It may have been a surprise to some that the Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls ran away with the 27th annual J-Hawk Relays on a long and dreary day Saturday at Kingston Stadium.

But the decisive win certainly did not come out of the blue for longtime Coach Bill Calloway nor his athletes.

Using a mix of veterans and newcomers, the J-Hawks took five of seven relay events and came in a close second in another to cop the team title over perennial powerhouses Iowa City West and Cedar Falls.

“I’m very, very pleased,” said Calloway. “This early in the season it’s hard to know how you’ll measure up.

“But all the kids really stepped up. They’ve been working like crazy in the off-season and every single day since we started practice on February 11th.

“This is one of the hardest-working groups of girls I’ve coached. And this shows their hard work has paid off.”

In winning the 4x200 and 800 sprint medley relays, Jefferson was led as usual by seniors Maliya Rattliffe off the starting block and Rachel “Bronco” Broghammer in the anchor spot.

They were joined in both runs by sophomores Lucy Schneekloth, who was flashy as a freshman, and Morgan Meese.

“This Meese girl,” Calloway noted, “has taken nearly a full second off her time in the 100 meters. She’s running at a whole different level than last year.”

With freshman Abbie Ranschau taking the place of Schneekloth in the 4x100 relay, Jefferson lost by less than a ponytail to a Cedar Falls quartet that came within two-hundredths of a second from the meet record.

“We’re way ahead of where we were last year at this time,” said Rattliffe, a wisp of a sprinter who plans to be a lawyer. “Right from the first of the year we knew we had a lot of potential. And even going back to last summer, we’ve all been very determined."

Broghammer, who was given her nickname by Calloway because of a fierce competitive nature on the track, claimed Saturday’s all-around team performance was no fluke.

“Were we surprised? Never,” she said with her million-dollar smile. “Are we happy? Always.

“We knew we were a team to look out for. We did today exactly what we were supposed to do.”

Fellow four-year varsity star Taylor Jacobson also had a banner day, though she stumbled in what was expected to be a highlight reel showdown with 100 meter hurdlers Sammie Osterberger of Dubuque Senior and Marisa Estelle of Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

“I came off the blocks like a turtle,” admitted Jacobson, who finished fifth. “I tried to make up for it in the 400.”

Indeed, she came out like lightning in the longer race and nosed out the Dubuque rival. Jacobson, who has a track scholarship at the University of Northern Iowa, also anchored Jefferson’s winning shuttle hurdle relay with two freshmen and a junior.

“We have a lot of depth on our team,” Jacobson said. “And all of our underclassmen are really doing well.”

While she and Broghammer normally run in the 4x400 relay, Calloway on Saturday used Schneekloth and freshmen Meredith Koenigsfeld, Sam Kitterman and Jasmine Blue.

Trailing by 10 strides going into the final leg, the speedster Blue blazed by the leader in the backstretch and brought home the fifth and final relay win of the day for the J-Hawks.

Earlier, with Ranschau in place of Schneekloth, the all-rookie foursome claimed the distance medley relay by a whopping eight seconds.

“We had people that really stepped up to the plate today,”  said Broghammer. “We have a lot of competitors on this team. We’ll be a team to watch.”

J-HAWK RELAYS
At Kingston Stadium

Team standings
1. Jefferson 98, 2. Iowa City West 83, 3. Cedar Falls 80, 4. Solon 69, 5. Linn-Mar 58, 6. Kennedy 55, 7. Prairie 43, 8. Dubuque Senior 41, 9. Waverly-Shell Rock 29, 10. (tie) Marshalltown and CR Washington 10, 12. Xavier 7, 13. West Waterloo 6

Events
Shot put - 1. Natalie Rumer (CRP) 38-7, 2. Kara Misel (Solon) 36-1.5, 3. Blaire Thomas (WW) 35-9
Discus - 1. Misel (Solon) 118-9, 2. Abby Brayton (ICW) 113-8, 3. Kelsey Cave (Solon) 111-9
Long jump - 1. McKennan Cronbaugh (ICW) 18-3.75, 2. Breyana Cooper (CRK) 17-2, 3. Jasmine Blue (CRJ) 15-4.5
High jump - 1. Leslie Harder (CRP) 5-0, 2. Sara Strauel (LM) 5-0, 3. Kenzie Soeken (CRP) 4-8. 3. Alicia Harrington (CF) 4-8
3000 meters - 1. Ashlynn Yokom (ICW) 10:33.67, 2. Lauren Benzing (Solon) 10:38.72, 3. Allison Culver (CRK) 10:58.49
4x800 relay - 1. Cedar Falls 9:55.86, 2. Kennedy (Kathia Wampole, Lauren Meyer, Carolyn Stone, Kristen Siebenga) 10:08.16, 3. Solon 10:28.28
Shuttle hurdle relay - 1. Jefferson (Madison Ranschau, Sam Kitterman, Abbie Ranschau, Taylor Jacobson) 1:07.66, 2. Iowa City West 1:08.88, 3. Kennedy (Emma Moss, Alexus Rogers, Kelsie Coates, Marisa Estelle) 1:09.51
100 - 1. Cronbaugh (ICW) 12.44, 2. Becca Cherry (WSR) 12.57, 3. Harrington (CF) 12.65
Distance medley relay - 1. Jefferson (A.Ranschau, Blue, Kitterman, Meredith Koenigsfeld) 4:25.72, 2. Linn-Mar 4:33.92, 3. Cedar Falls 4:35.40
400 - 1. Amber Decker (LM) 1:01.39, 2. Jordan Smith (Solon) 1:03.90, 3. Ashley Knudson (ICW) 1:04.02
4x200 relay - 1. Jefferson (Maliya atliffe, Lucy Schneekloth, Morgan Meese, Rachel Broghammer) 1:45.56, 2. Cedar Falls 1:48.31, 3. Dubuque Senior 1:49.94
100 hurdles - 1. Sammie Osterberger (DS) 15.41, 2. Estelle (CRK) 15.43, 3. M.Ranschau (CRJ) 15.66
800 - 1. Anna Holdiman (WSR) 2:20.92, 2. Brianna King (CF) 2:21.08, 3. Benzing (Solon) 2:25.97
200 - 1. Eisha Oden (Marsh) 26.97, 2. Blue (CRJ) 27.29, 3. Halley Morgan (LM) 27.57
400 hurdles - 1. Jacobson (CRJ) 1:06.99, 2. Osterberger (DS) 1:07.10, 3. Lauren Bobst (ICW) 1:09.27
Sprint medley relay - 1. Jefferson (Ratliffe, Meese, Schneekloth, Broghammer) 1:53.57, 2. Dubuque Senior 1:57.12, 3. Cedar Falls 1:57.37
1500 - 1. Allison Gregg (CF) 4:51.41, 2. Wampole (CRK) 4:52.20, 3. Abby Caldwell (WSR) 4:55.51
4x100 relay - 1. Cedar Falls 49.99, 2. Jefferson (Ratliffe, A.Ranschau, Meese, Broghammer) 50.04, 3. Iowa City West 50.23
4x400 relay - 1. Jefferson (Koenigsfeld, Kitterman, Schneekloth, Blue) 4:06.78, 2. Linn-Mar 4:07.14, 3. Cedar Falls 4:10.26