Girls Throwing Things

May 2

Well, finally made it to a spring sporting event.  The weather thus far has not been conducive to outdoor activities.  But I had been looking forward to seeing our girls and boys track teams, both of which had been outstanding in earlier meets.  And I was especially looking forward to seeing our girl throwers, by all measures the best in the state.  So, let’s begin at the end with a short video of McKenzie Duwenhoeger and Mya Lesnar, the top two in the state in shot put and discus . . .

[Upon arrival, looks like a pretty nice day – but it was still heavy jacket temps . . . ]

[Across the road is Grand Arbor where we have our Community Ed movies . . . ]

[And from the far side of the field looking back at the school.  This meet was a makeup from a postponement two days prior.  It did reduce the field from 5 schools to 3 – we hosted Willmar and Little Falls . . . ]

[A track meet is impossible for one person to cover.  The are multiple events happening simultaneously.  In the one meet I attended last year, the girl throwers competition was delayed by muddy conditions.  I finally left for the comfort of home before they started.  This time I was determined to cover them, so I did to the exclusion of all else . . . ]

[Here, they’re doing team warmups . . . ]

[Then off to the field – they need room to operate . . . ]

[Bad weather always looks worse through a window.  ~  Tom Lehrer]

[I’m still learning the team, but here I believe we have Hailey Gill on the left, I’m not sure of who’s in the middle,  and Mya, McKenzie and Christina Palmer on the right . . . ]

[Beginning with Hailey in the discus . . . ]

[I had the camera on continuous shoot through their throws . . . ]

[And thar she goes!]

[Christina is next up . . . ]

[Then Mya . . . ]

[Then McKenzie . . . ]

[And then we have not had enough meets for me to know our 5th discus thrower?]

[The Amazing Mr. Ripley is still around covering events.  And I still have white lens envy.]

[In search of her identity . . . ]

[With Mya looking on . . . ]

[Back to Christina . . . ]

[Big effort . . . ]

[And follow through under the eye of the judge . . . ]

[And Mya again . . . ]

[Unfortunately the throwing cage support often got in the way . . . ]

[And away . . . ]

[I lost it in the sun?]

[Then Mac again . . . ]

[The launch angle appears to be about the same for all of them . . . ]

[And it’s off . . . ]

[And our mystery-to-me thrower again . . . ]

[No foul . . . ]

[I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing sixty.  ~  Wendy Liebman]

[Hailey . . . ]

[Ye Olde Southpaw . . . ]

[I hope there were no low flying ducks . . . ]

[I love watching gymnastics, swimming, and track and field.  ~  Mia Hamm]

[Christina . . . ]

[I don’t think the discus will generate any interest until they let us start throwing them at one another.  ~ Al Oerter]

[Mya . . . ]

[To be number one, you have to train like you’re number two.  ~ Maurice Greene]

[Mac . . . ]

[And release . . . ]

[Running is like mouthwash; if you can feel the burn, it’s working.  ~ Brian Tackett]

[And the boy sprinters have been doing great.  Here is our No. 1, Drew Olson . . . ]

[Looks like our 4 x 100 team, in the top 3 in the state . . . ]

[You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can’t know what’s coming.  ~ Frank Shorter]

[Unknown Cardinal high jumper . . . ]

[It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.   ~  Ann Trason]

[I don’t think jogging is healthy, especially morning jogging. If morning joggers knew how tempting they looked to morning motorists, they would stay home and do sit-ups.  ~ Rita Rudner]

[There were a lot of relays in this meet.  And I believe we set a few school records . . . ]

[I’m sorry I don’t know her – looks like a sprint medley . . . ]

[Track and field was very big when I was growing up.  ~ Usain Bolt]

[The trouble with jogging is that by the time you realize you’re not in shape for it, it’s too far to walk back.  ~  Franklin Jones]

[Done with discus; warming for shot . . . ]

[When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  ~  Theodore Roosevelt]

[Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.  ~  Will Rogers]

[This looks like the multi-talented Kaye Paschka in the lead . . . ]

[Kristen Hoskins in the foreground, likely leadoff on a relay, looking to Drew Olson bringing it home . . . ]

[And there’s Drew . . . ]

[Summer Gerhardt leading off the shot . . . ]

[She’ll likely be a starter on the basketball team – tall and speedy . . . ]

[We can’t all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.  ~  Will Rogers]

[Community Ed folks should recognize the judge – Mike Donahue who helps us establish the movies for the year . . . ]

[Summer’s a spinner – I haven’t seen many high schoolers using that technique . . . ]

[MARK IT!]

[Christina . . . ]

[MARK IT!]

[Hailey . . . ]

[Much to the joy of herself, her teammates, and the fans, Hailey joined Mya and Mac in the 40-foot club in this meet . . . ]

[MARK IT!]

[Once they say set, I’m in beast mode.  ~  Sierrah Negrette]

[Mac . . . ]

[MARK IT!]

[Mya is a spinner . . . ]

[Who is probably No. 1 now . . . ]

[Balance is tough for spinners, but Mya held it together on her last throw . . . ]

[Summer Gerhardt]

[Christina Palmer – 38 feet]

[Hailey Gill – this was her 40-footer]

[All top international athletes wake up in the morning feeling tired and go to bed feeling very tired.  ~ Brendan Foster]

[I believe this is Bethany, one of the three distance running Miller sisters . . . ]

[In a moment we hope to see the pole vault over the satellite. ~ David Coleman]

[Run like hell and get the agony over with.  ~  Clarence DeMar]