Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – The high school track and field season is already hitting the home stretch.

Conference meets are a little more than a week away with state qualifiers and the state meet looming a little more than a month in the distance.

With the biggest meets of the season quickly approaching City High senior thrower Rachel Haack is reaching new heights.

Haack posted a career-best toss of 45-9 ¼ in the shot put while sweeping the throwing events last Thursday at the Forwald/Coleman Relays at City High.

“You can kind of feel it when it comes out, just the way my rotation was going and I knew it was good,” Haack said. “I was kind of celebrating in my head a little bit before it hit the ground because I knew it was good.”

The career-best effort in the shot put broke her own school record set earlier this season and was the latest impressive performance in what has already been a stellar senior season for Haack.

Haack ranked third in the state in shot put and fourth in discus, after recording a career-best mark of 148-1 earlier this month.

Perhaps the most impressive part of what has been a record-breaking season for Haack is that the senior standout believes she is just getting started.

“I hope I can go as far as I can, I definitely don’t think that this will be my highest, I think I can push 47 or 48 or maybe even 50,” Haack said of her career best 45-9 ¼ in the shot put. “I think anything is possible in throwing, especially in rotational shot put and that’s really special. I’m excited, I’m not done yet for sure.”

For Haack the biggest improvement this season has come in the form of consistency.

In her first couple season Haack noted the swing in her results, not only from meet to meet but from each attempt throughout a competition.

This season the Colorado State has been much more consistent with her results.

With that consistency throughout meets and practices Haack could sense a big throw was coming last Thursday.

“I feel incredible, I’ve been throwing a couple of 45s, maybe pushing 46 in practice so I could tell I was close but throwing that in a meet was just incredible,” Haack said. “I was just happy being surrounded by everyone cheering.”

In addition to her title in the shot put at the Forwald/Coleman Relays Haack won the discus with at mark of 144-9.

Haack will look to continue her strong season when she competes at the Drake Relays this week at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

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