Metro Sports Report

Jenks claims 3000 at 104th Drake Relays

DES MOINES - Linn-Mar freshman Stephanie Jenks chatted amiably with some of her friends after topping them in the 3000 meter run Thursday at the 104th Annual Drake Relays, casually holding her championship banner after running the third-fastest time in meet history.

She didn't act like her performance was anything special, but it was.

Jenks captured the 3000 in 9 minutes, 46.02 seconds with a strong kick on the final lap to win her personal battle with Pleasant Valley freshman McKenzie Yanek by more than four seconds.

Jenks won the Class 4A state cross country title last fall and now has two prestigious distance titles to her credit as a ninth grader against the best seniors, juniors and sophomores in the state.

Jenks said she dreamed about succeeding as a runner in high school, but never thought she'd be this successful.

"I wanted my dream to become a reality," she said, all smiles. "I'm just so happy."

Kernels swat Great Lakes, 16-7

The Byron Buxton Express got back on track Thursday night.

Buxton, the Cedar Rapids Kernels center fielder and lead off hitter, had a pair of doubles to go along with a towering three-run home run beyond the left field wall of Veterans Memorial Stadium. His three hits were among 11 Kernels hits on the night as they trounced the visiting Great Lakes Loons, 16-7.

Buxton had been in a bit of a minor slump with just three hits in the Kernels previous four games. That may not seem like much of a slump to most players, going hitless in only one of the four games. But Buxton carried a .476 batting average into this past Friday's game at Peoria and had seen that average drop to .404 going into Thursday's game with the Loons.

Was he concerned with the recent dip in production? "It got to me a little bit," Buxton acknowledged after Thursday's game, "but I hit in the cage, found my stroke back and took it to the field. It feels good."

Kirkwood sweeps DMACC; win streak hits 33

The third-ranked Kirkwood Eagles swept a doubleheader from No.6 DMACC Thursday, 1-0 and 13-5, and went a long way toward clinching the ICCAC softball title.

Kirkwood has won 33 straight games.

The first game proved to be a pitcher's duel between Kirkwood’s Amber Logemann (17-3) and DMACC ace Mari Silliman.

Silliman struck out 17 hitters in 6.1 innings, but made a mistake to Lauren Smith who launched a home run over the center-field fence for the walkoff victory in the bottom of the seventh.

Local players in pro baseball

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers)) - Did not play Thursday in the Quakes' 8-4 loss to Inland Empire. Season stats: G - 17, Avg. - .290, AB - 62, H - 18, HR - 3, RBI - 12, SB - 1.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Lansing (Blue Jays)) - Started at second base Thursday and was 0-for-3 with a walk in the Lugnuts' 6-2 win at Quad Cities. Season stats: G - 15, Avg. - .157, AB - 51, H - 8, HR - 0, RBI - 2, SB - 0.

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Iowa (Cubs)) - Started in right field and was 4-for-5 with a home run, triple and four RBIs in the I-Cubs' 9-3 win at Omaha. Season stats: G - 15, Avg. - .404, AB - 52, H - 21, HR - 4, RBI - 12, SB - 1.