Game On: Girls lead charge
Hutchison etches name in record book
Clinton senior Kenzlee Hutchison powers through her shot put throw at the South-Doyle Invitational on Saturday, April 11. Hutchison set a school record with a toss of 34 feet, 3 inches, winning the event by 2 feet, 9½ inches. (photo:Tony Cox )
Hutchison, a senior and three-sport athlete for the Lady Dragons, broke the school’s girls shot put record Saturday at South-Doyle High School with a throw of 34 feet, 3 inches.
She also ran cross country and played basketball for Clinton. Hutchison helped the Lady Dragons reach the Region 2-AAA tournament semifinals after they won the District 4-AAA regular-season title and tournament championship.
During her time in Clinton’s track and cross country programs, Hutchison has emerged as a leader and mentor for younger athletes.
She may be a young woman of few words at times, but that does not mean she is not a leader.
“She is very measured,” Clinton cross country and track Coach Tim Kumes said. “She’s very measured in the way she reacts to the kids on the team, and she doesn’t waste time on things that are not really positive.”
Hutchison became interested in the shot put when she was a member of the Clinton Blaze elementary school track team. It was then that she attended a clinic hosted by Clinton High School.
“I was inspired to throw the shot when I went to CHS’s Blaze Clinic in fifth grade,” she said. “I tried shot put and I beat all the boys.”
For Kumes, it has been a pleasure to coach Hutchison.
“It’s very important to have her on the team,” Kumes said. “She has a great relationship with the kids on the team.”
It has not, however, always been easy for coach and athlete.
“I’ve had to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with her,” Kumes said. “I’ve had to get her to believe in herself.”
Hutchison, a versatile athlete on the track team, competes in both the shot put and distance events.
She said Kumes and former Clinton Blaze athletic coordinator E.T. Stamey are both responsible for her success.
“I would like to thank E.T. Stamey for providing me the initial track opportunity and encouragement to continue, and Sgt. Kumes for continuously believing in me,” she said.
The season has yet to hit its home stretch, and opportunities still remain for Hutchison, but she noted that the record is a culmination of work and preparation.
“I have worked incredibly hard, spending countless hours putting in effort and time to reach this goal,” Hutchison said. “I will never forget this feeling.
“It’s sports-wise what I set out to do in my eighth-grade year. I wanted to beat that goal, and here, in my last season, I did it.”
Saturday was also a special day for the Lady Dragons’ program as sprinter and jumper Maliyah Drake posted a personal record in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet. Drake topped her previous best of 13 feet, 2 inches.
“We were standing there when she did it, and we knew when she took off that it was going to be something special,” Kumes said. “Her previous personal record was 13-2, and she beat that by almost two feet.”
