Austin freshman Kendall Hackensmith has gone a long distance in a short period of time, and she’s hoping to even farther in the years to come.

After starting the season on JV, Hackensmith has emerged as Austin’s top runner in the 300-meter hurdles, an event she never ran before this season began.

When the season started, Hackensmith wasn’t even thinking about running with the varsity team.

“I was content with (JV), I knew I wasn’t the best,” she said. “I got better as the year went on.”

Hackensmith put up a peak performance three weeks ago at the Rochester John Marshall meet when she put up season’s best times in the 300-meter hurdles (49.16 seconds) and the 100-meter hurdles (17.51 seconds). Since then, she’s been slowed down by an injury, but she’s hoping to get back up to speed for the Big Nine meet in Rochester Mayo this Friday at 10:30 a.m.

“ I try my hardest, but I’ve got some shin splints going on that are holding me back a little bit,” she said. “I’m going to work myself really hard these next few days to place good at Big Nine.”

Austin head girls track and field coach Nancy Jones said that Hackensmith never asks to come out of a workout due to pain. In fact, Jones usually has to make the call when its time for the hurdler to rest.

“Kendall’s a hard worker,” Jones said. “She’s dealt with some issues with shin splints, but she’s one of those athletes I have to pull out of practice and tell her she’s done enough.”

While she’s just a freshman, Hackensmith has plenty of young teammates to work with as the Packers have freshmen competing in a few varsity events. Eighth grader hurdler Rachel Quandt has worked with Hackensmith on the hurdles.

“We try to help each other as best as we can and give pointers to each other, even if we’re competing against each other in the same event,” Hackensmith said.

While Hackensmith has stepped up this season, Jones said her future may be even brighter. Jones said that the hurdles is an event where there is a lot of room for growth.

“If you look at what she’s already doing as a freshman in a specialty event like hurdles, you’re almost always going to see a significant improvement from year to year as her technique improves,” Jones said. “She’s going to come in next year a lot farther than she is this year.”

Jones is hoping the Packers can finish in the top five at the Big Nine after being near the bottom of the pack for the past few years. Austin finished last in every regular season meet last year, but the Packers didn’t finish last in one meet this season.

“It’s never been not fun to coach this group of athletes, but it is more fun when you’re not last,” Jones said.