Girls track and field: Grayslake North's Krieg spins her way into the big dance

Without music, Grayslake North senior Kennedy Krieg started moving her trained feet rhythmically.

Anyone up for dancing with a star, minus the disco ball?

This wasn't a ballroom, however. Rather, Krieg was waiting to step into the discus ring during last Friday's Class 3A Buffalo Grove track and field sectional.

"You were spinning around like a top," Knights throws coach Tyler Hansen said to his shot put/discus specialist at practice on Wednesday.

True. Krieg spun. And, apparently, looked spectacular doing so.

"I tap (dance) sometimes when I get nervous and am just waiting around (at a meet)," Krieg said.

After all, before she began winging a shot and discus this year and proving to be a quick learner by qualifying for this weekend's state meet in the latter event, Krieg danced for 16 years. Soon after learning how to walk, she was dancing. Tap, ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop. She did them all.

Then she stopped last year, she says, to focus on volleyball and track.

Now, her state berth in the discus is reason for the novice thrower to dance again. It was some feat pulled off by the girl with skilled feet.

"I like it," Krieg said of throwing the shot and discus. "It's a lot of work. It's frustrating sometimes just because there are so many little things that will change your throw. You got to get them all right to get it right."

Mind you, Krieg competed only in jumps as a sophomore and junior on the track team. But then during one of Hansen's P.E. classes last fall, he and Krieg had a talk. They came to the conclusion that they could make a good team together and that Krieg could make her senior season of track and field memorable.

This spring, the strong-legged Krieg became the Knights' record holder in both the discus and shot put.

"Her work ethic is probably better than anyone I've ever been around," said Hansen, who has been Krieg's strength and conditioning coach the last three years. "She loves to be in the weight room, loves to get better. For the past several months, we've been doing almost two-a-day practices. It's such a technical sport. She just needed those reps and that coaching."

Heck, Krieg, 5 feet 8 and athletic, even showed up some boys.

"She kicked all the guys' butts in all of my classes," Hansen said with a laugh. "She'd be finishing the workouts first and putting in the most effort."

Krieg's dancing background helps. Not only with her footwork but her ability to conceptualize ideas.

"If something is slightly 'off,' I can feel that and be able to fix it right away," said Krieg, who also played three seasons of varsity volleyball as a right-side hitter. "We're not wasting time having to look at video every two seconds."

"I'll ask her to make a correction, and she can do it right away, and make it stick," Hansen said. "Pretty impressive."

Krieg, who plans to study chemical engineering at Montana State, is driven to succeed. When she threw the discus 125-01 at the Grayslake North-hosted county meet, marking a 14-foot improvement over her previous best, qualifying for state looked more realistic than ever. At Buffalo Grove, she hit 125-10 to finish first, after being seeded third.

"She had a phenomenal week of practice leading up to sectionals," Hansen said. "By far, her best practice of the year was the day before sectionals."

Krieg heads downstate with teammates Allie O'Connell (100-meter hurdles) and Sierra Herrington (pole vault). It's the first time in Grayslake North's history that the school is sending more than one girl to the state meet.

"It's a big deal," Krieg said. "We're building up our program."

And a dancer is all too happy to lead.

jaguilar@dailyherald.com

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