Alex King has overcome plenty of odds in her quest to be a standout track athlete, and the Lakeview senior has plenty more that she’s hoping to accomplish.
In this, her fourth season of track, she competes in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, 800-meter and 400-meter relays, plus the 400-meter dash.
Last season at the Division 3 state finals, Kingshe was third in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.68 seconds, for the high point of her track career.
In late 2010, King was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that hits about 50,000 children between the ages of six months to 16 years in the United States.
“I haven’t high jumped since my sophomore year,” she said. “My junior year, I got [arthritis] and lost my muscle so I couldn’t jump anymore. Coach threw me in it the other day day and I actually didn’t do too bad. I jumped 4’10”. That surprised me since I hadn’t done it for so long.”
King indicated she’s basically back to normal thanks to a shot “that seems to be working pretty well. I have to take it every two weeks. It hurts a lot. I cry every single time. I take it in my stomach.”
The pain lasts 5 to 10 minutes, but the shots do the job. It’s a routine King figures she’ll have to put up with “for quite awhile.”
There’s plenty King wants to achieve in upcoming weeks.
“I’m mainly focused on hurdles,” she said. “I just have to get my times down. They haven ‘t been great this year. I have to work on getting my times lowered. That’s my main goal. About right in the middle, I have to work on my speed work to get fast.”
The 100-meter hurdles is her best event, and King’s goal is 14.9 seconds.
“My mom [Julie Therkildsen] holds the record right now at Lakeview at 15.0 so I’m working at 14.9,” King said.
Her second-best event is probably the long jump or high jump. She was sixth in the state last season in the high jump and placed seventh in the 2010 state finals in that event.
This season, she’s looking to get somewhere between 16′ and 16’8″.
The key “is definitely my performance off the board,” King said. “I have to get up higher.”
The girls’ team at Lakeview has struggled with low numbers, King noted, while the boys have been competitive.
Looking ahead ‘I”m hoping to run for a college,” King said, adding that if a four-year college isn’t an option, she may look at a community college.