1. Walking
T
Winning. Jonathan Andersen sits on the podium
after winning fifth place at racewalking nationals
the race
he racers come around the final curve of the track. This summer, he plans to participate in five to ten traditional
They’re pushing themselves to the limit, trying to sprint meets and possibly a road race.
in the final minutes of the national meet. Kennedy stu- During his races, Andersen focuses on pacing himself and main-
dent Jonathan Andersen, fr., finishes in fifth place. However this taining proper racewalking form. It is important for competitors
is no ordinary track race: this is racewalking. to keep their arms close to their torsos, properly rotate their hips,
Racewalking is an Olympic event that originated in England in and practice proper “heel-toe” walking. “When you make contact
the mid-19th century. There are two rules of race walking that [with the ground] it’s supposed to be your heel and when you take
differ from running: the competitor cannot bend their knee if it it off the ground you go off your toe,” Andersen said.
is extended in front of their body and the competitor must have To train for his competitions, Andersen attends Cedar Rap-
one foot on the ground at all times. Violation of these rules can ids Track Club meetings three times a week, where he practices
result in disqualification. walking for extended distances. “Right now
“It’s kind of a mixture between a jog and a I’m doing two [kilometers] but by the end
“One of our coaches at our
walk,” Andersen said. Andersen has been in- of the summer I’ll be doing ten [kilometers]
volved in racewalking since he was nine years club track was a racewalk- each day,” Andersen said. Andersen has been
old. As a member of the Cedar Rapids Track er, so he taught me how.” training for the 2012 summer season since
Club, he was looking for a track event that -Jonathan Andersen December.
would allow him to advance past the state com- In addition to racewalking, Andersen par-
petition. “So my mom came up with racewalk- ticipates in cross-country and track and field.
ing,” Andersen said. “One of our coaches at our club track was a Cross-country helps him gain endurance for racewalking and
racewalker, so he taught me how.” Racewalking usually takes six track helps him gain speed. Racewalking also helps him run fast-
months to learn, but Andersen learned it in one month. er. “When I started racewalking I wasn’t that fast,” Andersen said.
For his racewalking debut, Andersen ended up advancing past “Since then I’ve gotten more fast.”
state and onto the regional competition. From there he qualified Since the beginning of his racewalking career, Andersen has met
for the national meet in Omaha, Neb. Since then, Andersen has an assortment of Olympic coaches and competitors. An Olympic
qualified for the national meet five times. In July 2011, Ander- talent scout is currently monitoring Andersen’s racewalking per-
sen placed fifth at the national meet in Wichita, Kansas “I get to formances.
travel all over the country and it’s kind of fun because my family’s “You have to be willing to work hard at it and put a lot of ef-
always with me,” Andersen said. fort into it,” Andersen said. Someday, he hopes to compete in the
Most youth racewalking events take place on a 400-meter track Olympics. “It’s one of my dreams,” Andersen said. “If I continue
and are between 1,500 and 5,000 meters. Andersen’s specialty my regimen, I’ll be on track.”
is the 3,000-meter race. While the racewalking season spans the Tara Mittelberg
entire year, Andersen mainly competes in the summer months.
14

2. Early Achievers
Profile
Student fufills plan to graduate in three years
The process of graduating early from Because Fleckenstein is skipping her se-
high school was not easy for Fleckenstein. nior year, she has missed out on partici-
Her entire sophomore year she went to pating in many school activities. If she had
school from 6 a.m. until 4 p.m. This year made the decision to attend all four years
was the same except for one less class. of high school she feels she would have
Fleckenstein had to double up been able to experi-
“
on subjects throughout the ence the relaxed ver-
years and has kept herself busy My mom moved to sion of high school
by participating in the drama Colorado, and I didn’t want to instead of constant-
department and being a stu- live alone for longer than I had ly working.
dent advisor. to, so I made a three year plan Fleckenstein has
Gracie Fleckenstein, sr., knew she want-
Outside of school Flecken- instead” never regretted her
ed to graduate early before she even en-
stein works at American Eagle, decision to graduate
tered high school.
Finishline, and is a nanny. She early and is excited
“My mom moved to Colorado, and I
also tries to find time to work out in be- that she will begin college ahead of time
didn’t want to live alone for longer than I
tween it all. Her busy life forces her to and be able to graduate with many of her
had to so I made a three year plan instead,”
stay focused and continue to work hard close friends. In the fall she will be attend-
Fleckenstein said. She made the decision
because she knows what is at stake if she ing Iowa State University to major in engi-
on her own to graduate early and sought
slacks off. neering and economics.
help from her counselor Rachel Collins.
Student graduates to get ahead at college
Will Tollefson, sr., decided that he want- also involved in band, Boy Scouts, church change and stay on a normal graduation
ed to graduate in three years after he com- activities, trombone ensembles, sports, path,” Tollefson said. But Tollefson stuck
pleted his freshmen year. He felt ready for and various clubs. to his decision and will graduate with the
college and knows that one day he would Tollefson’s family and counselors at class of 2012 and then attend the Univer-
like to earn his doctorate, so graduating Kennedy have guided him in order to sity of Iowa to double major in engineer-
early is a way for him to make his decision. He has ing and trombone.
“
get a head start. been allowed to attend
“I had to take certain I had to take certain prom and other senior
classes like doubling up classes like doubling up on AP activities. However, he is
on AP Lit and AP Lang or Lit and AP Lang or skipping to disappointed that he will
skipping to AP German AP German from second year.” not be able to graduate
from second year,” Tollef- with his original class and
son said. This year alone not have any more classes
he is enrolled in seven AP classes. He has with his friends.
taken a total of 13 AP tests, two of which After the first week that Tollefson had
he studied independently for. On top of made his decision he considered chang-
an unusually full school load, Tollefson is ing his mind. “I got a sudden impulse to
stories by Darcey Altschwager
PAGES Amy Brause 15