By John Raffel
It’s been quite a track season for Clare’s Addy Kleinhardt.
In the Division 3 regionals, Kleinhardt finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.3 seconds and was second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 46.2. The 1,600-meter relay team of Kyrsten Kruskamp, Olivia Cooper, Victoria Harper, and Kleinhardt was second with a time of 4:17.2, and the 800-meter relay team of Olivia Cooper, Abigail Denton, Kyrsten Kruskamp, and Kleinhardt was first with a time of 1:49.3.
Kleinhardt would like to get her 300-meter hurdles time down to 45.5 seconds, which would set a school record.
“I need to make sure I’m leading with my left leg,” she said.
Her second-best event has been the 100-meter hurdles. She’s looking at getting her time in that event down to 16 seconds flat.
As tough as the competition will be in the state finals for the hurdles, Kleinhardt said she’ll give it her best shot and see what happens.
“I need to get a strong start,” she said, referring to the 100.
Of the two relays, “I would say the 1,600 is probably the strongest, but they’re both pretty strong,” she said. “We have high hopes for the 1,600.”
“All of our girls really stepped up and performed at their best for the regional meet,” said head coach Kyle McKown. “Our goal was to qualify as many girls as possible to the state finals, and we are pleased with the group that has qualified for the finals. Their hard work throughout the season gave them the chance to succeed in the regional meet, and their preparation and focus really brought out their best today.”
Kleinhardt helped the Pioneers to a second-place effort in the Jack Pine Conference meet. She ran the 100-meter dash in 13.02 seconds for first place and also won 100-meter hurdles in 16.73 and the 300-meter hurdles in 47.97.
“We had a small team, so we’ve been working with what we have,” Kleinhardt said.
Kleinhardt was second in the long jump at 16’0″, a half-inch behind Farwell’s Jenna Hamming.
Kleinhardt, a senior, will be in the state finals for her third year.
“My sophomore year, I went in the 4 by 2 relay,” she said. “Last year, I went for the 4 by 2 and the 100 hurdles. I haven’t gotten down to the finals in the 100.”
As a senior, Kleinhardt would like to get a medal this season.
“My times have improved, so I’m hoping I can get here,” she said.
For the boys, Clare won another Jack Pine title by taking the meet with 168 points. Second place went to Roscommon with 113 points.
The Pioneers were led by Jake McFadden, who took first in the 110-meter hurdles in 11.89 seconds, the 300-meter hurdles in 41.26 seconds, and the 1,600-meter relay along with Jonathan Harper, Jackson Gross, and Todd Wysong in 3:34.67.