Fast fuel: Garber 2nd in 'insane' Drake Relays field (PHOTOS)

By: 
Jake Ryder

CONRAD – No sleep. The burden of expectations and a bundle of nerves.
  
It would all be over in less than 15 seconds.
  
Jack Garber burst forth from the blocks in the 110-meter high hurdle finals at the Drake Relays on Friday morning. Linn-Mar's Trent Davis had beaten the BCLUW senior by a hair in the preliminaries.
  
Garber was faster this time, he could feel it.
  
The Iowa State recruit later recounted feeling like he was flying. He felt like he had Davis beat.
  
Then Garber clipped a hurdle. And another.
  
"I hit one with my butt which means I was going really close to them," Garber said after the race. "Usually I can hit them and come back."
  
Not in a race like this.
  
Garber got the competition he had craved after winning high-stakes indoor hurdles titles earlier this spring. That meant even his blistering time of 14.20, an incredible time that places Garber in the driver's seat for a Class 1A state title later this spring, not even that would be enough to stay ahead of Trent Davis.
  
The Linn-Mar hurdle dynamo became the third hurdler in Iowa history to go below 14 seconds, finishing in 13.99 and rallying past runner-up Garber for the Drake Relays title.
  
Even in frustration over a race that seemed to be going so well, Garber knew he had to tip his cap to a performance like that.
  
"Running 14.4 in the [state] finals is gonna win it most years," Garber said. "I've got a lot of confidence running 14.2 but there's nothing you can do when a kid runs 13.9. The worst thing is I was beating him. I screwed myself."
 
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