One is a lanky leaper with high hopes and the other is a distance runner who wants to make his own mark on the oval.
Junior Katie Lord and senior Miles Hille are the top two returners for the Redmond High girls and boys track and field teams and both are shooting for state glory.
Lord cleared a personal-best 5 feet, 6 inches late last season and advanced to the Class 4A state meet, but fizzled and settled for a 10th-place finish with a 5-0 mark. This year, Lord is motivated to return to state and shine on the big stage.
“Last year, she proved what she could do, but she didn’t maximize everything and then at state, she underperformed,” said Redmond girls’ coach Denis Villeneuve. “This year, she seems motivated. She is more mature and stronger, so I expect her to go 5-6 again or maybe even 5-7.”
Lord is the younger sister of Sarah, who won a state gold medal in the 3,200-meter race and a silver in the 1,600 her senior season in 2009. Lord now runs for Boston College.
Unlike her sister, Katie gravitated to the field events rather than the track.
“I have a family who are runners,” Katie said. “I’m not a huge fan of the running part, but I like the high jump. It’s a technical event, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Katie, who has cleared 5-4 earlier this season, which is tops in 4A Kingco and the third best mark in the state, said she will be “less intimidated this year” and plans to end her season with a podium finish at state.
“I think this year, she will be more aggressive and that will help her be more successful,” Villeneuve said.
In addition, Katie has some company at the jumping pit, which also should help improve her progress, Villeneuve said. Redmond junior Joy Zhang, a transfer from Interlake, and sophomore Aliyah Steiner have both cleared 5-0 and will help push Katie to be the best she can be, according to Villeneuve.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Like Katie, Hille has state-meet aspirations, but unlike Katie, Hille has never been the Big Dance. This year, that is going to change, he said.
“Definitely, this is my year,” said Hille, who runs the 800, 1,600 and is a member of the 1,600 relay team. “State is my main focus.”
For the previous two seasons, Hille has worked hard and always been amongst the lead pack. This year, he is the leader of the pack, according to Redmond boys’ coach David Peabody.
“I think he’s a little bit more mindful of himself and comfortable where he is,” Peabody said. “I see more flow in his running that I think will transfer into some success.”
Hille follows a strong tradition of distance runners at Redmond.
Mack Young, who graduated last year, was a state
competitor in high school and now runs at Washington State University. Before him, Aiden Irish, a 2009 graduate, also went to state and now runs at the University of Portland.
“I learned a lot from Mack, Aiden and Will Young (2010 graduate) and all the people who came before me,” Hille said. “It’s my turn to carry the torch.”
Hille has personal bests of 1 minute, 57.21 seconds in the 800 and 4:23.54 in the 1,600 with both times coming when he was sophomore. He is currently ranked second in the 800 (2:01.40) in 4A Kingco and eighth in the 1,600 (4:36.10). Hille said he is working to lower his times as the season progresses and save his best for last.
Peabody said Hille has the work ethic and talent to get to state.
“He had great models,” Peabody said, referring to past graduates, such as Young and Irish. “He’s always been in that top pack, so this is his year to shine.”
