Mikhaela Cochran was busy for what might be her last high school track meet when she participated in the Class 4A state championships recently in Heber Springs.
The Pea Ridge senior bounced around between five events -- the high jump, shot put and discus, as well as the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. If she had her way, though, she would have done even more.
"It's hard knowing it's about to end," she said. "I've always done it, and I'm going to do all I can."
It was a mere 2.5 inches that kept her from filling the maximum six-event limit placed on athletes in a single meet. Her leap of 15 feet, 3.25 inches in the long jump was good enough for third place at last week's 4A-1 Conference meet at Pea Ridge, but only the top two finishers in each event advanced to today's state meet.
That didn't sit too well for Cochran, which didn't surprise Pea Ridge coach Heather Wade. Wade has watched Cochran remain a busy person throughout her high school career as she balanced track, volleyball and basketball.
"Mikhaela is very competitive, and she wanted to qualify for state in everything," Wade said. "She does that in every meet, and she should be in good shape."
Cochran's love for track dates back to when she was 7 years old and in the Little Track 'Hawks program. Her first events were the standing broad jump and the 100-meter dash, but her repertoire grew as she grew older.
She added the shot put and the discus during her freshman year, then started running the hurdles on a regular basis as a junior. The field events, particularly the discus, remain her favorites.
"The field events are less nerve-wracking for me," Cochran said. "They have always felt like they were different than just running. Even though you run the 100 or the 400, it's still just running. I like the field events because they are all different.
"The coach just put me on the shot put and the discus, saying I would be good at it. I didn't know what they were. The first time I threw the shot, it was terrible because it's so heavy and I didn't know the form. I liked the discus, but I didn't know how to spin. I just stood there and threw."
The discus is where she has shown the most improvement this season, and her season-high throw of 111 feet, 8 inches is good for the third best among Class 4A girls participants. Cochran did that feat April 20 during the Blackhawk Relays after barely surpassing the 100-foot mark last season.
It all came about because Cochran was never afraid to try something new. Cochran was ready to try even more this year, but the only problem was the six-event limit during meets.
"She would do more if we could let her," Wade said. "She said that she would like to do the triple jump, but I told her 'Girl, you don't have any events to give up.' She really excels at the discus, and I hope she does well at the state this year."
Sports on 05/13/2015