By Mark Schafer | The News-Review
DES MOINES – When you go against the best in the state you tend to want to show off your best.
For two days in April the contingent of local athletes that participated in the Drake Realys seemed to not only bring their best, but excel in what had previously been accomplished.
Anna Hadley had entered the discus event feeling like she was stuck. Her throws weren’t traveling as far as she had wanted during the final week of April. Overall, she kind of felt stuck.
Then came the very first throw of the Drake Relays. She was able to launch the disc 135-feet-10-inches which was one of her best throws throughout April.
It also launched the junior up the leaderboard for the event.
“I had been in a slump lately with discus. I just haven’t seemed to be able to get to the 135-foot mark lately with any of my throws. So it was nice to have that first throw go that far,” Hadley said in April. “That was a good start to me because it proved to me that I could hit where I wanted to hit. It also got me ready for the next throws. Sadly I wasn’t able to get back to that mark for the rest of the meet.”
Hadley would eventually finish sixth. However, the strong first throw would help her gain confidence which would come in play later in the track season.
Before she ran in the 3,000 meter race at Drake, Pekin’s Chloe Glosser had been hampered by injuries which were slowing her down. When it came time to show how fast she is against the rest of the high school field, Glosser seemed to feel no pain.
During the final lap of the 3,000 meter run Glosser cut through the field and would eventually finish third overall in the race.
“I always try to take about 10 hard steps once I get to the final 500 meters of the race,” Glosser said last April. “Those 10 hard steps get me in the mindset that I need to be in a little earlier in the race for the last lap. That was what I needed to catch up to the girls that were in front of me. As I got onto the the front stretch I was able to catch the third place girl and pass her.”
Glosser finished the 3,000 meter race with a time of 9:57.37 which placed her third overall in the race.
English Valleys senior Gage Heyne also ran at the Drake Relays. The senior was able to compete in the 1,600 meter race where he finished 21st overall.
Photos by Mark Schafer
