Lake City’s Ward looks to defend titles, break record in 200

Maddison Ward thought soccer would be her ticket to a college education.

As it turned out, the Lake City senior discovered track opened more doors.

Ward heads to her final state meet already as the most decorated sprinter in school history. She hopes to add to her legacy when the State 5A meet is held Friday and Saturday at Dona Larsen Park in Boise.

LC coach Kelly Reed measures Ward’s talent on a state level.

“She’s one of the best sprinters all-time in the state,” LC coach Kelly Reed said. “She does things I’ve never seen other high school sprinters do.”

Ward is seeking a third straight state title in the 200 meters and back-to-back titles in the 100. She’s also made an impact, going back to her freshman year, as a member of medal-winning relays, too.

As a sophomore, she set the school records in the 100 (12.16 seconds) and 200 (24.68) at state. Her 200 time would have easily wiped away the state-meet record (24.80) but it was ruled a wind-aided race.

She set the school record in the 400 (57.83) this spring. It was the first time she said she ran the race with a competitive mindset.

A four-year starter in soccer, Ward was instrumental in LC’s state title in 2012.

The last three years, Ward has tried to balance club soccer with track. To that end, Reed tailored practices for the times she wasn’t at soccer practices or tournaments.

“My freshman and sophomore year, I wasn’t as focused as I am now because I was leaning toward soccer,” she said. “I’ve matured and taken it more seriously the last two years.”

By last spring, Ward had decided track was her future, and she signed with Idaho State University last fall. She played one more season of club soccer to be with friends and help her conditioning for track.

She’s glad she did. She started her junior track season in poor condition, needing 28.43 seconds to cover 200 meters.

In her defense, she was coming off a broken leg suffered the fall before in soccer.

“It was pretty demoralizing,” Ward said.

She had much improvement to make in two months. But her times started to come down.

At the state-qualifying regional meet, Ward had made measurable progress. She ran the 100 in 12.67 and the 200 in 26.37.

“I was just happy with making it to state after the start to the season,” she said.

Then she surprised herself and her coach at state. She won the 100 in a time of 12.21 and the 200 in 24.81, a hundredth of a second off the state-meet record. In fact, her time in the prelim was two-hundredths of a second off the record.

“I’m going after it this week,” Ward said.

Ward actually ran faster times in the 100 and 200 at regionals than she did a year ago. She also helped the 400 and 800 relays qualify for state.

She wants to lower her records and break the state record in the 200. And she wants to defend her state titles.

“I’ve run my season (personal bests) every year at state,” she said. “I trust in the fact that Reed trains us to peak at state.”

“She likes the big stage,” Reed said. “The pressure doesn’t get to her at all. She gets this look on her face that it’s time to race.”

Ward said Reed has had a marked impact on her career.

“He’s a coach and he’s a friend,” she said. “He really pushes us to do more all the time. He really gets the most out of you.”

Reed says the sky is the limit for Ward.

“She works real hard on her technique, don’t get me wrong, but she’s done everything on natural talent so far,” he said. “With a college conditioning program and added strength, it scares me to think about how fast she can be.

“With trying to work, play soccer and do track – not to mention battle through injuries – she’s never had the time to dedicate herself to year-round conditioning.”