Follow Kate Hall of Lake Region, she's one of the top sprinters in the state. Hall just a sophomore was golden a year ago as she won the 55m, 200m, and Long jump state titles indoors. Outdoors Hall added the 100m, 200m and Long Jump title to her impressive resume. She was 6-6 in 2012, can she duplicate it again in 2013, follow along in her quest this winter.
I was really excited going into the New Years relays. Not only would I be competing for the first time since outdoor track, but I had no idea what my times and distances would be. I really had no clue how I would do, although my expectations were high. Before meets, especially the bigger ones, I determine my competition, find out their times/distances, and how well they've been running and jumping. From there I set goals for each event.
I guess I could say I was most looking forward to the 55m. That event is my favorite for indoor because it's the shortest, quickest race you can run; it's just an all out, very, very explosive race. I was happy with a 7.30 for my first 55m of the year. I admit I was hoping for a time in the 7.2s, but it was only the beginning of the season. Long jump went along the same lines as the 55m. My best jump of the day was 17-2 and I don't think I could have asked for anything more. Comparing this meet to where I started last year, I was very happy with my performance. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces and very talented athletes like Bethanie Brown and Denzel Tomaszewski compete and break records in other events.
The thing with long jump is that I never, ever jump outside of meets. To me, the most important part of long jump is the run up. Some people don't understand how much is really involved in that part of long jump. Not counting the nameless method of how to keep your steps consistent, there's also the penultimate step, which is what I have been trying to work on recently. This year I moved my steps from 7 to 8 so I would have more time to reach top speed. Including that, and also a new way of beginning my approach, my steps have been consistent in the meets. Unfortunately for the penultimate step though, when it comes down to it, I usually have been reverting back to just jumping how I normally jump in meets, which is okay for now.
I can tell when I'm about to have a good meet. I seem to jump higher in my warm ups, my steps get longer in run throughs for long jump, and lastly, if there's a ton of people I know at the meets, I feel motivated to do better. When my steps went from 92 feet to 95 feet at my first regular season meet, I knew it was going to be a good meet. My first long jump went well considering I jumped 17-6. I was really, really happy with that jump. However, on the very first step of my approach, I almost did a hop instead of an explosive first step. My mark on the first jump was behind the board by just an inch or two, but if I fixed my hop, then my first stride would be a little longer, enabling my mark to be on the board instead. My second jump wasn't as far as my first, but I had fixed my hop and my mark was better. I decided to move my mark up just a couple more inches, which would be a little precarious, but I figured it was my last jump so I may as well try to get right on the board, even if it meant fouling. My last jump pretty much felt perfect. I felt really fast on my run up, and my jump felt so much smoother when my spikes hit the board. My first thought in my mind when I landed in the sand was, "I hope I didn't foul," Because I was right on the board. Thankfully, it was not a foul and I couldn’t believe it when the official said 18 ft 0 and 1/2 inch. I hadn't been so excited about anything since New England's in June. Everyone was congratulating me and I had the urge to just hug every single person there.
My next goal is to lower my 200m time, although I am more than happy with my 26.25 for my first meet, compared to last year where I didn't get in the low 26's until states. Unfortunately a lot of people have been sick recently, including me. After missing practices for a week as well as the Dartmouth Relays, lowering my times will be a struggle for this upcoming meet, but I'm just so thankful that I've been injury free. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years and that everyone is healthy!
