Metro Sports Report

J-Hawks smash record in 4x200 relay

DES MOINES - The Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls trained in the rain. They ran in the snow. They pushed themselves in the weight room. They worked hard in the pool.

It all paid off Friday.

Abbie Ranschau, Jasmine Blue, Morgan Meese and Lucy Schneekloth shattered the all-time record in the 4x200 relay and captured the event for the third straight year at the Class 4A state meet in Des Moines.

Jefferson was clocked in 1 minute, 39.24 seconds, chopping 1.7 seconds off the all-time best that Jefferson set at the state meet in 2013.

"Every single day after school, we're on the track, in the weight room, in the pool," said Jasmine Blue. "We're working hard all the time.

"We want to win," she said. "We want to be the best."

Blue and Schneekloth ran on the 4x200 relay for Jefferson as youngsters in 2013 when they submitted the previous all-time best of 1:40.94. They were determined to go even faster this time and crack 1 minute, 40 seconds.

Lions win medley, lead 4A standings

DES MOINES - Amber Decker has been collapsing after races ever since she began running for Linn-Mar High School as a freshman two years ago.

She collapsed -- and celebrated -- again Friday.

Decker ran the anchor leg as the Lions claimed the distance medley relay at the Class 4A state meet and stayed ahead of the pack in the race for the title.

Decker runs to the point of exhaustion, and sometimes beyond. She spent a few minutes bent over on the track at Drake Stadium on Friday after the medley, got to her feet, walked off the track and then reclined on her back on the field turf while her teammates hovered around.

Scott helps Linn-Mar take 4x200

DES MOINES - Linn-Mar senior Perrion Scott wanted to make a last hurrah at the Class 4A state track meet before heading off to college.

He got it Friday.

Scott ran a sensational anchor leg on the 4x200 relay and led the Lions to victory in a bang-bang finish at Drake Stadium.

Scott seemingly came out of nowhere and leaned across the finish line to give Linn-Mar the victory in 1 minute, 29.13 seconds in one of the closest races in state history.

Ankeny Centennial finished second in 1:29.14 and Cedar Falls was third in 1:29.17, with only four-hundredths of a second separating the top three finishers.

Sean Zimmerman, Tristan Freese and Daniel Gorsich joined Scott on the 4x200 relay.

Kernels knock off Beloit, 7-3

BELOIT, Wis. - The Cedar Rapids Kernels climbed 10 games over the .500 mark Friday night with a 7-3 victory over Beloit before 1,168 fans at Pohlman Field.

T.J. White went 3-for-4 for the Kernels to lead an 11-hit attack. Nick Gordon, Trey Vavra and Rainis Silva had two hits. Vavra and Max Murphy drove in two runs. Gordon scored three runs.

Cedar Rapids raised its record to 26-16 with the victory.

Randy LeBlanc (4-0) was the winning pitcher with three innings of shutout ball in relief. Kernels started Jared Wilson allowed two runs in five innings.