By Matt Browning
Republic County’s Owen Harms has come a long way since suffering a devastating knee injury in eighth grade. He broke his kneecap while running the hurdles and had to have four screws in his knee for seven months.
Fast forward to last season, and Harms qualified for state in the 100-meter hurdles.
“At that point, that had been my first full year of hurdling,” Harms said. “I only ran two times in my 8th-grade year before I broke my knee high-jumping.”
While the 100-meter hurdles is Harms’ main event, he is also excited about what the 4×1 relay team could look like this season.
“We recently got a new teammate replacing another guy on our team who was a mid-distance runner,” Harms said. “I have been waiting to see how our team overall does, and maybe we can win a meet or two.”
Harms plays basketball in the winter, but that did not prevent him from doing track-related workouts to prepare for the season.
“I have done lots of stretching and weight training,” Harms said. “I have also been working on my ankle stiffness so I don’t sink when landing, going over the hurdles. I have gained lots of leg muscle from summer weights. Plyometrics have definitely helped me get springier, so I’m hoping that will translate to the track.”
