Senior Hawk boys hungry for state

It?s a young crew for the Mid-Prairie boys? track team this season, but for the two seniors competing for the Golden Hawks, they are ready to get to Des Moines at the end of the season.

After finishing in third place at districts in the past two years, Mid-Prairie senior Jared Draper is ready to finally get to the state meet in his senior year.

How hungry is he?

?Very,? Draper said. ?I?ve never been there before because I?ve always had two really good guys in my events at districts. One graduated, I?m a whole lot more prepared and I?m a lot faster, so I want to make the big push and go for the school records and represent my school at the state meet.?

Draper was a 2014 state cross-country qualifier as a senior, and he is hoping to become a state qualifier in both the 3200- and 1600-meter runs.

To help him stay rested up for running both races in one meet, Draper said his coaches will be helping him stay rested throughout the season.

?Right now we are just doing 1600s and 800s or 3200s and 800s, so I don?t get tired,? Draper said. Then in the last four or five meets, I?ll do (the 3200 and 1600) so I can get prepared for those two long races in the meet.?

Draper has been working hard this winter to help prepare him for this track season.

?He put in quite a few miles over the winter,? Mid-Prairie head coach Aaron Fleming said. ?I don?t have a figure, but between lifting and running, he?s put in quite a bit of work. Ryan Errthum is his training partner and he put in about 400 miles over the winter.?

Fellow senior Colin Weber is ready for a senior year that he hopes will see him back in Des Moines after missing out last season.

?I went to state sophomore year, but that didn?t turn out too well,? Weber said. ?I want to get it done this year, finally. I have to be dedicated and have no days off.?

Weber said his is hoping to get to Des Moines in the 400-meter dash, and noted that it will probably take a 50-second time to qualify.

One of the younger competitors for the Golden Hawks, sophomore Isaiahn Powell, said he is hoping to make his mark in the sprints.

?I?m hoping to be in the 400s and below,? Powell said. ?I just want to go as far as I can my sophomore season and see where I go.?

Powell is hoping to set marks in the lower 11 seconds in the 100-meter dash, and to hit the low 50 seconds in the 400.

One common theme for many of the Golden Hawks, despite their youth, is that many of these competitors are multi-sport athletes.

?For the middle distance down through the sprints, it?s great to have a guy in as many sports as possible,? Fleming said. ?They are working with different kinds of strengths: explosion, top-end speed, all kinds of stuff.?

That mentality changes a bit when it comes to the distance runners.

?For the distance guys, they are more limited to cross-country and track,? Fleming said. ?Running year-round is basically a necessity at this point. If they don?t keep their conditioning, it?s very hard for them to be competitive.?

Despite a youthful team, the Hawks still figure to be very competitive as they bring in a strong group of freshmen who Fleming thinks will make a big impact.

?Payton Miller, a freshman, is definitely going to make an impact,? Fleming said. ?He ran an AAU indoor meet already and ran a 2:08 in an 800-meter, which is a phenomenal time for a freshman, especially indoors when times are slower than outdoors. He?ll be a big difference maker for us. (Many of) our freshmen last year shattered a bunch of our eighth-grade records last year.?

The Mid-Prairie boys will open up their track season on Friday in an indoor meet at Central College in Pella.