Kaiserslautern’s Lynndsey Hyter has won the past two DODDS 300-meter hurdles titles. She finished in 48.44 seconds last year. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — With the high school track and field season set to begin Saturday, Kaiserslautern hurdles champion Lynndsey Hyter is serving up bad news for the competition.
The two-time DODDS-Europe defending champion in the 300 hurdles is vowing to improve her technique.
“I’m going to try to work on my form this season,” Hyter said during a hurdle-less workout Monday at the Vogelweh athletic field. “I have no form at all.”
No form, maybe, but plenty of power. Hyter won gold by finishing her event in 48.59 seconds in 2003 and 48.44 in 2004.
There’s no telling what she will do if she masters the arcane intricacy of the hurdler’s art. A good guess might be a third straight gold medal and the DODDS-Europe record of 45.50, set by Stephanie Powell of Hahn in 1989.
“I really want to get a record,” Hyter said.
Hyter is one of only three high school athletes in position to add a third straight individual gold medal to their collections as the season begins with meets at Alconbury, Brussels and Heidelberg.
The others are 1,500-meter champion Charity Williams of Naples, a junior, and senior Brittany Cornish of Frankfurt International School, the reigning champ in the 100.
Williams and Cornish each won two events last year. Williams also took the 3,000 and Cornish the 200. In addition, Cornish finished second — by one inch at 34 feet, 10¼ inches — to Michelle Brown of Naples in the triple jump.
Hyter, who’s also a threat in the 100, 200 and long jump, has been slowed in her preparation by a knee injury she suffered while helping Kaiserslautern win the Division I basketball title in February.
Based on last year’s top performances, most of the DODDS-Europe record book might be safe from revision this season. Even Williams, who won the 1,500 at 4:53.49 as a freshman in 2003 and an unpressured 5:04.41 in 2004, is well off the mark of 4:39.80 set by Liz Wilson of AFCENT, now called AFNORTH, in 1986 — two years before Williams was born.
In addition to Hyter, Williams and Cornish, returning champions are: Heidelberg sophomore Nick Trice (100 meters); Brandon Grant of Heidelberg (400); Ramstein’s Parker Cowles (3,000); Würzburg’s Daniel Henry (110 hurdles); K-town’s Gregory Thompson (300 hurdles, triple jump); and Brown of Naples (100 hurdles, triple jump).
As was the case in wrestling, there are no separate divisional track championships this season. Those awards will be earned in the European championships, May 20-21 at Wiesbaden, where athletes who meet the qualifying standards for their events will compete for team and individual glory.
