By Terry Duckett, tduckett@qconline.com

With both of her parents being former high-school hurdles standouts, it would seem natural that Devin Hasson would be drawn to that particular event.

To hear the Rockridge freshman track and field phenom tell it though, she found her way to hurdling as the result ofwhat was essentially a lark.

“When Iwas younger, we had a laundry hamper that Ijumped over one day, just joking around,” she said. “My parents said, do it again, so I did it again, and they were telling me what a good form Ihad and that Iwas going to be in the hurdles. Isaid, `Are you serious?’ Then I actually started doing it.”

From those first hamper hurdles, this week’s Area Pacesetter for The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus has come along in leaps and bounds. Following up a pair of top-5 IESA (junior high) state finishes, Hasson showed at last Wednesday’s Lady Rocket Invitational that she has the potential to become one of the area’s leading hurdlers.

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By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com

Halle Lewis admits there is a constant struggle with her consistency, causing the United Township junior jumper to sometimes thrive one week and struggle the next.

Searching for a solution to what was once a never-ending problem, Lewis soon had an answer.

She discovered YouTube.

As a way to improve her form and results in the triple jump, Lewis started studying film toward the end of last season. Some sessions would focus on her performances from previous meets, but YouTube gave her an opportunity to watch and learn from others in the event.

The videos are allowing Lewis to find the elusive consistency as she turns herself into a complete and polished jumper.

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Benton’s Sydney Potts placed eighth in the 100 meter hurdles at last year’s Class A state track meet with a time of 15.77.

Judging by her results this season, she appears to have a chance to improve on that mark.

She puts in about 12-14 hours a week of practice in track and feels like her best event is in the hurdles.

“I always feel confident and I know how I should perform.” said Potts.

That confidence has been on display this season. Potts has already run a 15.7 at the Benton Spring Fling and jumped 5-0 in the high jump. She also ran a 50.9 in the 300 hurdles.

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Orion High School senior Megan Miller signed her letter-of-intent on Thursday to continue her running career at St. Ambrose University.

Miller is coming off a tremendous senior year in which she finished second in the West Central Conference, second at the Sherrard Regional, and 20th at the Elmwood Sectional

The Fighting Bees women’s cross country team has won 10 Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships, including back-to-back titles in 2004-2005. In each of the past three seasons the Fighting Bee women have sent numerous women to the NAIA National Championships and arecoming off their first Midwest Collegiate Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship since 2001.

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It’s almost as if Whitney Walker couldn’t help competing in the shot put and discus.

The Illini Bluffs junior’s father, Chris, was a four-year state qualifier in the weights for IB and earned a second-place medal in the shot 1982.

Her coach, Kim Martin, also was a state qualifier in the weights at Limestone.

And boys track and field coach Vic Durchholz’s specialty also is shot and discus.

But it was her father’s influence which got Walker started on this path.

“I started throwing in sixth grade more or less because I knew my dad had thrown in high school and I knew he was good and I just wanted to try it to see if I could do it,” said Walker. “In grade school, I went out for the track team and I just picked it up and tried it. Then I found out we had (weights) at the house that I didn’t even know about and I started throwing and that was it.”

Unlike her father, Walker’s stronger event is the discus. At 5-foot-6, she’s smaller than many girls competing in weights, so the discus, which relies more on technique than brute strength, suits her style better.

“The shot is more just power — how strong you are,” said Walker. “The stronger person can usually win but it has some technique. The discus is more technique — you don’t have to be as strong to be good at it. And I’m not going to be a 6-foot tall person.”

But don’t think that Walker is a physical weakling.

“She’s always working out,” Chris Walker said. “She lifts all year and she does it all on her own. That’s a dream to have a kid like that.”

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