1. Gustafson (ICH) 38-1 1/2; 2. Weimerschirch (DW) 38-0; 3. Lehmen (ICH) 35-6; 4. Watts (CF) 33-10 1/2; 5. Johnson (ICW) 33-5; 6. Griffin (CRP) 33-3.

High Jump

1. (tie) Harris (CRP) 4-8; (tie) Brummel (CF) 4-8; Voorhees (DH) 4-8; Splinter (DH) 4-8; Bobst (ICW) 4-8; Payne (WW) 4-8.

Long Jump

1. Cronbaugh (ICW) 17-3; 2. Wilson (ICW) 15-9 1/4; Riggins (WE) 15-8; 4. Harris (CRP) 15-6; 5. (tie) Montgomery (CRP) 15-5; Payne (WW) 15-5.

3000 Meter Run

1. Gorman (CRW) 11:06.64; 2. Culver (CRK) 11:07.81; 3. Arch (ICH) 11:40.40; 4. Rodman (CRK) 11:48.87; 5. Starman (ICW) 11:59.39; 6. Jordan (CRP) 12:07.00.

4x800 Meter Relay

1. Cedar Falls 10:04.80; 2. Kennedy 10:05.00; 3. Wahlert "A" 10:18.75; 4. Wahlert "B" 10:34.18; 5. Washington 10:46.00; 6. Dubuque Senior 11:01.01.

Shuttle Hurdle Relay

1. Iowa City High 40.32; 2. Linn-Mar 40.33; 3. Iowa City West 40.47; 4. Jefferson 41.34; 5. Prairie 41.66; 6. Kennedy 44.73.

Distance Medley Relay

1. Iowa City High 4:21.40; 2. Linn-Mar 4:27.23; 3. Kennedy 4:32.18; 4. Iowa City West 4:38.86; 5. Wahlert 4:41.92; 6. Linn-Mar 4:45.90.

60 Meter Dash

1. Williams (ICW) 7.82; 2. Schneekloth (CRJ) 8.08; 3. Baker-Bruce (WE) 8.13; 4. Rattliffe (CRJ) 8.14; 5. McKinney (WE) 8.25; 6. Kimble (DS) 8.30.

400 Meter Dash

1. Stenzel (DW) 1:01.69; 2. Sammons (ICH) 1:03.01; 3. Vogel (CRW) 1:04.39; 4. Steimel (CRP) 1:05.90; 5. Jurgens (CRX) 1:06.50; 6. Fisher (WW) 1:07.90.

4x200 Meter Relay

1. Cedar Falls 1:49.11; 2. Jefferson 1:51.88; 3. Linn-Mar 1:54.34; 4. Hempstead 1:54.40; 5. Dubuque Senior 1:55.50; 6. Washington 1:55.80.

60 Meter Hurdles

1. Tanner (ICW) 9.16; 2. Ward (ICH) 9.33; 3. S. Osterberger (DS) 9.36; 4. Ranschau (CRJ) 9.51; 5. Foreman (CRW) 9.53; 6. Carber (CRJ) 9.84.

800 Meter Run

1. King (CF) 2:21.54; 2. Savage (CF) 2:25.00; 3. Knudson (ICW) 2:25.00; 4. Wampole (CRK) 2:25.51; 5. Gorman (CRW) 2:30.00; 6. Lynch (DW) 2:33.15.

200 Meter Dash

1. Cronbaugh (ICW) 26.13; 2. Plock (ICH) 27.05; 3. Crew (ICH) 27.10; 4. Wilson (ICW) 27.13; 5. Smith (DW) 27.78; 6. Digman (DH) 28.00.

Sprint Medley Relay

1. Wahlert 1:57.41; 2. Linn-Mar 1:58.02; 3. Kennedy 1:58.89; 4. Cedar Falls 1:59.11; 5. Washington 1:59.50; 6. Dubuque Senior 2:03.23.

1500 Meter Run

1. Leveille (ICW) 5:03.22; 2. Beasley (ICH) 5:08.00; 3. Yokom (ICW) 5:09.79; 4. Rusch (DW) 5:11.60; 5. Kascel (LM) 5:15.37; 6. Culver (CRK) 5:19.50.

4x100 Meter Relay

1. Iowa City West 51.21; 2. Dubuque Senior 52.87; 3. Kennedy 54.16; 4. Linn-Mar 54.88; 5. Washington 55.25; 6. Wahlert 56.45.

4x400 Meter Relay

1. Iowa City High 4:11.56; 2. Wahlert 4:13.00; 3. Kennedy 4:19.31; 4. Iowa City West 4:19.37; 5. Wahlert 4:19.60; 6. Cedar Falls 4:20.18.