Sisters on the run: Austin hurdler has guided her younger sibling
Published 9:44 pm Wednesday, May 4, 2016
There’s nothing wrong with a friendly sibling rivalry — just ask Austin senior Rachel Quandt and her younger sister Hannah Quandt, a freshman.
Since they were growing up, the Quandts have been competitive with each other and this year they’ve taken that competition to the Packer track and field team. Rachel and Hannah race against each other in every meet in the 100-meter hurdles and it’s brought out the best in both of them.
“We’re always competitive with each other, but it’s fun competitions with each other all of the time,” Rachel said. “When we were younger we would play in the neighborhood and it would always be me against her, whether it be in basketball or soccer.”
Hannah, who took second place behind Rachel at the Mankato East meet Tuesday with a time of 18.62 seconds, has found the perfect role model in her older sister. Rachel won the Big Nine title in the 100-hurdles last season when she set an AHS school record of 15.44 seconds and she’s going to compete in Division I track and field as a walk on at the University of South Dakota next year.
When Hannah first started competing in the hurdles as a seventh grader, she compared her times to Rachel’s times at that age.
“I wanted to compare my times to Rachel’s early times to see if I will be at the level she’s at now,” Hannah said. “We’ve definitely grown a little closer over this season. She shows me what to do and where to go so I don’t feel like that freshman who doesn’t know anything at all. That would definitely be me if she wasn’t there to help me.”
Rachel, who has ran the 100-hurdles with a time of 16.32 seconds on Tuesday, has been glad to help out her younger sister. Rachel was brought up to the varsity track and field team as a middle schooler and she remembers getting help from the older runners. She’s glad to return the favor to Hannah.
“I had a few older people that were role models and they told me those little pointers that I didn’t think about, like you’re not leaning enough or you need to drive more,” Rachel said. “It’s those little things with her that I can easily see that she’s doing wrong and I can help her fix that.”
Hannah appreciates the tips, even when she doesn’t necessarily want to hear them. She’d also like to catch Rachel in a race this year and beat her, although she would have to make up some serious ground.
“I definitely want to get her sometimes, but I haven’t got there yet,” Hannah said.
Rachel is enjoying her final high school track and field season and she’s glad that she knows she will be able to keep running in college. Rachel has put in a lot of work over the last few years and she feels she has left a good impression on Hannah.
As she prepares to run at the Division I level, Rachel is hoping to improve this year.
“I’m very excited to continue running next year. Track has become one of my favorite things to do and it’s cool that I can continue doing it next year. It’s going to be fun to have a team atmosphere and compete,” Rachel said.
The Packers will compete at the Cougar Relays in Mankato East 4 p.m. Thursday.