FAYETTEVILLE -- McKenzie Penne is making up for lost time this spring.
Penne, a junior at Fayetteville, saw her sophomore season come to abrupt an end almost as soon as it got started. A knee injury sustained at the Bentonville Tiger Relays -- just two weeks into the spring outdoor season -- cost Penne most of her sophomore campaign and left Fayetteville without one of its most talented young multi-event athletes.
At A Glance
Class 7A State Track Meet
When: Today
Where: Bulldog Track and Field, Fayetteville Ramay Junior High
Defending Champions: Girls, Bentonville; Boys, Bentonville
But with plenty of motivation to get back on the track, Penne has returned this season healthy and better than ever for the Lady Bulldogs.
"She's had a hard year to come back after sitting out hurt for basically a year," Fayetteville track coach Drew Yoakum said. "I think that's been on her mind and she's hopefully turned that corner and now she's a big part of what we're trying to do
"The whole offseason, she just wanted to be back where she left off. At times she has favored the knee but the last couple of weeks she's come on. And we're looking for really big things from her Thursday."
The 100-meter hurdles is where Penne might stand out the most. Posting the top time among Northwest Arkansas runners with a mark of 15.26 seconds, she heads into the Class 7A state meet, which begins today in Fayetteville at Ramay Junior High, as the recent 7A-West Conference champion in the event.
But Penne's strong contribution to the Lady Bulldogs girls' track team isn't limited to just her favorite event.
The junior is also a top triple jumper and long jumper. At the Fayetteville Bulldog Relays earlier this spring, she pulled off the hat trick, winning all three events to finish as the top individual scorer. Add in her work in the 300 hurdles and she's one busy track athlete these days hoping to add big points for her team today.
Considering where she was a year ago, battling through an injury, Penne is thrilled to be give such a heavy workload at such an important time of the season.
"My coaches since junior have put me in a lot," Penne said. "I was just hoping after my injury that I could deal with that and it's been a little harder this year. But I'm getting back to where I was."
Fayetteville is in search of its first girls Class 7A outdoor track championship since 2011. To make it happen, Penne knows her points will be important. But she also believes it will take the collective effort of the entire team to give the Lady Bulldogs a chance to finish on top.
"We really have a great chance," Penne said. "We're not far behind Bentonville and if we all show up I really think we can do it."
Sports on 05/07/2015