Klein soars to seventh in Drake Relays debut

 DES MOINES -- A week before the Drake Relays, Harlan Community’s Marcus Klein had never before surpassed 21 feet in the long jump. Now, it’s a mark that is starting to look like old hat for the Cyclone senior.
 Klein topped out at 21 feet, eight inches on his second-to-last jump inside Drake Stadium Thursday afternoon, placing seventh out of 24 qualifiers in his Drake Relays’ long jump debut for the highest area finish among five qualified events.
 AHSTW sophomore Gage Clay finished 12th out of 32 qualifiers in the 100-meter dash prelims Friday morning and the HCHS 4x100 relay team finished 68th out of 80 qualifiers during the Friday evening session. Cyclone seniors Jon Bieker and Curtis Schnack competed in the discus competition Thursday and finished 23rd and 24th, respectively, recording just one official throw.
 For Klein, Drake should serve as a big confidence booster going into the most important meets of the year. Prior to the Tiger-Knight Relays on April 21, Klein’s longest career jump measured 20 feet, eight inches. He passed that mark twice at Carroll, topping out at 21-7.5 to qualify for Drake in his final opportunity to do so.
 Klein actually scratched on his first two attempts during Thursday’s prelims, then soared 21-7.25 on his third jump. It was the top mark in Flight 1 and ranked Klein seventh out of nine qualifiers for the finals. He would add jumps of 21-3 and 21-8 in the finals before scratching on his last attempt.
 Afterward, Klein said that topping 21 feet and making the finals were his goals going into the competition.