Print
E-mail
Hocker earns second straight trip to state meet
By Brad Cameron/Gate City Sports Editor
DONNELLSON - The smallest member of the Central Lee cross country program produced the biggest impact this season.
Sophomore Katie Hocker, who earned the nickname ‘The Little Hammer' after winning the Fort Madison Invitational, is making her second consecutive trip to the Class 2A State Tournament Saturday at Fort Dodge.
“I use an expression at the start of the season as being ‘Tough as nails,'” said Central Lee Head Coach Terry Soli. “We ran at the Fort Madison meet and the other coaches were impressed because she beat the 4A and 3A girls and I said she is tough as nails. One of the coaches said, ‘She's not the nail coach, she's the hammer. She's the little hammer.' She's delivering the punishment.”
Hocker, who enjoyed an outstanding freshman season a year ago, delivered the punishment on the various cross country courses throughout her sophomore season. She won six meet championships against all kinds of competition.
“I just tried as hard as I could in every meet,” Hocker said. “I had goals in mind, but the season turned out better than I thought it would. This has been my best season, and hopefully it keeps getting better.”
Hocker credits Soli and the support she has gotten from her family for her improvement this season.
“I think our practices were a lot harder,” Hocker said. “They pushed me more, and my family pushed me a lot more. They made me feel a lot better about this year.”
Soli incorporates strength, endurance and speed excerices in his practices. He noticed something about Hocker right away in terms of what makes her a good runner.
“If you watch her run, I think her strength is she has very quick turnover in her feet,” Soli said. “We incorporate some of the speed drills in our workouts. I didn't really notice this until we did the low blocks for speed and agility, but she has the quickest feet on the team.
“I didn't think she had that kind of turnover, but when you think about it even though it is a long race, it still is about who gets from point A to point B first. You still have to have speed. When you watch her run she does have quick turnover, not because she is short, but because she has quick feet. She may not be a sprinter, but she has that quick turnover.”
Hocker won her first meet of the season at the Van Buren Invitational Sept. 9. She finished third at the highly competitive Fairfield Invitational Sept. 11 before winning four straight meets.
Hocker said her best meet of the season was at the Fort Madison Invitational. She won the Class B individual title with a time of 17:34.44, but her time would also have won the Class A (bigger schools) individual title.
“Fort Madison was my best race of the season,” Hocker said. “I ran a fast time, and I did it for my grandpa. It meant a lot to me.”
Hocker followed with consecutive wins at Mount Pleasant, Central Lee and Winfield-Mount Union. Her streak ended with a fifth-place finish at the SEI Superconference Meet, but she won her final regular season meet at Green Acres Golf Course in Donnellson.
“She's such a competitor,” Soli said. “She's tough, a hard-worker, dedicated and loves her sport. All that leads to success.”
Hocker, however, had to fight through sickness and poor weather to make it to the state meet.
Central Lee was supposed to run in the Iowa City regional meet on Thursday, Oct. 23, but weather postponed the event until Monday.
“I was so excited to run Thursday, and I know a bunch of other girls were excited too,” Hocker said. “I think it kind of hurt me a little bit. I think I would have done better if we ran Thursday. I was a little disappointed.”
“We tried to peak out to run last Thursday, and I think mentally and physically we were ready to run last Thursday,” Soli added. “Every coach I talked to said the same thing.”
It didn't rain Monday, but the cold and windy conditions made it tough on the runners. The weather took its toll on those competing.
Hocker also had been battling the flu, according to Soli, the last couple of weeks. The sophomore runners was disappointed with her time, but her ninth-place finish was good enough to qualify for state.
“I had a visual,” Hocker said. “Coaches have been telling me to keep Top 10 in my head, to keep counting the girls and their positions so I know where I'm at. I was hoping for a Top 5 position. I got ninth, which was a little disappointing to me, but I'm going to state.”
Hocker admitted to being sore on Thursday, so Soli has limited practices to get her ready for Saturday.
“We haven't done a lot the last two days,” Soli said. “We just want her to get healthy again.”
Having run at the state meet before should help Hocker.
“She's been there,” Soli said. “She knows what to expect. She can remember the course. It's completely different than districts because there are 50 girls who are excellent. We talked about getting out in that lead pass. There will be pushing and shoving, but she knows what to expect. I don't think she is nervous. She is looking forward to it to have fun.”
Hocker hopes to duplicate what she did last year in her final cross country meet last season.
“Last year, I didn't run as well at (regionals) either, but I did well at state,” Hocker said. “Hopefully, the same thing happens this year.”
She finished 20th among 129 runners as a freshman with a time of 15:48. Hocker wants to finish in the top 15 this season. Soli just wants her to do her best.
“She's been sick about two weeks now. To me it doesn't look like she's been on top of her game,” Soli said. “She wasn't at the top of her game Monday, but hopefully she will be in better shape come Saturday.
“I'm not setting any expectations on her except I want her to do her best, “Soli said. “I'll be anxious because I want her to do well. I know she will give it her best effort. Hopefully, she meets her goal. I hope she reaches her goal.”
Sophomore Katie Hocker, who earned the nickname ‘The Little Hammer' after winning the Fort Madison Invitational, is making her second consecutive trip to the Class 2A State Tournament Saturday at Fort Dodge.
“I use an expression at the start of the season as being ‘Tough as nails,'” said Central Lee Head Coach Terry Soli. “We ran at the Fort Madison meet and the other coaches were impressed because she beat the 4A and 3A girls and I said she is tough as nails. One of the coaches said, ‘She's not the nail coach, she's the hammer. She's the little hammer.' She's delivering the punishment.”
Hocker, who enjoyed an outstanding freshman season a year ago, delivered the punishment on the various cross country courses throughout her sophomore season. She won six meet championships against all kinds of competition.
“I just tried as hard as I could in every meet,” Hocker said. “I had goals in mind, but the season turned out better than I thought it would. This has been my best season, and hopefully it keeps getting better.”
Hocker credits Soli and the support she has gotten from her family for her improvement this season.
ADVERTISEMENT |
Soli incorporates strength, endurance and speed excerices in his practices. He noticed something about Hocker right away in terms of what makes her a good runner.
“If you watch her run, I think her strength is she has very quick turnover in her feet,” Soli said. “We incorporate some of the speed drills in our workouts. I didn't really notice this until we did the low blocks for speed and agility, but she has the quickest feet on the team.
“I didn't think she had that kind of turnover, but when you think about it even though it is a long race, it still is about who gets from point A to point B first. You still have to have speed. When you watch her run she does have quick turnover, not because she is short, but because she has quick feet. She may not be a sprinter, but she has that quick turnover.”
Hocker won her first meet of the season at the Van Buren Invitational Sept. 9. She finished third at the highly competitive Fairfield Invitational Sept. 11 before winning four straight meets.
Hocker said her best meet of the season was at the Fort Madison Invitational. She won the Class B individual title with a time of 17:34.44, but her time would also have won the Class A (bigger schools) individual title.
“Fort Madison was my best race of the season,” Hocker said. “I ran a fast time, and I did it for my grandpa. It meant a lot to me.”
Hocker followed with consecutive wins at Mount Pleasant, Central Lee and Winfield-Mount Union. Her streak ended with a fifth-place finish at the SEI Superconference Meet, but she won her final regular season meet at Green Acres Golf Course in Donnellson.
“She's such a competitor,” Soli said. “She's tough, a hard-worker, dedicated and loves her sport. All that leads to success.”
Hocker, however, had to fight through sickness and poor weather to make it to the state meet.
Central Lee was supposed to run in the Iowa City regional meet on Thursday, Oct. 23, but weather postponed the event until Monday.
“I was so excited to run Thursday, and I know a bunch of other girls were excited too,” Hocker said. “I think it kind of hurt me a little bit. I think I would have done better if we ran Thursday. I was a little disappointed.”
“We tried to peak out to run last Thursday, and I think mentally and physically we were ready to run last Thursday,” Soli added. “Every coach I talked to said the same thing.”
It didn't rain Monday, but the cold and windy conditions made it tough on the runners. The weather took its toll on those competing.
Hocker also had been battling the flu, according to Soli, the last couple of weeks. The sophomore runners was disappointed with her time, but her ninth-place finish was good enough to qualify for state.
“I had a visual,” Hocker said. “Coaches have been telling me to keep Top 10 in my head, to keep counting the girls and their positions so I know where I'm at. I was hoping for a Top 5 position. I got ninth, which was a little disappointing to me, but I'm going to state.”
Hocker admitted to being sore on Thursday, so Soli has limited practices to get her ready for Saturday.
“We haven't done a lot the last two days,” Soli said. “We just want her to get healthy again.”
Having run at the state meet before should help Hocker.
“She's been there,” Soli said. “She knows what to expect. She can remember the course. It's completely different than districts because there are 50 girls who are excellent. We talked about getting out in that lead pass. There will be pushing and shoving, but she knows what to expect. I don't think she is nervous. She is looking forward to it to have fun.”
Hocker hopes to duplicate what she did last year in her final cross country meet last season.
“Last year, I didn't run as well at (regionals) either, but I did well at state,” Hocker said. “Hopefully, the same thing happens this year.”
She finished 20th among 129 runners as a freshman with a time of 15:48. Hocker wants to finish in the top 15 this season. Soli just wants her to do her best.
“She's been sick about two weeks now. To me it doesn't look like she's been on top of her game,” Soli said. “She wasn't at the top of her game Monday, but hopefully she will be in better shape come Saturday.
“I'm not setting any expectations on her except I want her to do her best, “Soli said. “I'll be anxious because I want her to do well. I know she will give it her best effort. Hopefully, she meets her goal. I hope she reaches her goal.”
 |
||
| Keokuk's season ends at Fairfield |
