Hannah Braun took a deep breath, completed her spins in the throwing circle, and let go.
The discus flew level; her release appeared flawless, and her footwork looked clean. Her mother shouted her name in exasperation as her disc landed in the grass, because it seemed like her best throw of the day – maybe even enough to solidify her second-place spot.
Braun walked away from the cement circle, and the sidelines fell silent, waiting for the distance to appear on the screen to the left of the throwing zone.
And then five numbers appeared in white on the scoreboard: 150.00.
“I wasn’t sure,” Braun said when asked if she felt that distance on the release. “It felt so good in my footwork, in my technique. I went into the last throw just like, go out with a bang. And that’s what I did.”
On her final throw of the event on Thursday, May 21, Braun jumped over the statewide leader – Ottumwa’s Delilah Subsin – and into first place. Subsin threw 148 feet, 10 inches on her opening chuck, which kept her at the top of the standings through the next five throws.
Despite sitting in second for most of the competition, Braun trusted her training. Her focus this season had been on pulling her left arm and finishing stronger. She felt the impact of both corrections on Thursday, crediting that training for taking her final throw over the edge.
And she truly saved the best for last, improving on her previous season-best of 144 feet, 7 inches to claim the Class 4A girls discus state title and end her high school career on top of the podium.
“I never thought I would win,” Braun shared. “I came in like, ‘OK, let’s get third, let’s get second.’ But getting first is a dream come true. I’m so happy.”
For the Little Hawks, Braun wasn’t the only success story of the day. Next to her – in the third-place slot – stood Iowa City High teammate, Rachel Haack.
Both seniors, Braun and Haack, had spent their entire high school careers competing against and with each other. The pair pushed each other to become better, and it was actually Haack who entered the state tournament with a longer qualifying throw.
Haack threw 142 feet, 8 inches on her second-last attempt, which proved enough to hold off a 142-foot throw from Waukee Northwest’s Cassidy Danburg and secure third place.
The first and third place finishes marked the first time on the podium for either athlete, despite both girls making it to the state meet in all four years of high school.
Braun finished 14th as a junior, 10th as a sophomore and 22nd as a freshman. Haack finished fourth last year, fifth as a sophomore and 17th as a freshman.
“We’ve worked so hard together, and it’s been so fun,” Braun said. “Growing up together, basically, we met in seventh grade and we’ve been competing with each other for so long. I’m just so proud of both of us.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: City High’s Hannah Braun ends HS career with Iowa state discus title
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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