BEND (AP) - After a Summit High School student-athlete was found to have low iron levels, the school began organized testing - and the results were telling. Of 18 female athletes tested, 85 percent were found deficient.

The lack of iron can lead to iron deficiency anemia, which can cause weakness and fatigue.

Cross-country runners Veronica West and her twin sister, Sarah, were among those found to have low levels. They had been disappointed with their season, and agreed to be tested when school officials suggested it.

Once they started taking supplements, "Our performance started going up within three weeks,'' Veronica told The Bulletin newspaper in Bend.

"It's so common,'' said Dr. Mary Ellen Coulter, a family physician in Bend who is also a runner. "The first thing I think of when a teen comes in and says they're tired is that their iron levels are low.''

This is the first time Summit organized iron level testing for its female athletes. The move was prompted when one athlete, who came down with mononucleosis, was found to have low levels in a follow-up exam. The parent of another athlete, a doctor, also discovered his daughter had low levels.

The Bend Memorial Clinic agreed to do the testing, which was free to the school and the athletes.

Iron testing "is cutting edge for high school but standard practice at college,'' Summit track coach Dan Turnbull said.

A 2003 study of the country's largest college sports programs found that about 43 percent test female athletes for iron.

While officials at Oregon and Oregon State said some athletes are tested for iron levels, there is a debate over whether it impacts performance. There is also disagreement over what levels are considered normal.

"If a female cross-country runner could have an (iron) level of 80 rather than 30, then the cross-country coach would be happier,'' said Dr. Craig Graham, a family physician in Corvallis who works with the university's sports teams.

However, he told The Bulletin there's no evidence that a higher level benefits health or even performance.

"Once it's past a certain normal value, there's no data at all that it being any higher helps anything,'' Graham said.

Turnbull said the screening was just a part of training. Students are not supplemented to boost performance, he emphasized.

"People will go, 'They're cheating,''' he said. "No. We want them to be healthy.''