March 28, 2024

Barr, Linhart tie for third in high jump

Zimmerman medals in 100 hurdles

DES MOINES — Clarke’s girls track team brought home two medals and Central Decatur secured one medal here last weekend at the 2015 Co-ed State Track Meet at Drake Stadium.

Clarke junior Alexis Barr and Central Decatur senior Hallie Linhart tied for third in Friday’s Class 2A high jump competition, while Clarke sophomore Bailey Zimmerman finished eighth in the 100 meter hurdles final on Saturday.

In the high jump competition, neither Barr nor Linhart recorded a miss until the bar reached 5-5.

Barr was confident throughout the competition and stayed relaxed, dancing around the Drake Stadium infield in between jumps.

“Normally, to get into a good mood, I listen to a lot of Beyonce songs and then I dance in place for a long time,” she said. “So for awhile, I was just really feeling the whole ‘Single Ladies’ vibe and I was just dancing to it.

“It helps get the adrenaline going and it just puts me in a good mood,” Barr said. “High jump is so mental. So you have to get it in your head that you’re going to do good. If you can distract yourself and stay loose, it kind of works.”

Barr recorded her first miss of the competition at 5-5, when on her approach to the pit, she tried to hold up from jumping and ran into the mat.

“I got scared,” she said. “I saw that the bar was right near my head and I was like, ‘Oh gosh. Wow, that’s a big bar.’”

Still, Barr was pleased with her performance on Friday.

“That’s so cool!” she said about her third-place finish. “I think that’s a huge improvement from last year, because when I was here last year, I was a sophomore and I was totally not expecting there to be so many people, and I ended up having some kind of a freak out. I’m just happy that I didn’t have an emotional breakdown this year.”

Linhart, meanwhile, was just as perfect throughout the competition until recording her first miss at 5-5.

The Central Decatur senior missed practice for most of the week leading up to the state meet.

“I got strep throat this week, so I didn’t really practice much,” she said. “I just wanted to come in and do my best at my last meet. I’m pretty happy with what happened.”

Linhart barely scraped over the bar at 5-3, but it stayed on the standards for a good clearance.

“I was feeling pretty good,” she said. “On that 5-3, I felt like I hit it with every part of my body. Then, going into 5-5, I was just trying to get ups. I’d never jumped 5-5 before.”

Linhart had placed fifth in the high jump as a sophomore, but did not place last year. The third-place finish was a good ending to her high school track career.

“It’s a great ending note,” she said. “And I’m going for track in college (at Graceland), too, so hopefully I can keep getting better.”

Zimmerman eighth

Both Bailey and Solanna Zimmerman competed in Friday’s 100 meter hurdles prelims.

Both twins set new personal bests in the prelims, as Bailey finished seventh in prelims with her time of 15.59 and Solanna finished ninth with her time of 15.82.

Bailey qualified to finals with that seventh-place finish, while Solanna missed out by one spot and .20 seconds.

The two twins celebrated with each other on the infield following the race.

Bailey Zimmerman then came back in Saturday’s 100 meter hurdles final and got out to a strong start.

She sailed over the first seven hurdles, but then clipped the eighth hurdle and stumbled to an eighth-place finish in 16.27.

“I just kind of hit it,” she said. “I kind of thought I was going to go down and I lost a lot of time. Something happened and I kicked it. After that, my steps were all messed up and everything.”

Even though she had hoped to do better in the finals, Zimmerman was still happy with her performance.

“It wasn’t my best time at all, but I’m glad I still got to run,” she said. “I felt like it was going good until that. I feel like I’ve really improved since last year. I just want to keep getting better and come back next year.”

The Zimmerman twins teamed up with junior Maddi Heath and senior Bronwyn Miller to finish 14th in Thursday’s shuttle hurdle relay prelims.

The Clarke relay team ran 1:10.74.

2015 Co-ed State Track Meet

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Team standings — 1. Clayton Ridge 54, 2. Mount Vernon 46, 3. Northeast Goose Lake 44, 33. Clarke 6.50, 38. Central Decatur 5.50.

Thursday

Shuttle hurdle relay prelims — 1. West Branch, 1:05.30; 14. Clarke (Solanna Zimmerman, Maddi Heath, Bronwyn Miller, Bailey Zimmerman), 1:10.74.

Friday

High jump — 1. Cori DeJong, Western Christian, 5-7; 3. Alexis Barr, Clarke, 5-3; 3. Hallie Linhart, Central Decatur, 5-3.

100 meter hurdles prelims — 1. Aleenah Marcucci, Northeast Goose Lake, 14.82; 7. Bailey Zimmerman, Clarke, 15.59; 9. Solanna Zimmerman, Clarke, 15.82.

Saturday

100 meter hurdles finals — 1. Aleenah Marcucci, Northeast Goose Lake, 14.97; 8. Bailey Zimmerman, Clarke, 16.27.