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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. _ I’ll be back and I will be better. That was the message Katie Sowers sent to her fellow javelin competitors on the first day of competition at the NAIA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships.
The senior from Hesston, Kans. has reason to be optimistic. After spending the majority of her collegiate career – at both Hesston College and Goshen – focused on a successful basketball career, Sowers took up track and field this year for the first time since high school. She had not competed in a meet in four years before her first event this spring.
In that event, Sowers immediately made noise, breaking a nearly thirty-year-old school record in the even with a mark of 116’6” (click here for related article).
However, her real breakout came at the MCC Championships, where she broke her own record, by nearly 13 feet, beat the defending conference champion in winning the title and qualified for this weekend national event (click here for related article).
While Sowers did not have her best throws in her this weekend, she was able to keep it in perspective. “That’s (having fun) the biggest thing,” explained Sowers, who was the Kansas high school state runner-up in the javelin her senior year. “I have some things I know I need to work on for next year.”
Sowers top mark this weekend was 117’11”, which placed her seventh in her flight and fifteenth overall. Quite impressive considering it had been four years since she had competed in such a high profile event. Sowers wasn’t afraid to let her opponents know either.
“I am going to be back next year and I am going to win this thing,” Sowers told her competition.
Don’t take it as cocky, take it as confidence. Sowers is far from the egotistical athletes. She simply recognizers her potential. Despite having already played four years of collegiate basketball, Sowers will return to Goshen next year to complete her degree. The fifth-year senior will take another stab at the javelin and will likely take her first attempt in the decathlon.
Competition beware! Katie Sowers will return and she will be ready to go.
Meanwhile, junior Deanna Kronk made her second-straight national championship appearance in the hammer throw. The Northwood High School graduate narrowly missed All American honors in the event a year ago in Fresno (click here for related article) and was looking to crack the top eight in the field of 20.
Kronk knew the battle would be tough as six competitors launched the weight over 50 meters before she ever stepped into the ring, Kronk’s personal best is just over 47 meters. Things got even rougher when Kronk scratched on her first attempt.
Struggling to put everything together for a complete throw, Kronk’s second attempt was in the 53-meter range. With one last attempt, the junior had her best mark of the competition, a throw of 45.16 meters (148’2”). Her mark would not put her through to the finals, but it would place her 12th.
“She was very disappointed with her performance,” said Head Coach Rick Clark. “You look at her averages throughout the season and she was about there, but at this meet you have to be above average. I am happy for her that her final throw was her best.”
Kronk will also compete in the shot put at this weekends championship and does already have a collegiate All American honor after earning the status in the weight throw at this year’s indoor championships (click here for related article). |
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