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GOSHEN, Ind. – Two months ago – to the day – senior Katie Sowers was playing her final collegiate basketball game in the first round of the Mid-Central Conference Tournament.
Just over a month ago, Sowers took part in her first track and field meet of the season and as a Maple Leaf – Sowers had not competed in track since high school after choosing to focus on basketball in college.
It seems incredible then, that on Saturday at the Mid-Central Conference Championships, Sowers shattered the Goshen College, the Eigsti Track and Field Complex, and the MCC Championship record in the javelin with a mark of 129'2".
Sowers, from Hesston, Kans., actually broke the Goshen College record for the first time at the Polar Bear Invite in March. Her throw of 116-feet, 6-inches broke a then nearly twenty-year old mark set by Cheryl Mast in 1979.
On Saturday, Sowers shattered her own record by nearly thirteen feet despite going against heavy headwinds. In doing so, Sowers also bested the Eigsti Track and Field Complex record of 116'7" set by Bethel's Natalie Young earlier this year at the Goshen Invite. Young finished runner-up to Sowers with a solid mark of 120'10" on Saturday.
As if two records were not enough, Sowers made a clean sweep by also setting a new standard for the MCC Championships. Sowers' mark replaces a 128'10" throw from 1996.
All these records come four years removed from track and field competition. For Sowers', it will not be stopping there. Her MCC-winning throw earned her All Mid-Central Conference honors and more importantly she hit the provisional qualifying mark for the NAIA National Championships.
Sowers will finish her collegiate career with a trip to St. Louis on May 22-24. Competition beware! Katie Sowers is on a mission and is improving quickly. |
