Softball 2009: Players to watch

Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Hannah Petersen was a 4A first-team all-state pitcher as an eighth-grader.

A LOOK AT 16 GAZETTE-AREA SOFTBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Mount Vernon-Lisbon dominates 3A

The Mount Vernon-Lisbon girls' track team holds the Class 3A championship trophy at the state meet Saturday at Drake Stadium. (Photo by Brian Ray)

DES MOINES — Karly Cochrane was sick of second.

Second at state volleyball — twice. Second at state track.

“I was so sick of it,” she said. “To finally get what we deserve, it’s a great feeling.”

Mount Vernon-Lisbon racked up five event titles Saturday, sweeping the final three events, and won the Class 3A girls’ title going away at the state track meet at Drake Stadium. The self-proclaimed Mermaids tallied a 3A-record 98 1/4 points. Dubuque Wahlert was second with 78.

Mount Vernon-Lisbon creeps closer in 3A

Mount Vernon-Lisbon distance medley relay members celebrate their Class 3A title Friday at Drake Stadium. (Photo by Brian Ray)

DES MOINES — It’s still a deficit. But it seems a little more manageable.

Mount Vernon-Lisbon won the distance medley relay, finished second in two events and crept closer to Dubuque Wahlert in the Class 3A girls’ standings at the state track meet Friday at Drake Stadium.

Lonning: A calm, composed champion

Moran Lonning of Decorah races to victory in the Class 3A girls' 3,000-meter run Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. (Photo by Brian Ray)

DES MOINES — It was impossible to stay cool.

But when the typical early-race energy rush captivated many of her competitors, Moran Lonning did remain calm and collected.

Lonning worked her way through the field, then won the girls’ Class 3A 3,000-meter run convincingly at the state track meet Thursday at Drake Stadium.

State track: Girls’ capsules

A class by class glance at the girls’ state track meet:

Mount Vernon-Lisbon positions itself nicely

 

Marion's Kelsey Labs sprints to victory in the 100-meter dash at Friday's Class 3A state-qualification track meet at Thomas Park Field. Labs also won both hurdles races (Photo by Chris Macklin)

MARION — They didn’t win this meet.

But the girls from Mount Vernon-Lisbon put themselves in a position to win the next one.

The one that matters.

Girls track state leaders, May 5

Karly Cochrane of Mount Vernon-Lisbon (4295) is the Class 3A state leader in the 800 meters, and Mount Vernon-Lisbon has the top time in 3A this season in five relays. (Gazette photo by Jim Slosiarek)

Mount Vernon-Lisbon is top-ranked in six girls’ track events in Class 3A.

The team, self-proclaimed as Mermaids, leads 3A in five relays — the 800, 1600, 3,200 and both medleys. Karly Cochrane is the top 3A runner in the 800 meters.

Warriors have look of a contender

Cedar Rapids Washington's Avery McBride gets over a hurdle as the Warriors won the shuttle hurdle relay at the Drake Relays on Saturday. The Warriors won three relays at Drake. (Gazette photo by Jim Slosiarek)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Too early for title talk?

Not necessarily.

They don’t keep track of points at the Drake Relays. If they did, the boys from Cedar Rapids Washington would have brought more home than the three relay titles they captured.

Waukee 4×400 sets Iowa girls mark

Iowa City West's Jessica Gehrke finishes second to Waukee's Whitney Westrum at the end of the girls' 400-meter relay at the Drake Relays Saturday (Gazette photo by Jim Slosiarek)

DES MOINES — They’d spent their high school careers chasing “a special moment.”

An all-time Iowa best — in their final race of their final Drake Relays. Yeah, that’s special.

Waukee ran the 1,600-meter relay like no girls team in Iowa has run it before. Whitney Westrum outdueled Sioux City East’s Ellen Dougherty in the final stretch to give the Warriors the gold in 3:50.21. East’s 3:50.58 also beat the former standard (3:51.70), set by Starmont 28 years ago.