Kennedy is golden for Glenwood, twice

It was just over two months ago – 69 days in fact – that Nate Kennedy nailed a pair of free throws to clinch Glenwood’s first ever state basketball championship.

On Thursday, Kennedy came up clutch again and nailed down a title of his own at the Iowa State Track and Field Championship with a gold medal in the 400-meters.

The Glenwood senior, who battled a hamstring injury all season, ran a 48.28 to win the 400 and his first individual state track gold medal on the blue oval of Drake Stadium Thursday.

For Kennedy the win was more than just a perfect capper to a senior season; it was vindication after he placed second in the event at state last year and all the hard work on and off the track in his four years.

“Every time I stepped on the track (this season) I thought about that,” said the Glenwood senior of his disappointing second place finish last season. “I mean it was good feeling but I just wanted to be the best.”

That’s the exact drive, Glenwood Track Coach Mark Starner said, that pushed Kennedy’s development from raw athlete to elite athlete that has caught the eye of Division I track coaches.

From his freshman year to this year, Kennedy shaved nearly seven seconds off his 400-meter time.

“Typically, the more an athlete matures the stronger they get,” Starner said. “Nate’s on the other side of that. He doesn’t really look that strong but he is. He also got quicker. To be able to take that amount of time off his times in four years is amazing. He’s dedicated. Above all, he’s competitive. He wants to go out there and beat you at anything. He set his eye on this after being the runner up last year.”

Kennedy agreed. His senior year was a culmination of a lot of hard work.

“My freshman I just kind of ran and then my sophomore year I went to state and placed 20th and I wasn’t happy with that,” said Kennedy. “I didn’t want to go through that again. So I bought into the process and day-after-day, I felt like I got stronger and better every year.”

That competitive nature paid off for Kennedy when he was inexplicably slotted to run in lane one in the 400. He’d had not run on the inside lane since his sophomore year.

Kennedy admitted he wasn’t real happy with his lane placement but after a talk with his coaches, he felt better. Their advice played right into his competitive nature.

“I was little bummed being in lane one but Coach Starner told me I could see the whole track and the runners in front of me and slowly pick people off and that’s exactly what I did,” he said.
Kennedy did indeed do that.

The final 100-meters he cruised down the stretch as the crowd erupted. He let out a yell and through his arms in the arm as he crossed the finish line.

“It finally hits you about right there,” Kennedy said of the final 100 meters. “The crowd stands up and they’re saying your name and you feel you’re on cloud nine and then its done and you’re legs feel like concrete.”

Kennedy’s state meet wasn’t done with the 400. He would go on to anchor the sprint medley relay team of Joey Saddler, Jon Lee and Kohen Watson to a state meet record time of 1:33.11. The gold medal in the sprint medley was the second straight for the Rams in a state record time.

Kennedy ran a mind-boggling 47.7 in his anchor run, passing five runners in the process.

Starner still isn’t sure if the 47.7 is correct. He thinks it MIGHT even be faster –  depending on video angles. He said it could be as fast as 46.9.

“Either one, it was impressive,” Starner said. “When he took the baton he was fifth and he made it up in the turn. He said he was going to try and sprint the whole thing and I didn’t know if that was a good idea. He gave it his best and it was amazing.”

Starner said Kennedy, who joined an elite group that includes Chris Roenfeld and Scott Davis as one of a trio of Glenwood athletes to win three gold medals at the state track meet since 1973, is a “special” athlete.

“He’s probably go down as one of Glenwood’s all-time best sprinters, up there with Chris Roenfeld with what he could do in the 100, 200 and 400,” Starner said.

Kennedy is undecided on where he’ll run in college but has trimmed his list to Iowa State, Iowa, Northern Iowa and Nebraska.