Iowa Falls-Alden junior Izzy Janssen is in a strong position to qualify for the Drake Relays in the girls 100-meter hurdles for the second straight season.
Needing to solidify her placement before the April 16 deadline and with few opportunities due to weather, she competed at last week’s Colfax-Mingo Early Bird as the only Cadet in attendance. Competing in the race for the first time since the state meet last season, she finished in a new PR of 15.12. That’s currently the eighth-best time statewide, and those holding the top 32 times qualify. She’s also on the brink of the automatic qualifying time of 15.10.
“We took her down the other night, indoor she ran extremely well and broke her PR and broke the school record, got first place down there, but it’s two tenths away from qualifying for Drake Relays, which I think looks really good. She asked me, ‘Coach, you think that’s gonna be good enough?’ And I had to tell her, ‘I would bet a lot of money that that should get you there.’ We think that that’s gonna be a good enough standard for her to get in with.
“Izzy Jansen is a self-made athlete that doesn’t say much, not hard to work with. You wish you had about 10 or 15 more kids like her, but she is a tremendous athlete. I’m glad she’s just currently a junior.”
The next scheduled meet is Thursday’s Lady Bulldog Invite at Hampton-Dumont-CAL. Janssen has four meets remaining before the qualifying deadline.
