Nearly Set For Another State Run Senior Is All Over Track, But 300 Hurdles Is Best Bet

Spills are simply a part of hurdling.

“My knees are purple and pink from scars,” laughs Bonners Ferry High School senior April Near.

“My first (race) in the seventh grade I rolled off the track bleeding. That was my introduction to hurdles.”

The Badgers’ dirt track isn’t a Near favorite either. It’s slow and hard. But it’s produced one of the state’s top A-2 girls hurdlers the past four years.

Near admits last year’s runner-up finish in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles at state wasn’t expected.

“I should have placed first and got second. A freshman beat me,” Near said. “No, no, no one wanted to ride home with me. That wasn’t fun.

“I didn’t have the confidence I needed,” Near added. “I had a real poor race. … I kept doubting myself.”

So Near went to work.

“I just knew I have one more year,” the 18-year-old continued. “I decided I’m going to train hard. I’m going to work hard. I’m going to be there mentally.”

Part of that preparation included running the 400 meters, which generally takes place 10 to 15 minutes before the 300 hurdles race.

Near ran a personal-best 1 minute 1.9 seconds to win the 400 at the Priest River Invitational over the weekend.

“It’s making her extremely strong,” Badgers coach Stephanie Bennett said of the 400. “She’s been able to win the 400 and 300s in every meet. It’s paid off.

”(The 400) is a sprint now. It’s a mental race, too. You have to push through a lot of the physical pain and hang with it all the way to the end,” added Bennett, who ran the 400 and 800 at the University of Iowa. “It’s a brutal race. It takes someone who’s got a lot of willpower.”

Bennett and Near also are gearing for the future, as collegiate women run 400-meter hurdles.

And Near plans to continue hurdling at either North Idaho College, Eastern Washington University or Western Washington University.

“She’s a lot stronger and she’s got the right mindset now,” Bennett said. “She’s not fearful.”

Near lost her first race of the season at Priest River, where Wallace standout Dana Streeter edged Near 15.52 to 15.6 seconds in the 100 hurdles.

Near’s season-best time is a 15.4 in the 100s and a 46.5 in the 300s.

The start is key for Near’s success in the shorter hurdles race. It also is her weakness.

“I’ve improved (my start), but I still need work,” Near said. “I false-started at the Sandpoint Invitational. Usually, I’m so slow out of the blocks, that never happens.”

The 300 hurdles is Near’s best event.

“It became my favorite race because when I first did it, I hated it,” she explained. “I knew I needed to improve a lot because I wanted to win. When I first did it, I didn’t win. Basically, it’s a big challenge for me.”

Near makes her move on the final turn heading into the 110-meter home stretch during the 300s.

At that point she is generally part of a tight pack of leaders. By the finish line, Near is all alone.

Later, she runs the anchor leg on Bonners Ferry’s 1,600 relay.

Near is the lone senior on a young Badgers team.

“My team says to me all the time, ‘April, do you really care about this?’ I try to get them into it,” Near said. “The relay is really tough because it takes effort from all four.

“Sometimes, I feel like all the pressure is on me,” Near added. “I feel like ‘April will catch us up.’ I’m like, ‘No. I can’t catch us up when we’re 25 meters behind. I can run my best 400, but we can’t be behind when I get the baton.”’

Those relay teammates are first-year Badgers, and also more impressionable. Just like Near was four years ago.

Near shakes her head as she thinks back to the 1992 state meet.

Her then-teammates said: “‘Oh April, you’re just a freshman. You have lots of years after this. Have fun,”’ Near reminisced. “That night, I did not go to bed until 2 (a.m.) - stupid, stupid, stupid.”