ON THE PODIUM — Kate Hall of Casco (second from the right) placed second in the long jump at the National New Balance Indoor Track & Field Championships held in New York City last weekend.

Kate Hall closed out the winter indoor track & field season by posting new Maine records in the long jump and sprint, while also finishing in the Top 10 nationally in each event.

The Lake Region junior competed this past weekend at the New Balance Indoor Track & Field Championships held in New York City. She finished second in the long jump with an all-time Maine best jump of 19 feet 11.5 inches. Kate saved her best jump for last, moving up to second place from third.

Saturday morning, Kate ran a Maine all-time best 7.67 seconds in the 60-meter dash, advancing to the semifinals on Sunday. During the semis, Kate once again broke the Maine all-time best with a blazing 7.53 second run advancing her to the finals on Sunday afternoon. Kate finished ninth in the finals, capping off a tremendous weekend.

Kate was the only underclassman in the 60-meter finals and only one of two underclassman in the long jump.

What makes Kate’s performance at nationals even more remarkable is the fact that Kate was unable to train for much of the month prior to the big meet. After the state meet in mid February, Kate developed two ear infections, a perforated eardrum and, lastly, a strained hip flexor muscle. Two weeks prior to the national meet, she was unable to walk without limping.

“It wasn’t until six days before the meet that Kate could begin to run at full speed,” said Kate’s dad, Eric Hall. “She was unable to practice her long jump and hadn’t jumped since the state meet. Without the diligent work of her trainer, whom she saw nearly on a daily basis, Kate would never have been able to compete in NYC.”