Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – All alone on the Solon High School track Erin Kerkhoff crouched into position near the starting line.

The senior paused for several seconds before taking off, building toward a sprint before slowing to a jog.

That’s how Kerkhoff spent an afternoon of spring break, making her way around the Solon track by herself.

It wasn’t long ago that the thought of a complete trip around the track seemed like a daunting task for Kerkhoff.

Kerkhoff stuck to the 100 and 200 in junior high and wasn’t interested in expanding her list of races during her high school career.

“I remember my freshman year I didn’t want to run the 400,” Kerkhoff said. “I thought a 400 is a whole lap, that’s way too long.”

Three years and plenty of days alone on the track later Kerkhoff owns three state medals in the event she once dreaded and enters her senior season one of the top quarter milers in the state.

“She definitely came in thinking she was a 100 and 200 person and we told her we thought a little higher distance was going to be a better race for her,” Solon coach Brent Sands said. “She really took to that and now this year she has been messing around with the 400 hurdles.”

Sands saw the potential in Kerkhoff early and didn’t give the freshman a chance to shoot down a shot at the 400.

“Coach put me in it and I didn’t have a choice so I ran it,” Kerkhoff said. “I have improved so much.”

Kerkhoff didn’t need long to conquer the 400.

Her breakthrough came when she won the event at the WAMAC Super Meet as a freshman in 2016.

“I really knew that I loved it at the conference meet my freshman year. I was so nervous for that race and then I won it and I realized I could do that,” Kerkhoff said. “That was kind of a special moment.”

Kerkhoff placed sixth in the 400 at the Class 3A state meet as both a freshman and a sophomore and was fifth in the event last year, lowering her time at state all three seasons.

Kerkhoff has 20/300 vision in her right eye and 20/400 in her left. Legal blindness is defined as 20/200 or worse in your best eye.

Her vision was once a reason a longer race once seemed intimidating for Kerkhoff.  

Now the senior is tinkering with the 400 hurdles as she continues to test herself every day to accomplish new goals.

“I think over the years coach Sands has built my confidence up and that has helped,” Kerkhoff said. “That’s what I want to do, I just want to test myself to see what I can do. If it works out great, that’s another thing I can focus on but if not I still have events I can work hard at.”
Kerkhoff hasn’t let go of the shorter races she once relied on.

She won the 100, 200 and 400 at the WAMAC divisional meet last season and helped the Solon 4×200 relay team to a fifth-place state finish last season.

Throughout the season Kerkhoff fills the lineup in any of those open sprinting events and fills out relays as Sands works to find the best lineup for the postseason.

“She can do a lot of things and that really gives us some options as we see what other kids can do,” Sands said. “You want to get some times in to see how she compares so we wanted to see what she could in a 200 or even a 100 and we want to see where we stacked up for conference or the state meet for the points.”

A two-time four-event state qualifier, Kerkhoff has fallen in the love with the open 400 but it is the relays that the senior has grown to enjoy the most.

Of her seven career state medals four have come in relay events including a pair of runner-up finishes in the 4×400 each of the past two seasons.

“The open 400 I love but the relays are what I really love,” Kerkhoff said. “To be able to share a win or a good performance with teammates is amazing.”

Kerkhoff is seeking a fourth straight medal in the 400 but points to the 4×400 as one of the top long-term goals for her final prep season.

The foursome of Cayley Annis, Abby Smith, Taylor Ryan and Kerkhoff has set the school record each of the past two seasons in the state final but finished runner-up to Decorah both years.

“One big goal would be to not get runner-up but a championship in the 4×400,” Kerkhoff said. “It has kind of strung the last few years so that’s obviously a future goal.”

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